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{{short description|American playwright and screenwriter (born 1936)}}
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▲| birth_place = [[Atlanta, Georgia]], U.S.
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'''Alfred Fox Uhry''' (born December 3, 1936) is an American [[playwright]] and [[screenwriter]]. He has received an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]], two [[Tony Award]]s and the 1988 [[Pulitzer Prize]] for dramatic writing for ''[[Driving Miss Daisy (play)|Driving Miss Daisy]]''. He is a member of the [[Fellowship of Southern Writers]].
==Early life==
Uhry was born in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], the son of Alene (Fox), a social worker, and Ralph K. Uhry, a furniture designer and artist. He was born into a [[History of the Jews in Germany|German Jewish]] family with one sister, the author Ann Uhry Abrams.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Pousner|first1=Howard|title=Alfred Uhry explores contentious sibling relationship in world premiere of 'Apples & Oranges'|url=http://www.accessatlanta.com/news/entertainment/alfred-uhry-explores-contentious-sibling-relations/nSPRC/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017120012/http://www.accessatlanta.com/news/entertainment/alfred-uhry-explores-contentious-sibling-relations/nSPRC/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 17, 2012|website=The Atlanta Journal
==Career==
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===Atlanta Trilogy===
''[[Driving Miss Daisy (play)|Driving Miss Daisy]]'' (1987) is the first in what is known as his "Atlanta Trilogy" of plays, all set during the first half of the 20th century. Produced Off-Broadway at [[Playwrights Horizons]], the play earned him the 1988 [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]].<ref>[http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/1988 "Pulitzer Prize 1988"] pulitzer.org, retrieved December 27, 2017</ref> It deals with the relationship between an elderly Jewish woman and her black [[chauffeur]]. The character “Daisy” was based on the friendship between Uhry’s grandmother and her driver. He adapted it into the screenplay for a 1989 film starring [[Jessica Tandy]] and [[Morgan Freeman]], an adaptation which was awarded the [[Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay]], in addition to the Academy Award
The second of the trilogy, ''[[The Last Night of Ballyhoo]]'' (1996), is set in 1939 during the premiere of the film ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]''. It deals with a Jewish family during an important social event.<ref>Evans, Greg. [https://variety.com/1997/legit/reviews/the-last-night-of-ballyhoo-1117432529/ "Review. 'The Last Night of Ballyhoo'"] ''Variety'', March 8, 1997</ref> It was commissioned for the [[Cultural Olympiad]] in Atlanta which coincided with the [[1996 Summer Olympics]],<ref name=alex>Witchel, Alex. [https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/23/theater/remembering-prejudice-of-a-different-sort.html "Theater. Remembering Prejudice, of a Different Sort"] ''The New York Times'', February 23, 1997</ref> and received the [[Tony Award for Best Play]] when produced on Broadway in 1997.<ref>[http://www.playbill.com/production/the-last-night-of-ballyhoo-helen-hayes-theatre-vault-0000006714 ''The Last Night of Ballyhoo''] Playbill, retrieved December 27, 2017</ref>
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===Additional theatre===
Uhry's play ''
The [[Manhattan Theatre Club]] produced Uhry's musical ''[[LoveMusik]]'' on Broadway in 2007. The story depicts the relationship between composer [[Kurt Weill]] and his wife, [[Lotte Lenya]], using Weill's music.<ref>[http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_l/lovemusik.html ''LoveMusik''] guidetomusicaltheatre.com, retrieved December 27, 2017</ref><ref>Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/article/when-you-speak-love-cast-complete-for-lovemusik-broadways-weill-lenya-musical-com-138953 "When You Speak Love: Cast Complete for 'LoveMusik', Broadway's Weill-Lenya Musical"] Playbill, March 1, 2007</ref>
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===Film===
Uhry wrote the screenplay for the 1989 film version of ''[[Driving Miss Daisy]]''<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/73676/Driving-Miss-Daisy/ ''Driving Miss Daisy''] tcm.com, retrieved December 27, 2017</ref> and for the 1992 film ''[[Rich in Love (1992 film)|Rich in Love]]'';<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/88177/Rich-in-Love/ ''Rich in Love''] tcm.com, retrieved December 27, 2017</ref> he co-wrote the screenplay for the 1988 film ''[[Mystic Pizza]]''.<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/84499/Mystic-Pizza/ ''Mystic Pizza''] tcm.com, retrieved December 27, 2017</ref>
==Personal life==
Uhry was married to Joanna Kellogg, Ed.D., from 1959 until her death on August 26, 2019, at age 82 from complications of [[Parkinson's disease]] and [[Lewy Body Dementia]]. Dr. Kellogg Uhry was a professor at [[Fordham University]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ha |first1=Taylor |title=University Mourns the Passing of Professor Emerita Joanna Kellogg Uhry |url=https://news.fordham.edu/university-news/university-mourns-the-passing-of-professor-emerita-joanna-kellogg-uhry/ |website=Fordham.edu |date=9 September 2019 |publisher=Fordham University |access-date=30 October 2020}}</ref> They had four daughters and lived in New York City.<ref name=alex/>
==References==
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==External links==
{{Commonscatinline}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IMDb name|880261}}
* {{iobdb name|9904}}
* {{Charlie Rose view|3519}}
* {{NYTtopic|people/u/alfred_uhry}}
* [https://www.fellowshipofsouthernwriters.org/uhry-alfred Profile] at the [[Fellowship of Southern Writers]]
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[[Category:American musical theatre librettists]]
[[Category:Jewish American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in Georgia (U.S. state)]]▼
[[Category:American male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
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[[Category:Drama Desk Award winners]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]
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