Title: Jonathan Reynolds Papers, 1976-1990
More Extent Information
(1) 5" letter document box; (1) 2.5" legal document box
Arrangement
The Jonathan Reynolds Papers are arranged chronologically by project.
Abstract
Jonathan Reynolds (1942-2021) was an American author and playwright. An alumnus of Denison University, Reynolds wrote numerous plays, screenplays, articles, and even a regular food column for several years. The Jonathan Reynolds Papers, dated 1976-1990, contain drafts, published scripts, and related documents for plays Reynolds authored or worked on during his career as well as an article on Stanley Siegel that was published in New York magazine.
Administrative/Biographical History
Jonathan Reynolds was born on February 13, 1942, in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He attended Denison University and graduated in 1965. Reynolds then spent a year at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before returning to the United States. After a short time working as an actor, he turned to writing instead.
Reynolds’s initial breakthrough came in 1975 with two one-act plays: Rubbers and Yanks 3 Detroit 0 Top of the Seventh. He then turned his attention to writing an article on newscaster and talk show host Stanley Siegel. The article was published in a 1977 issue of New York magazine. In 1978 Reynolds published a script titled Geniuses which was considered his greatest professional success. That same year, he wrote a screenplay for an episode of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) show Visions. Reynolds later turned that episode—titled “Escape”—into a play titled Escape, or The Sheep is Out. This led to his 1979 play Tunnel Fever. Also in 1979, Reynolds worked on the script for Whoopee!, a revival of the 1928 musical comedy. Despite his efforts and generally favorable reviews, the musical closed after a short run. Reynolds worked as a writer on several other projects including Casey (a 1981 unproduced one-man television show), Micki & Maude (1984 film), Leonard Part 6 (1987 film), Switching Channels (1988 film), My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988 film), The Distinguished Gentleman (1992 film), Stonewall Jackson’s House (1997 play), and Girls in Trouble (2000 play).
From 2000 until 2005, Reynolds wrote a regular food column for the New York Times Magazine. He published a collection of these columns as a book—Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food—in 2006.
Jonathan Reynolds died in Englewood, New Jersey, on October 27, 2021.
