TW was massively depressed by the late 60’s and probably had been since Frank died. With no psychotropic drugs available, he had to rely on sedatives and alcohol to calm his anxiety. As his body became resistant to the drugs he would drink more white wine until he would become a somnambulist walking through life only half alive.
Often he’d burst into tears for no apparent reason, but might add a comment, “it’s all my mother’s fault.” At times I…..
In 1982 I was at crossroads in my life, having to decide between life as a struggling, independent filmmaker and life as a sales person working for Xerox. My preference was film, but I was destitute. A trip to Key west would be the elixir to my dilemma. When I met TW I thought perhaps he could help me figure out what to do with my life. Instead, It would be the year I lived his life, not entirely…..
I met Tennessee Williams in 1982 on a staircase in a loud, crowded Disco bar in Key West Florida. He was descending a narrow flight of stairs, wearing a white sailor’s suit, barefooted, drunk, and clutching the railing in fear of falling. I was ascending the same stairs leaping up to the upstairs bar to get a cognac and there he was, my champion of truth and beauty, stumbling down the stairs about to fall. I was stunned. Although…..
dear tony: I was so pleased to get your card today. I dread Chicago—so god damn cold, those lake winds—and even though I feel I’ve created a good play for the goodman, I shall need a warm sicilian friend there. Please come to the “intimate little birthday party” the goodman is giving me on March 26.
I do have a better long play than the one to be done at the goodman, but I think it’s for england or…..
He grew up idolizing the man who wrote “The Glass Menagerie” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” and hoped, but he never imagined, fate would bring him face- to-face with Tennessee Williams in Key West.
“In the Frightened Heart of Me: Tennessee Williams’s Last Year” offers a personal and intimate glimpse into the life of the literary giant during the turbulent, final year of his life through the eyes of Williams’s traveling companion and final love interest, Tony Narducci.
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Welcome. My name is Tony Narducci, author of In the Frightened Heart of Me. I’m so happy to have you as a visitor to my blog about my new book. This project is very special to me, and I hope to share some of that excitement with you here.
I’ll be using this blog to interact with you about In the Frightened Heart of Me. expanding on some of the topics in it and blogging on some of the ideas related…..