Teachout was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, the oldest son of Evelyn Teachout (née Crosno), a secretary, and Herbert H. "Bert" Teachout, a hardware salesman.
(meta data) TITLE: TT: Evelyn Teachout, R.I.P. | About Last Night (meta data) PUBLISHED DATETIME: 2012-05-07T09:00:00-04:00 About Last Night Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City # TT: Evelyn Teachout, R.I.P. May 7, 2012 by Terry Teachout My mother was a high-school beauty queen. A baby-faced brunette with a mind as good as her looks, she was baptized in a river, grew up on a Depression-era farm, and moved to Smalltown, U.S.A., at the end of World War II. In 1947 she married a dashing Army Air Corps vet, bore him two sons, and spent the greater part of the next half-century working for a string of Smalltown accountants. Hers, I suppose, was a nominally uneventful existence, at least when judged by the short-sighted standards of the world. Yet Evelyn Teachout, who died peacefully last night after a long illness, loved her life and made a deep impression on everyone who met her, for she was a quick-witted, thoroughly decent person whose kindness and generosity were self-evident. Not surprisingly, I adored her, in part because she was good without being insipid. She could be blunt, but never cruel, and I never heard her speak a hurtful or thoughtless word, to me or anyone else. As I once wrote in this space, "She showed me how to laugh, admired my achievements, brushed off my failures, assured me whenever necessary that pretty much anything I wanted to do in life would be fine with her, and never left me in the slightest doubt of her love….You can't get much luckier than that." Whenever she came to New York, I did my best to make each trip an adventure. It was in my company that she first saw a painting by Rembrandt and a ballet by George Balanchine. Her increasingly fragile health, alas, meant that these trips were few and far between, so I called her most nights from wherever I happened to be–she liked it when I called her from a cab en route to a Broadway show–and visited her in Smalltown two or three times a year. My guess is that she liked that much better than coming to see me, for she was never drawn to city life. She lived in the same house for a half-century, and the longer she lived there, the more she appreciated it. "She draws strength from that house," my brother told me once. My mother outlived my father by fourteen years. During that time chronic pain (she suffered from debilitating back problems) reduced her to a shadow of the tough, vital woman who raised my brother and me. At length it became clear that her memory was going, too, and a neurologist confirmed what we feared most: dementia was setting in. But she responded immediately and strongly to medication, so much so that she was able to continue living at home, and she made no secret of her hope that she would die before that ceased to be possible. Would that it had been so, but she became grievously ill last summer, and three emergency operations forced her into a nursing home that she never again left for more than a few hours at a time. Fortunately, I was able to visit her more than once while she was still herself, taking the opportunity to tell her repeatedly what she already knew, which was that I loved her with all my heart. So, too, did Mrs. T, who came to know and cherish my mother late in her long life, and to admire the courage with which she faced the cruel illnesses that beset her. As for David and Kathy, my brother and sister-in-law, the selfless and uncomplaining devotion with which they cared for my mother in the last year of her life is more moving–and inspiring–than I can possibly say. They were wholly responsible for the grueling day-to-day task of making sure that she was as comfortable as she could possibly be. Because I live in Manhattan, I was unable to do much more than cheer them on at a distance, flying back to Smalltown as often as I could, which wasn't nearly often enough. Now they will live in the house where David and I grew up, for which I am profoundly grateful. My mother's last public appearance was at the wedding of Lauren Teachout Dukes, her granddaughter and my niece, in October of 2011. Though she needed all her fast-waning strength simply to be there, she left the ceremony knowing that she was greatly loved, not just by her family but by all who knew her. Her life was a blessing. #### Terry Teachout Terry Teachout, who writes this blog, is the drama critic of The Wall Street Journal and the critic-at-large of Commentary. In addition to his Wall Street Journal drama column and his monthly essays … [Read More...] #### About ## About "About Last Night" This is a blog about the arts in New York City and the rest of America, written