Anne Howard Bailey

Anne Howard Bailey (July 26, 1924 – November 23, 2006) was an American writer known particularly for her work as a screenwriter and opera librettist.[1]

Life and career

Born and raised in Memphis, Bailey attended Rhodes College, where she graduated in 1945 with a bachelor's degree in creative writing. After college she moved to New York City, where she began writing for theatre and television. She was a regular contributor to the Armstrong Circle Theatre and Appointment with Adventure during the 1950s and was one of the major writers for National Velvet during the 1960s. Her most successful work as a screenwriter was working as a head writer on several different soap operas during the 1980s, including ABC Daytime's General Hospital (1983–1986) and NBC Daytime's Days of Our Lives (1989–1990). She also created the short-lived 1970s soap opera How to Survive a Marriage.[2] After being fired from Days of Our Lives in 1990, Al Rabin was quoted as saying:

[Bailey is] a wonderful writer before she got here. She was a wonderful writer here and she will be a wonderful writer in her next project. It's just that the emphasis shifted slightly from romance to adventure. Since we preferred the audience that we had, we will be shifting back.

For General Hospital Bailey notably created such characters as Frisco Jones, Dr. Tony Jones, and Felicia Jones. She also was the head writer for NBC's Santa Barbara between 1987 and 1989, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in her final year with the program. Bailey also wrote for prime-time television including work for Bonanza, Moment of Truth, Beacon Hill, and 87th Precinct. She also worked as a story editor for The Adams Chronicles.

As an opera librettist, Bailey wrote librettos for four works. Her first libretto was for Leonard Kastle's Deseret, which is about the life of Brigham Young. The opera was commissioned for television by the NBC Opera Theatre and was first broadcast in 1961. This was followed by a second opera for television, Thomas Pasatieri's The Trial of Mary Lincoln, which was first broadcast on PBS in 1972. For this work Bailey won an Emmy Award.[2]

She collaborated with Pasatieri again for his first full-length opera The Penitentes, which premiered at the Aspen Music Festival in 1974. Her final libretto was for Kenton Coe's Rachel, an opera about United States President Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel Donelson Robards, which premiered at Knoxville Opera in 1989.[1]

Death

Bailey died of congestive heart failure in Rancho Mirage, California.[2]

Filmography

Films
YearFilmCreditNotes
1959 The Bloody Brood Screenplay By
1961 Aus Gründen der Sicherheit Story By

Television
YearTV SeriesCreditNotes
1951-55 Armstrong Circle Theatre Writer 12 Episodes
1951-57 Lux Video Theatre Writer 11 Episodes
1955 Appointment with Adventure Writer 4 Episodes
Justice Writer 4 Episodes
On Camera Writer 1 Episode
Star Tonight Writer 1 Episode
1956 Rheingold Theater Writer 3 Episodes
1959 The Unforeseen Writer 1 Episode
1960-61 Surfside 6 Writer 4 Episodes
1960-62 National Velvet Writer 15 Episodes
1961 NBC Opera Theatre Writer 1 Episode
87th Precinct Writer 1 Episode
1963 Bonanza Writer 1 Episode
1972 NET Opera Theater Librettist 1 Episode
1974-75 How to Survive a Marriage Writer, Creator
1976 The Adams Chronicles Writer, Story Editor 6 Episodes
The Doctors Writer 23 Episodes
1977 Family Writer 1 Episode
1982-86 General Hospital Head Writer
1987-89 Santa Barbara Head Writer 177 Episodes
1989 Days of Our Lives Head Writer

Awards and nominations

Daytime Emmy Award

Wins
  • (1989; Best Writing; Santa Barbara)

Nominations
  • (1983 & 1984; Best Writing; General Hospital)
  • (1988; Best Writing; Santa Barbara)

Primetime Emmy Awards

Wins
  • (1972; Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety or Music; The Trial of Mary Lincoln)

Christopher Award

Wins
  • (1955; Armstrong Circle Theatre)

Head writing tenure
Preceded by
John William Corrington
Joyce Hooper Corrington		 Head writer of General Hospital
June 1982 – November 1986		 Succeeded by
Pat Falken Smith
Norma Monty
Preceded by
Bridget and Jerome Dobson		 Head writer of Santa Barbara
(with Charles Pratt Jr.)
December 1986 – January 1989		 Succeeded by
Charles Pratt Jr.
Preceded by
Leah Laiman		 Head writer of Days of Our Lives
March 17, 1989 – January 19, 1990		 Succeeded by
Richard J. Allen
Anne Schoettle
gollark: You must run at PIERB-approved speeds.
gollark: Well, you can earn achievements, engage in combat with certain approved apionic entities, run dungeons, that sort of thing.
gollark: Do things which cause you to increase in point total.
gollark: Gain enough points.
gollark: I assumed they'd hyperoptimized it with the Macron omniversal VM engine.

References
  1. "Obituaries: Conductor Silvio Varviso dies at eighty-two; pioneering baritone Robert McFerrin; librettist Ann Howard Bailey; choreographer Todd Bolender". Opera News. 71 (8). Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  2. "Writer Bailey dies at 82: TV writer, opera librettist remembered as head writer for 'Days of Our Lives'". Variety. December 1, 2006. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.