Clifford Odets

Clifford Odets (1906–1963) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and director whose work helped define socially engaged drama in the 1930s. Born in Philadelphia and raised in New York City, he became closely associated with the Group Theatre, first as an actor and then as a playwright. His breakthrough came with the one-act agitprop drama *Waiting for Lefty* (1935), followed by *Awake and Sing!* (1935), which brought working-class family life to the Broadway stage. Odets later worked extensively in Hollywood as a screenwriter and director, while continuing to write for the theatre. He died in Los Angeles.