- Born: March 18, 1940
- Birthplace: Mt. Carmel, IL
Mark Medoff is best known for his play Children of a Lesser God, about the romance between a hearing-impaired young woman and her teacher. The play won Medoff the 1980 Tony for Best Play, as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay.
Having received his bachelor's degree from the University of Miami in 1962 and his master's degree from Stanford University in 1966, Medoff became a Professor of English and Drama, and, later, Dramatist in Residence and Chairman of the Drama Department at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM. The author of several plays, Medoff has also acted and directed. He is a dedicated horticulturist, plays racquetball and tennis. Other awards he has received include: the Obie Award for Distinguished Playwriting, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and John Gassner Playwriting Award all for When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?; the Jefferson Award for Best Principal Actor, 1973-74 Chicago Season; a Guggenheim Fellowship in Playwriting, 1974-75; the Westhafer Award, 1973-1974 (New Mexico State University's highest award to a member of the faculty); the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts; and the Drama Desk Award and the Society of West End Theatres (SWET) Award for Best Play for Children of a Lesser God.
Most Famous Works
- When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (1973)
- Doing A Good One For The Red Man (1974)
- Children of a Lesser God (1980)
- The Heart Outright (1989)
- Gunfighter: A Gulf War Chronicle (2003)
- Prymate (2004)
