Ernest Thompson was only 28 when he wrote the play he’s perhaps best known for: On Golden Pond, the story of a retired university professor named Norman Thayer who is slowly succumbing to dementia but who agrees, together with his wife, to watch after his young grandson for a summer. Initially wary, the two end up becoming friends as well as family thanks to shared fishing adventures (and misadventures). Despite Norman’s failing health — he suffers a cardiac incident in the course of the play, as well as suffering a slow mental decline — the play ends on a note of hope and grace.

Thompson adapted his play for a movie that’s still renowned today for its casting of Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn. That film won Thompson the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as garnering dual wins for Best Actor and Best Actress for Ford and Hepburn.

Read more “Theater Mirror Talks with Academy Award Winner Ernest Thompson (‘On Golden Pond’) as his Upcoming One-Person Play, ‘Archie Parish’s Parting Words’ Opens”