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George Birimisa (born 21 February 1924〔 - died 10 May 2012) was an American playwright, actor, and director who contributed to the explosion of gay theater in the mid-1960s during the early years of Off-Off-Broadway. His works feature sexually explicit, emotionally charged depictions of working-class homosexual men, often closeted, in the years before the Stonewall riots (1969) triggered a national and international gay rights movement.〔B.J. Harbin, K. Marta, R.A. Schanke, eds., ''The Gay and Lesbian Theatrical Legacy: A Biographical Dictionary of Major Figures in American Stage History in the Pre-Stonewall Era'', Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 2005, pp. 63–66〕 Contemporary Authors stated that "Birmisa's plays feature themes of human isolation, frustrated idealism, and rage against needless suffering, usually centered around homosexual characters.“〔''Contemporary Authors'', Volume 89-92, Detroit, Gale Research Company, 1980, p. 62〕 According to critic and playwright Michael Smith, Birimisa's writing “links the pain of human isolation to economic and social roots.”〔D. L. Kirkpatrick, ed., ''Contemporary Dramatists'', 4th ed., Chicago, 1988, p. 54〕 Birimisa remained an active playwright, author, editor, and teacher until the end of his life. ==Early life and career== George Birimisa was born in Santa Cruz, California, one of five children of Croatian Americans, Charles and Anna (Gjurovich) Birimisa.〔 While George was still a child, his father died as the result of injuries and imprisonment while under arrest after speaking on behalf of the Communist Party at a labor rally. Birimisa’s mother remarried but his stepfather rejected him and his two older brothers. George spent most of his childhood in a Catholic orphanage (St. Francis Catholic School for Boys) then in a series of foster homes. His education ended with the ninth grade. He was briefly married to Nancy Linden, 1952 (divorced, 1961). After serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II, Birimisa supported himself with a series of jobs, including factory worker, bartender, disc jockey, health studio manager, television network page, prostitute, and Howard Johnson's counterman. In the latter position, he once refused service to Walter Winchell, who arrived after closing time. In retaliation, the powerful columnist ran an item alluding to the restaurant, on Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village, as a hangout for "vag-lewd" (i.e., homosexual) types. Winchell's punishment backfired: the publicity turned that branch of Howard Johnson's into a magnet for gays.〔G. Birimisa, "Harriet Johnsons," in L. Baugniet, P. Sagan, eds., ''Birimisa: Portraits, Plays, Perversions'', San Francisco, Sweetheart Press, 2009, pp. 295–297〕 The incident convinced Birimisa, who had begun writing fictional accounts of his life, to start writing honestly about his sexuality. He became determined to write plays at age 41, while studying acting with Uta Hagen at the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York City. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George Birimisa」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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