Jack Richardson (born February 18, 1935, New York City)[1] is an American writer, known for his existentialist dramas of the early 1960s.
Richardson served in the United States Army during the Korean War. He then earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Columbia University, and studied at the University of Munich. In 1960, his first play, The Prodigal, a retelling of the story of Orestes, was produced Off-Broadway to critical acclaim, winning an Obie Award[2] and a Drama Desk Award.[3] Gallows Humor, a 1961 combination of two short plays, was also well-received. Richardson's next two plays, Lorenzo (1963) and Xmas in Las Vegas (1965), were produced on Broadway, but were critical and commercial failures.[4]
Since the 1960s, Richardson has written dramatic criticism and essays for the New York Times, New York Review of Books, Esquire, and Commentary, as well as two novels: The Prison Life of Harris Filmore (1965) and Memoir of a Gambler (1980).[5]
Richardson's first marriage, to the author Anne Roiphe, ended in divorce.[6] Richardson has since married Susan E. Morse, an academy-award nominated feature film editor. [1]</ref>