# Kermit Hunter

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{{Short description|American playwright}}
{{Infobox writer|image=KermitHunter.jpg|occupation=[playwright](/source/playwright)}}

'''Kermit Houston Hunter''' (3 October 1910 – 11 April 2001) was an American [playwright](/source/playwright) known primarily for writing [historical outdoor dramas](/source/Symphonic_outdoor_drama). His many works include two dramas for Cherokee tribes, one for the [Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians](/source/Eastern_Band_of_Cherokee_Indians) in North Carolina and one written for the larger [Cherokee Nation](/source/Cherokee_Nation) of Oklahoma. 
==Early life, education and military service==
Born in [McDowell County](/source/McDowell_County%2C_West_Virginia), [West Virginia](/source/West_Virginia), in 1910, Hunter attended local schools. He started higher education at [Emory & Henry College](/source/Emory_%26_Henry_College) in Emory, Virginia. He transferred to [Ohio State University](/source/Ohio_State_University), where he graduated in 1931. At Ohio State, Hunter was initiated into the Theta Delta chapter of the [Beta Theta Pi](/source/Beta_Theta_Pi) fraternity.<ref>{{cite book|title=Makio|year=1919|publisher=The Ohio State University|location=Columbus|page=171}}</ref> After graduation, he held a number of jobs during the difficult years of the [Great Depression](/source/Great_Depression).

Hunter joined the [U.S. Army](/source/United_States_Army) in 1940. After rising to the [rank](/source/Military_rank) of [lieutenant colonel](/source/Lieutenant_Colonel_(United_States)) during World War II, he was assigned as the assistant chief of staff of the [Caribbean Defense Command](/source/Caribbean_Defense_Command). He was later awarded the [Legion of Merit](/source/Legion_of_Merit).

==Graduate work and academic career==
After [World War II](/source/World_War_II), Hunter left the military and served as the business manager for the [North Carolina Symphony](/source/North_Carolina_Symphony). In 1947, Hunter decided to pursue graduate studies under the [GI Bill](/source/GI_Bill) in the Department of Dramatic Arts at the [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill). While he was enrolled, three of his plays were produced by the [Carolina Playmakers](/source/PlayMakers_Repertory_Company), a dramatic group at the university.

The Cherokee Historical Association was looking for a playwright to write an [historical outdoor drama](/source/Symphonic_outdoor_drama) about their people, to be performed in [Cherokee, North Carolina](/source/Cherokee%2C_North_Carolina), and Hunter won the commission. He wrote ''[Unto These Hills](/source/Unto_These_Hills)'' (1950), which included history of the Cherokee from the early 19th century and illustrious ancestors. The play opened July 1, 1950, and is still produced at the Mountainside Theatre. This facility is owned and operated by the federally recognized [Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians](/source/Eastern_Band_of_Cherokee_Indians) (EBCI).

The [Cherokee Nation](/source/Cherokee_Nation) based in [Tahlequah, Oklahoma](/source/Tahlequah%2C_Oklahoma), the largest tribe, also commissioned Hunter to write a drama. He completed ''The Trail of Tears''. This drama covered their history and especially their [forced removal](/source/Trail_of_Tears) to Oklahoma in 1838, then known as [Indian Territory](/source/Indian_Territory). This play was performed each summer from 1969 through 2005 at the [Cherokee Heritage Center](/source/Cherokee_Heritage_Center) located south of [Tahlequah](/source/Tahlequah%2C_Oklahoma).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/culture/chc-amphitheater-was-something-to-remember/article_97613e34-0d10-51ab-a2ac-78ef08ae07c9.html|publisher=Cherokee Phoenix|title=CHC amphitheater was something to remember|author=D. Sean Rowley|date=September 5, 2020}}</ref>

After completing his master's degree, Hunter continued graduate studies at [Chapel Hill](/source/Chapel_Hill%2C_North_Carolina). He received his Ph.D. in 1955, and started working as a professor of drama at Hollins College (now [Hollins University](/source/Hollins_University)) in [Roanoke, Virginia](/source/Roanoke%2C_Virginia).

In 1964, Hunter became the first [dean](/source/dean_(education)) of the Meadows School of Arts at [Southern Methodist University](/source/Southern_Methodist_University) in [Dallas, Texas](/source/Dallas%2C_Texas). After stepping down as dean in 1976, he served as a writer-in-residence at the university until 1978. He was named as a senior [lecturer](/source/lecturer) at the [University of Texas at Arlington](/source/University_of_Texas_at_Arlington), where he taught until 1993. He died in Dallas on April 11, 2001.

Hunter wrote more than 40 historical dramas, which were performed in communities throughout the [United States](/source/United_States). It became a popular form in the second half of the 20th century, as Americans reflected on their history and widened their interest in groups who were part of that history. Of these, three continue to be produced: ''Unto These Hills'', ''[Horn in the West](/source/Horn_in_the_West)'' in [Boone, North Carolina](/source/Boone%2C_North_Carolina); and ''[Honey in the Rock](/source/Honey_in_the_Rock_(play))'' in [Beckley, West Virginia](/source/Beckley%2C_West_Virginia). In other areas, changing tastes and competition from new media reduced the audiences so that local productions closed.

==Published works==
*''Beyond the Sundown''
*''Brighthope''
*''Chucky Jack''
*''Dust in Her Petticoats''
*''The Eleventh Hour''
*''Forever This Land''
*''The Home Road''
*''Honey in the Rock''
*''Horn in the West''
*''The Liberty Tree''
*''Next Day in the Morning''
*''Stars in My Crown''
*''The Bell and The Plow''
*''The Third Frontier''
*''The Trail of Tears''
*''Unto These Hills''
*''Voice in the Wind''
*''Walk Towards Sunset''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*http://www.theatrewestvirginia.com/honey-in-the-rock.html
*http://www.horninthewest.com
*http://www.untothesehills.com
*http://www.cherokeehistorical.org/

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Kermit}}
Category:1910 births
Category:2001 deaths
Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
Category:20th-century American male writers
Category:American male dramatists and playwrights
Category:Emory & Henry University alumni
Category:Military personnel from McDowell County, West Virginia
Category:Ohio State University alumni
Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Category:United States Army officers
Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Category:Writers from McDowell County, West Virginia

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kermit Hunter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Hunter) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Hunter?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.