Lorriane+Hansberry+bio

__Lorriane Hansberry Bio__  Lorraine Hansberry was born in Chicago on May 19, 1930. She was the youngest of four children, two brothers and one sister. Her siblings names were Carl Jr., Perry, and Mamie. Hansberry's mother, Nannie Perry, was a schoolteacher and later a ward committeewoman. Her father was a U.S deputy marshall and later owned a real estate business and her mother was a [|matriarch]. Lorraine grew up with her dad as a role model. He was a leader in civil rights in Chicago and even bought a house for his family in an all white neighborhood. A mob of whites gathered in front of the house and threw a brick through the front window, narrowly missing eight-year-old Lorraine and forcing the family to move out. Lorraine received her education in in half-day schools and from reading. Lorraine attended a mainly white high school, making her an outsider, but she managed to cope. Since she was young Hansberry kept a journal and wrote about whatever caught her attention. She continued to write through high school and received an award by winning a contest with a story about football.  After high school Hansberry attended The University of Wisconsin, a mainly white university, where she studied journalism. During this time period s he developed her interest in drama. In 1950, she moved to New York and enrolled at the New School for Social Research and got a job at // Freedom //magazine. In New York she met Robert Nemiroff, son of progressive Russian Jewish immigrants. The couple married in 1953. During the next three years she wrote short stories, poetry, and plays. In 1956, Hansberry began working on //A Raisin in the Sun//. In 1959, the play opened in Chicago and she moved to New York.  At the age of 34, Hansberry got cancer. She was in and out of hospitals and unable to attent rehearsals of her second play, however she did attend opening night. Hansberry died on January 12, 1965 at the age of 35. Even though some of her works were left unfinished, she had earned her spot in the theater world. Lorraine Hansberry was interested in writing from an young age and was drawn to theatre. She attended the University of Wisconsin in 1948–1950 and then briefly the school of the Art Institute of Chicago and Roosevelt University, also in Chicago. After moving to New York City, she had a few small jobs and went to school at the New School for Social Research while working on her writing skills. In 1958 she raised funds to produce her play //A Raisin in the Sun//, which opened in March 1959 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway, was met with great success. During the last four years of her life, Hansberry worked hard on several plays. //The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window// was produced on Broadway in 1964, but critics weren't as receptive to this play. In 1963, Hansberry was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. //A Raisin in the Sun// was directed by Lloyd Richards, the first African American to direct a play on Broadway since 1907. It received the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. She died on January 12, 1965 at age 34, the same night her play closed.  Lorraine Hansberry was born in Chicago on May 19, 1930. In 1973, Neminoff and Charlotte Zaltzberg adapted Hansberry's first play into a musical, entitled Raisin. Raisin ran on Broadway for nearly three years. Lorraine died at the age of 35. She attended the University of Wisconsin for roughly two years and then briefly the school of the Art Institute of Chicago and Roosevelt University. http://www.biography.com/people/lorraine-hansberry-9327823

**From Mrs. Messers Papers**