Author of Tea
and Sympathy Dies at 91

Robert Anderson, the author of 1953's gay-themed play Tea and Sympathy, died at his Manhattan home Monday at the age of 91.

The play centered around the relationship between the wife of a headmaster at a New England prep school and a student suspected of being gay. Deborah Kerr starred in the stage production as well as the 1956 film version, which featured a screenplay by Anderson and direction by Vincente Minnelli.

Anderson wrote many other Broadway plays, including You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running; Silent Night, Lonely Night; and I Never Sang for My Father. He also wrote novels and screenplays. He received an Academy Award nomination for 1959's The Nun's Story.

Anderson was born in New York and was married twice, once to actress Teresa Wright. (Neal Broverman, Advocate.com)