Wilder, Thornton Niven (1897–1975)
US dramatist and novelist. He won Pulitzer Prizes for the novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) and for the plays Our Town (1938) and The Skin of Our Teeth (1942). His farce The Matchmaker (1954) was filmed in 1958. In 1964 it was adapted into the hit stage musical Hello, Dolly!, and also made into a film. His plays are overtly philosophical, they generally employ no props or scenery, and the characters often directly address the audience.
| Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Wilder was educated in China and at Yale. He worked at Chicago University 1930–36. His first novel The Cabala was published in 1925. Later works include The Ides of March (1948), a study of Caesar's downfall in letter form, and the novel The Eighth Day (1967). |
