Louis S. Peterson

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Louis S. Peterson
Born	Louis Stamford Peterson 17 June 1922(1922-06-17) Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Died	April 27, 1998(1998-04-27) (aged 75) New York, New York, USA
Occupation	Playwright, screenwriter
Nationality	United States
Information
Period	1953–1961
Debut works	Take a Giant Step
Magnum opus	Take a Giant Step

Louis S. Peterson (June 17, 1922–April 27, 1998) was an American playwright, who was the first African American playwright to have a dramatic play produced on Broadway. He was also one of the first African American writers to be nominated for an Emmy Award.

Biography

Louis Stamford Peterson was born in Hartford, Connecticut on June 17, 1922.

In 1953, his play Take a Giant Step was produced on Broadway. Seventy investors contributed to the $75,000 production. While critics praised the writing, acting and direction of the play, it received no rave reviews. Without major support from critics and with no major stars (a then unknown Louis Gossett, Jr. played the lead role) it struggled to make its $14,000 weekly operating costs and closed after only 77 performances.^[1]

Peterson began to find work in television. His first television script, the "Padlock" episode of the series Danger, aired on November 2, 1954.^[2]

He received an Emmy Award nomination for the "Joey" episode of the Goodyear Playhouse in 1957.

He died of lung cancer on April 27, 1998.

References

^ Luce, Henry R., ed. (November 30, 1953) "So you want to be a producer: team loses $150,000 but will try again" Life (New York, New York: Life) 35 (22): 157–158,160, 162
^ Johnson, John H., ed. (November 11, 1954) "Playwright Louis Peterson completes new play" Jet (Chicago, Illinois: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.)

External links

Louis S. Peterson at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Peterson, Louis S.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 17, 1922
Place of birth	Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Date of death	April 27, 1998
Place of death	New York, New York, USA

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