Pulitzer Prize Winners

New Rochelle Pulitzer Prize Winners 

As the 2016 Pulitzer Prize Winners were announced this week, we thought it would be an ideal time for a look back on winners who were from New Rochelle.

Robert E. Sherwood

We’ll start with a four-time recipient, Robert Emmet Sherwood. The New Rochelle native won the very first Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1936, for his play, “Idiot’s Delight.” In 1939 he won the prize for “Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” and in 1941 for the drama, “There Shall Be No Night.” As if these prizes weren’t enough, in 1949 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his book, “Roosevelt and Hopkins.”

Herbert Agar

Herbert Agar, who was born in New Rochelle in 1898 and grew up on Premium Point, won the prize for best book on American History in 1933. “The People’s Choice” focused on the first 26 American presidents. A poignant note about the family: his brother Lt. John G. Agar was killed in World War I and his brother William Scott Agar was killed while serving in World War II.

George Oppen

George Oppen, son of George A. and Elsie Rothfield Oppen, was the May 5, 1969, recipient of a Pulitzer in poetry for "Of Being Numerous." Oppen's works appeared regularly in such publications as Nation, The New York­er, Massachusetts Review and Poetry. One of his pieces in Poet­ry was titled "Birthplace: New Rochelle."

Elia Kazan

The 1943 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Skin of Our Teeth, written by Thornton Wilder, was directed by New Rochelle High School graduate Elia Kazan. Born in Turkey to parents of Greek decent, Elia Kazan was four years old when his father, a rug merchant, moved to New York. After in the Greek section of Harlem for a short time, they moved to 731 Webster Avenue in New Rochelle where they lived from 1922 to 1960. Expected to become a rug merchant like his father, he decided instead to pursue his interest in acting and literature. Described as one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history, Kazan was also vilified for his appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1952.

Tad Mosel

Another New Rochelle High School graduate, Tad Mosel, received the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play All the Way Home. A stage adaptation of James Agee's novel A Death in the Family, the play received critical acclaim at its premier at the Belasco Theater in 1960, and was also nominated for a Tony Award.

Clifford J. Levy

A more recent graduate of New Rochelle High School, journalist Clifford J. Levy is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Born in New Rochelle in 1967, Levy became a reporter for the New York bureau of United Press International, New York after attending Princeton University. He joined the New York Times in 1990, and became a special projects reporter for the Times' Metro desk in 2000. His first Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting was awarded in 2003 for his 2002 series, "Broken Homes," on the abuse of mentally ill adults in state-regulated homes. While serving as the Moscow bureau chief for the Times, he and Ellen Barry won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in the category of International Reporting in Moscow. The jury awarded their "dogged reporting that put a human face on the faltering justice system in Russia, remarkably influencing the discussion inside the country."

Phyllis McGinley

The first time a poetry Pulitzer was awarded for light verse, the prize went to Phyllis McGinley for "Times Three: Selected Verse From Three Decades." In 1961 the poet, children's book author and essayist had gained fame for her on-target views of suburban and somewhat-urban life. The Oregon­ born McGinley wrote "Lucy Mc­ Lockett," "The Year Without a Santa Claus" and other beloved juvenile books after she attended West Coast universities and moved to Manhattan. "Sixpence in Her Shoe" and the "Province of the Heart" were among her amusingly insightful essays that appeared in The New Yorker, the Woman's Home Companion and other leading mag­azines. Her long career began while she was teaching English at New Rochelle High School and living in Larchmont. Two years before her death, in 1978, McGinley's wry humor shaped the 70th birthday poem she penned to herself: "Seventy is wormwood, seventy is gall, but it is better to be 70, than not alive at all."

News correspondent Russell Owens, who resided at 17 Lee Court, won a Pulitzer for his coverage of the first Byrd Antarctic expedition, 1929-1930.

William Schuman

Last in this illustrious list, but certainly not least! William H. Schuman, who won the first Pulitzer for music in 1943, while teaching composition at Sarah Lawrence College. His piece, “A Free Song,” was adapted from poems by Walt Whitman... Soon after, and, he moved to his grand home on Elk Avenue and, in 1945, became the president of the Julliard School. While there, he founded the Juilliard String Quartet. From 1961 – 1969 he served as the first president of Lincoln Center. In 1985 he won a special Pulitzer Prize for "more than half a century of contribution to American music as composer and educational leader. He also received the National Medal of Arts in 1987. 

Have we missed anyone? Please let us know!