Louis Sheaffer

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Louis Sheaffer (born Louis Sheaffer Slung; October 18, 1912 – August 7, 1993) was an American journalist, theater critic, and biographer. He is best known for his biographies of Eugene O’Neill, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize.

Early life and education
- He was born in Louisville, Kentucky.
- He briefly attended the University of North Carolina.

Career
- In 1934, Sheaffer began working for the Brooklyn Eagle as a newspaper journalist.
- He served in the United States Army during World War II and returned to the Eagle in 1946.
- He became the paper’s film critic in 1947 and theater critic in 1949, remaining there until the Eagle closed in 1955.
- After leaving the Eagle, he worked as a press agent at Circle in the Square Theatre for about a year.
- In 1956, he began writing a two-part biography of playwright Eugene O’Neill.
- O’Neill: Son and Playwright (1968)
- O’Neill: Son and Artist (1973)
- The second volume won the 1974 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography and was also nominated for the National Book Award.

Awards and honors
- Guggenheim Fellowships in 1959, 1962, and 1969.
- MacDowell fellowships more than ten times between 1970 and 1988.
- National Book Award nomination in 1974 for O’Neill: Son and Artist.

Death
- Louis Sheaffer died of heart failure at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn on August 7, 1993.