Robert Patrick

Robert Patrick (born Robert Patrick O'Connor; September 27, 1937 – April 23, 2023) was an American playwright, poet, lyricist, short story writer, and novelist. Patrick was a prolific playwright, with more than 300 productions of his plays staged in New York City, including Broadway venues. Early life O'Connor was born in Kilgore, Texas, to migrant workers. Because his parents constantly moved around the southwestern United States looking for work, he never went to one school for a full year until his senior year of high school, in Roswell, New Mexico. Books, film, and radio were the only constants in his early life. His mother made sure he learned to read, and arranged for him to start school a year early. He lacked friendships due to the constant moving, and didn't do well in school. He dropped out of college after two years. He did not experience live theater, beyond a few school productions, until he was working one summer as a dishwasher at the Kennebunkport Playhouse in Kennebunkport, Maine and fell in love with the theater.