1929-2003

Richard Freeman Leavitt was born on March 30, 1929 in Colebrook, a small town in the “Great North Woods” of New Hampshire just south of Canada and the 45th parallel, half-way between the equator and the North Pole. He attended Colebrook schools and graduated in 1947. Following a brief time at the University of New Hampshire, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1949 to 1953.

His early years explored various jobs and challenges, from Fuller Brush Salesman to sign painting, T.V. Guide and various advertising positions. The latter found him Director of Summer Theatre in Corning, New York. During this time, Hal March introduced him to a host of new acquaintances and friends, among them Tennessee Williams.

He began writing and telling stories with pictures. In 1974, he authored Yesterday’s New Hampshire and, in 1978, The World of Tennessee Williams. In 1955, he compiled the photos and genealogical charts for Tom, The Unknown Tennessee Williams. In 2002, he co-authored Tennessee Williams and the South with Kenneth Holditch.

Tennessee Williams died in 1983. It took five funerals to meet the needs of relatives and friends before he was buried. Prior to his death, Williams had sold approximately eighty plays to the University of Texas Library. Many of them appeared in productions after his burial and were met with enthusiasm. They continue to be published. This convinced Richard that to complete the Williams world, he needed to finish the story with new work.

Richard began his new work in 2002, prepared to complete the mission he called “taking Williams from ‘the cradle to the grave’.” Cancer cut his mission short, and he died on May 25, 2003. However, his Mississippi friend and co-author, Kenneth Holditch, told Richard’s brother, Claude, he would help publish the new work, knowing Richard would have done the same for him.