Horton Foote was an award-winning American writer for television, screen and stage who died on March 4, 2009, in Hartford, Connecticut, two weeks before his 93 birthday. His career spanned seven decades, producing a best adapted screenplay oscar for the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird and a best original screenplay oscar for the 1983 film Tender Mercies. He also received a Pulitzer prize for his 1995 play The Young Man from Atlanta.Entertainment Weekly: Remembering Horton Foote (March 4, 2009) At 92, Foote was still busy signing autographs and making appearances when he died in his sleep during an afternoon nap on March 4 after suffering from a brief illness.Courant.com: Playwright Horton Foote Dies In Hartford (March 4, 2009)

Leaving his hometown of Wharton, Texas at age 16, Horton Foote traveled to Dallas with dreams of becoming an actor. Soon after, he headed to Pasadena, California to study acting for two years before leaving for New York City in hopes of becoming a Broadway star. He began working at the American Actors Theater, where he was both an actor and writer.The New York Times: Horton Foote, Chronicler of America in Plays and Film, Dies at 92 (March 4, 2009) However, when the critics spent more time praising his writing skills, he decided to set aside his acting and devote himself to writing full-time. This eventually led to a long and prosperous career as a writer for television, film and plays.Yahoo! Movies: Horton Foote Biography