Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. He is remembered for his epigrams, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, his plays, as well as the circumstances of his imprisonment and early death.

Wilde's parents were successful Anglo-Irish Dublin intellectuals. Their son became fluent in French and German early in life. At university, Wilde read Greats; he proved himself to be an outstanding classicist, first at Dublin, then at Oxford. He became known for his involvement in the rising philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles. As a spokesman for aestheticism, he tried his hand at various literary activities: he published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on the new "English Renaissance in Art", and then returned to London where he worked prolifically as a journalist. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversation, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day.

Oscar Wilde (play)

The play Oscar Wilde, written by Leslie and Sewell Stokes, is based on the life of the Irish playwright Oscar Wilde in which Wilde's friend, the controversial author and journalist Frank Harris, appears as a character. The play, which contains much of Wilde's actual writings, starts with Wilde's literary success and his friendship with Lord Alfred Douglas, turns into a courtroom melodrama, and ends with Wilde as a broken alcoholic after two years in prison.

Owing to the play's subject matter it was never granted a licence by the Lord Chamberlain and could, therefore, only be staged in England at a theatre club where membership was required. The play's first production at London's Gate Theatre Studio in 1936, starred Robert Morley as Wilde and was produced by Norman Marshall. Opening on 29 September, the play ran for six weeks and proved to be one of the theatre's most successful productions.

Later in New York in 1938, again with Morley in the title role, the play became a major award-winning success on Broadway at the Fulton Theatre where it opened on 10 October and ran for 247 performances. This success launched Robert Morley's career as a stage actor on both sides of the Atlantic.

Oscar Wilde (disambiguation)

Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories.

Oscar Wilde may also refer to:

See also

MS Oscar Wilde

MS Oscar Wilde is a cruiseferry owned by Irish Ferries. She is currently in service on Irish Ferries' Rosslare - Cherbourg and Rosslare - Roscoff routes. The ship was built at Wärtsilä Marine Perno Shipyard in Turku, Finland for Jahre Line as MS Kronprins Harald. In 1991 she passed under ownership of Color Line, for whom she sailed until sold to Irish Ferries in 2007.

History

On delivery Kronprins Harald was placed on Jahre Line's Oslo – Kiel service. In 1990 Jahre Line merged with Norway Line and Fred. Olsen Lines to form Color Line. After the change Kronprins Harald was kept on the same route, only her livery changed from the grey hull of Jahre Line to blue hull of Color Line.

In January 2007 the ship was sold to Irish Ferries in preparation for the delivery of Color Line's new mega-cruiseferry MS Color Magic. Irish Ferries chartered the Kronprins Harald back to Color Line until September 2007. The vessel's final sailing for Color Line took place on 31 August 2007 with the northbound Kiel – Oslo crossing. With her Color Line career over, Irish Ferries took control over her on 2 September 2007. Arriving for rebuilding at Fredericia Skibsværft A/S on 4 September, she was renamed MS Oscar Wilde. She entered service with Irish Ferries in December 2007, replacing MS Normandy.

Oscar Wilde (film)

Oscar Wilde is a 1960 biographical film about Oscar Wilde, made by Vantage Films and released by 20th Century Fox.

Production

The film was directed by Gregory Ratoff and produced by William Kirby, from a screenplay by Jo Eisinger, based on the play Oscar Wilde by Leslie Stokes and Sewell Stokes. Original music score was by Kenneth Jones.

The film starred Robert Morley as Oscar Wilde, Ralph Richardson as Sir Edward Carson, Phyllis Calvert as Constance Wilde, John Neville as Lord Alfred Douglas, Dennis Price as Robbie Ross, Alexander Knox as Sir Edward Clarke and Edward Chapman as the Marquess of Queensberry.

This was one of two films about Wilde released in 1960, the other being The Trials of Oscar Wilde. They were both released in the last week of May.

Author and former film extra, Brian Edward Hurst, gives a detailed description of a scene he witnessed during filming where Morley (as Wilde) attempted to pick up a newspaper boy on a foggy London street. Hurst's book: Heaven Can Help - the Autobiography of a Medium describes the day's filming at Walton-on-Thames Studio.