by Terry Teachout. Terry is a critic, biographer, playwright, director, librettist, recovering musician, and inveterate blogger. In addition to theater, he writes here and elsewhere about all of the other arts--books, … [Read More...] ## About My Plays and Opera Libretti Billy and Me, my second play, received its world premiere on December 8, 2017, at Palm Beach Dramaworks in West Palm Beach, Fla. Satchmo at the Waldorf, my first play, ran earlier this season at New Orleans' Le Petit Theatre. It previously closed off Broadway at the Westside Theatre on June 29, … [Read More...] ## About My Podcast Peter Marks, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and I are the panelists on "Three on the Aisle," a bimonthly podcast from New York about theater in America. … [Read More...] ## About My Books My latest book is Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington, published in 2013 by Gotham Books in the U.S. and the Robson Press in England and now available in paperback. I have also written biographies of Louis Armstrong, George Balanchine, and H.L. Mencken, as well as a volume of my collected essays called A … [Read More...] ## The Long Goodbye To read all three installments of "The Long Goodbye," a multi-part posting about the experience of watching a parent die, go here. … [Read More...] #### @Terryteachout1 Tweets by TerryTeachout1 #### Archives Select Month August 2019 (32) July 2019 (57) June 2019 (51) May 2019 (54) April 2019 (56) March 2019 (52) February 2019 (49) January 2019 (52) December 2018 (37) November 2018 (58) October 2018 (61) September 2018 (51) August 2018 (63) July 2018 (57) June 2018 (54) May 2018 (65) April 2018 (53) March 2018 (54) February 2018 (56) January 2018 (58) December 2017 (60) November 2017 (58) October 2017 (60) September 2017 (52) August 2017 (59) July 2017 (52) June 2017 (67) May 2017 (60) April 2017 (53) March 2017 (64) February 2017 (56) January 2017 (55) December 2016 (56) November 2016 (57) October 2016 (57) September 2016 (56) August 2016 (54) July 2016 (55) June 2016 (59) May 2016 (61) April 2016 (58) March 2016 (57) February 2016 (59) January 2016 (60) December 2015 (69) November 2015 (58) October 2015 (62) September 2015 (59) August 2015 (53) July 2015 (63) June 2015 (66) May 2015 (58) April 2015 (64) March 2015 (62) February 2015 (57) January 2015 (57) December 2014 (64) November 2014 (56) October 2014 (61) September 2014 (63) August 2014 (57) July 2014 (61) June 2014 (63) May 2014 (59) April 2014 (66) March 2014 (61) February 2014 (73) January 2014 (86) December 2013 (65) November 2013 (69) October 2013 (85) September 2013 (61) August 2013 (62) July 2013 (77) June 2013 (49) May 2013 (70) April 2013 (68) March 2013 (58) February 2013 (68) January 2013 (59) December 2012 (58) November 2012 (63) October 2012 (90) September 2012 (55) August 2012 (66) July 2012 (66) June 2012 (62) May 2012 (83) April 2012 (64) March 2012 (69) February 2012 (66) January 2012 (67) December 2011 (59) November 2011 (58) October 2011 (55) September 2011 (68) August 2011 (58) July 2011 (65) June 2011 (61) May 2011 (62) April 2011 (71) March 2011 (69) February 2011 (50) January 2011 (58) December 2010 (76) November 2010 (58) October 2010 (57) September 2010 (63) August 2010 (61) July 2010 (57) June 2010 (56) May 2010 (63) April 2010 (62) March 2010 (67) February 2010 (51) January 2010 (73) December 2009 (84) November 2009 (72) October 2009 (74) September 2009 (62) August 2009 (69) July 2009 (80) June 2009 (73) May 2009 (68) April 2009 (79) March 2009 (68) February 2009 (64) January 2009 (77) December 2008 (68) November 2008 (72) October 2008 (75) September 2008 (61) August 2008 (63) July 2008 (64) June 2008 (66) May 2008 (75) April 2008 (67) March 2008 (67) February 2008 (64) January 2008 (69) December 2007 (75) November 2007 (78) October 2007 (85) September 2007 (72) August 2007 (87) July 2007 (85) June 2007 (58) May 2007 (83) April 2007 (69) March 2007 (58) February 2007 (72) January 2007 (72) December 2006 (76) November 2006 (57) October 2006 (69) September 2006 (61) August 2006 (69) July 2006 (71) June 2006 (71) May 2006 (82) April 2006 (63) March 2006 (63) February 2006 (74) January 2006 (64) December 2005 (75) November 2005 (112) October 2005 (197) September 2005 (188) August 2005 (206) July 2005 (105) June 2005 (92) May 2005 (100) April 2005 (87) March 2005 (85) February 2005 (74) January 2005 (98) December 2004 (83) November 2004 (81) October 2004 (99) September 2004 (94) August 2004 (81) July 2004 (90) June 2004 (71) May 2004 (75) April 2004 (122) March 2004 (144) February 2004 (174) January 2004 (146) December 2003 (140) November 2003 (147) October 2003 (139) September 2003 (104) August 2003 (49) July 2003 (52)
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Terry Teachout
Early life.