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Friedrich Dürrenmatt

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Playwright

The Resume

    (January 5, 1921-December 14, 1990)
    Born in Konolfingen, Switzerland
    Wrote the plays 'Romulus the Great' (1950), 'The Visit' (1956), 'The Physicists' (1962) and 'Play Strindberg' (1969)
    Also wrote 'The Judge and His Hangman' (1950), 'Suspicion' (1951), 'Once a Greek' (1955), 'A Dangerous Game' (1956), 'The Pledge: Requiem for the Detective Novel' (1958), 'The Execution of Justice' (1985), and 'The Assignment' (1986)

Why he might be annoying:

    He dropped out of the University of Bern.
    Opening night of his first play, 'It Is Written' (1947), triggered fistfights and protests in the audience. (He later noted that he at least considered it a better reaction than if the audience had yawned at the play.)
    In interviews, he rarely gave straight answers to questions.
    He insisted on calling his plays 'comedies' even though most of them are depressing.
    He wrote, 'A story has been thought to its conclusion when it has taken the worst possible turn.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He wrote sketches and a one-act play for the anti-Nazi Cabaret Cornichon in Zurich.
    He combined existential philosophy and the detective story.
    The Swiss Federal Intelligence Service kept him under surveillance for five decades because of his liberal politics.
    In one of the more unlikely adaptations of his works, the plot of the sitcom reunion special 'Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis' was taken from 'The Visit.'

Credit: C. Fishel


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Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying