Biography: Albert Horton Foote, Jr. was born on March 14, 1916 in Wharton, Texas to piano teacher Harriet Gautier "Hallie" Brooks and haberdasher Albert Horton Foote. He began his career as an actor, studying at the Pasadena Playhouse. He ran the King Smith School with Vincent Donehue after World War II. He opened the King Smith theater to all races, which made it the first with integrated audiences in Washington. He married Lillian Vallish, with whom he had four children: Hallie, Horton Jr., Walter, and Daisy.

Film/TV Credits: Film credits include: "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Of Mice and Men," "Tender Mercies," "Main Street," "The Chase," "The Trip to Bountiful," "Infinity," "Tomorrow," "Hurry Sundown," "Baby the Rain Must Fall," "and "Storm Fear." Television credits include: "Bessie," "American Playhouse," "Playhouse 90," "The Trip to Bountiful," "Armchair Theatre," "Kraft Theatre," "The United States Steel Hour," and "Old Man."

Other Awards: Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for "To Kill a Mockingbird" in 1963. Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for "Tender Mercies" in 1984. Received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1995 for his play The Young Man From Atlanta. Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Special for "Old Man" in 1997. Received the Writer's Guild of America's Lifetime Achievement award in 1999. Received the PEN American Center's Master American Dramatist Award in 2000. Awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2000.

Trivia:
He was the voice of Jefferson Davis in the 11-hour PBS series "The Civil War".
The marquees of Broadway theaters were dimmed in his honor on March 5, 2009.