Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Son of Legendary Actress Eileen Heckart, Luke Yankee, Playwright/Producer/Director, Author of “Just Outside the Spotlight: Growing Up with Eileen Heckart”
About Harvey's guest:
Luke Yankee is the son of one of the most hardworking, beloved and revered actresses of stage, feature films and television – Eileen Heckart. In a career that spanned almost 6 decades, she starred in some of the greatest Broadway shows of all time, including “Picnic”, “Barefoot in the Park”, “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs”, and her incredibly powerful multi-award winning swan song, “The Waverly Gallery”. On the big screen, she co-starred in blockbuster movies including “Bus Stop”, “The Bad Seed”, “Butterflies are Free” and many more. She appeared in dozens of television shows including “Backstairs at the White House”, “Love & War”, and of course, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, where she played Mary’s brash and hilarious aunt Flo. She won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Tony, 2 Emmys, numerous theatre awards, and she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. And if that weren’t enough, she received 4 honorary doctorates.
Luke is a highly acclaimed actor, playwright, producer, director and teacher, has written a fascinating and deeply poignant book entitled, “Just Outside the Spotlight: Growing Up with Eileen Heckart” (published by Random House, with a foreword by Mary Tyler Moore). Critics have called it “One of the most compassionate, illuminating showbiz books ever written.”
His play, The Last Lifeboat is published by Dramatists Play Service and has had more than 40 productions in North America. His other plays include The Lavender Mafia, and The Man Who Killed the Cure. His play The Jesus Hickey is the winner of the TRU Voices Award, as well as the Joel and Phyllis Ehrlich Award, given for “a socially relevant, commercially viable, new work of theatre.” He directed the Los Angeles premiere at the Skylight Theatre, starring Harry Hamlin. Luke’s first play, A Place at Forest Lawn has been produced at several regional theatres around the country. It is the recipient of the New Noises Award as well as the Palm Springs International Playwriting Festival. It was developed in workshops in New York and Los Angeles featuring Betty White, Marion Ross, Tony Goldwyn, Marcia Cross, Barbara Rush, Pat Carroll, Frances Sternhagen, John Glover and Millicent Martin.
He has taught and guest directed extensively at colleges, universities and conservatories throughout the U.S. and abroad. He holds an MFA in Playwriting and Screenwriting from UC Riverside. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at Cal State Fullerton and Chapman University. Luke also studied at the Juilliard School of Drama, NYU, Circle in the Square and Northwestern.
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