Many people have heard of A Thousand Clowns. The play premiered in 1962 in New York City. The venue was the Eugene O’Neill Theatre. Jason Robards acted as Murray Burns. It was incidentally the first full-length play of Herb Gardner. It got a nomination for the best play for Tony Award. Its commercial success helped Gardner do full-time playwriting. Some years afterward, Gardner penned the prize-winning script for the film adaptation of the play. Jason Robards starred as Murray Burns here too. What is the story of the play? It’s that of Murray Burns, who is a joyful unconventional fostering his nephew aged 12 years and a genius. The place is New York City.

Murray is a strong believer in living life to the full, even when that requires walking the unconventional route. One day, the BCW sends social workers to his place to inspect. It’s time for Murray to choose whether to agree to some degree of conformity to establish himself as a suitable guardian. In this funny play, Murray encounters all tests to his existence with derisive humor. “Everybody on stage for the Hawaiian number” is the biography of Herb Gardner of Brooklyn New York.

About The Author

The place of birth of Herbert Gardner was Brooklyn, NY and the date was the 28th of December, 1934. His granddad was the proprietor of the Silver Gate, a bar close by. Gardner studied at the PPAS in NY, the CMU in Pittsburgh, and Yellow Springs’ Antioch College. His Jewish lineage and the discussions he heard in his dad’s bar were the backdrops of several of his plays and characters.

More About The Author

Herbert Gardner had several interests and skills. Though he harbored the desire to become a sculptor, he believed that this occupation wouldn’t help him make a living. During the 1950s, he crafted a comic strip for the Chicago Tribune. The Nebbishes gained in popularity and sold widely. The revenue from this strip and associated merchandise was a gateway for Gardner out of his discontent. Like Murray Burns, he ended his career and concentrated on writing lengthier works. In the year 1958, his only novel came out in print. It was named A Piece of the Action. Next was A Thousand Clowns, his foremost full-length play. It premiered in 1962. The venue was the Eugene O’Neill Theatre. The NYDCC named him the “promising playwright of 1961–62” to acknowledge the play. “Everybody on stage for the Hawaiian number” is the biography of Herb Gardner of Brooklyn New York.

For forty years after 1962, Gardner’s output though small, was significant. He scripted one-act plays and full-length plays. One of them, I’m Not Rappaport, got the best play Tony Award in 1986. All the five longer plays came out on Broadway. He also scripted the screenplay for A Thousand Clowns’ film version. He scripted five other screenplays of his work. Moreover, he scripted short stories, TV plays, columns, and reviews. He passed away on the 24th of September, 2003, in NY. The cause was lung disease.