Tennessee
Unseen Tennessee Williams radio play published in literary magazine
As one of the 20th century’s most successful playwrights, Tennessee Williams penned popular works at the very pinnacle of US theater, including A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Years before his almost unparalleled Broadway triumphs, however, the aspiring writer then known simply as Tom wrote a series of short radio plays as he struggled to find a breakthrough. One is The Strangers, a supernatural tale offering glimpses into the accomplished wordsmith that Williams would become, and published for the first time this week in the literary magazine Strand.
It is a “significant find” according to scholars of Williams’s early days and upbringing in Missouri.
“The play incorporates all the theatrical elements of early radio horror,” said Andrew Gulli, the publication’s managing editor.
“A storm, howling wind, shadows, a house perched over the sea, flickering candles, mysterious footsteps on the stairs, spectral beings … as well as early hints of the themes and devices Williams would return to in his most famous later works: isolation, fear, the shades of gray between imagination and reality, and a house haunted by memory and the private terrors of those who inhabit it.”
The Strangers never made it to Broadway, and is believed to have enjoyed only a single performance on a rural radio station in Iowa as part of a short-lived series called Little Theater of the Air in 1938.
But the script’s dark themes, characters and plot twists provide a fascinating, albeit limited glimpse at the style Williams was honing on his way to the big time with plays exploring repression, desire and loneliness. It was written as part of his coursework at the University of Iowa, where he was studying for an undergraduate English degree.
“It is unusual as a radio play,” said Tom Mitchell, a Williams biographer and expert who was not connected to Strand’s acquisition of the work from the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
“It is significant as a ‘find’ insofar as it is one of the many examples of Williams’s writing that hasn’t been published yet [and] is among a number of stories that fit into the category of weird tales, ghost stories, exotic mysteries, science fiction, time travel, etc.
“It’s a fairly standard scary tale, but it’s fun and spooky, and even more fun when read aloud.”
The plot centers on an elderly couple and their spinster houseguest on a stormy night on the New England coast, where the rotating beam from a nearby lighthouse provides sporadic relief from the darkness and the presence of supernatural beings known as “the strangers”.
A series of distressing events leaves listeners wondering if the beings are “a materialization of the occult, or projections of the characters’ unravelling minds”, according to John Bak, professor of literature at Wits University and the Université de Lorraine, who wrote an analysis of the play for Strand.
At the time he wrote it, Bak said, “Williams was still trying, unsuccessfully, to land work in either federally funded theatre or radio broadcasting, but that failure would prove fortuitous, both for him and for American theater, for Tom Williams was on his way to becoming Tennessee Williams.
“Like many of his early experiments, The Strangers, with its portrayal of isolation, fear, psychological ambiguity, and the possible mental unraveling of its characters, does more than reveal an emerging artist: it foreshadows so many of the themes that would define Tennessee Williams’s most enduring works.”
In 2021, Gulli uncovered another previously unpublished work by Williams, his 1952 short story The Summer Woman, found in archives at Harvard University’s Houghton Library.
By that time Williams, who died in 1983 aged 71, had found success, writing the story eight years after his breakout play The Glass Menagerie, and almost midway between publication of two of his biggest successes, A Streetcar Named Desire in 1947, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955.
Tennessee
A Tennessee woman was heard screaming, ‘he’s got a gun.’ Now her husband is pleading guilty to her murder.
BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. (WSMV) – A 72-year-old man in Pickett County entered a guilty plea to the second-degree murder of his wife Theresa Marie Foutch.
Johnny Ray Foutch was sentenced to 20 years in custody of the Department of Corrections at 100% day for day, said District Attorney Bryant C. Dunaway.
Theresa’s adult sons were consulted about the plea and were supportive of the sentence.
Dunaway said that the incident in question took place on July 13, 2025, at their home in Byrdstown. The Pickett County Sheriff’s Office paid a visit to their home after Johnny’s daughter requested that officers check on the married couple.
When Chief Deputy Steve Wilbur arrived at the home and approached the front of the house, he says he overheard a man and a woman arguing inside.
He said he then heard the female voice yell, “He’s got a gun.” That’s when he says he heard a gunshot.
The deputy took cover outside the home. Moments later, Johnny walked out the front door holding a Sig Sauer handgun.
Wilbur secured Johnny and went into the home, where he found Theresa lying face down in the living room. She appeared to have been shot in the back.
Officers searched the home and said they found a shell casing on the floor of the dining room, just 10 to 15 feet away from Theresa’s body.
Dunaway said that a forensic pathologist who performed an autopsy determined that Theresa’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to her back. The manner of her death, the pathologist said, was homicide.
Copyright 2026 WSMV. All rights reserved.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – The State of Tennessee’s annual sales tax holiday is set to begin at the end of July in 2026.
The holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 31 and runs through Sunday, August 2 at 11:59 p.m.
Certain goods may be purchased tax-free during this weekend event.
“Certain restrictions apply. Items sold online are also eligible. Items must be purchased for personal use, not for business or trade,” the Tennessee Department of Revenue said.
Previously, the state has listed the following items that are and are not tax-free:
Clothing
- Tax-Free: General apparel that costs less than $100 per item. Things like shirts, pants, socks, shoes and dresses.
- Not Tax-Free: Items over $100, jewelry, handbags and sports equipment
School Supplies
- Tax-Free: School supplies that are less than $100 per item. Think backpacks, pencils, notebooks and art supplies.
- Not Tax-Free: School supplies more than $100 each.
Computers
- Tax-Free: Computers less than $1,500. Laptops and tablets as well.
- Not Tax-Free: Storage media like flash drives, printer supplies or household appliances.
Copyright 2026 WSMV. All rights reserved.
The Tennessee Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 6, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from July 6 drawing
17-44-63-66-67, Powerball: 04, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from July 6 drawing
12-16-19-21-23, Star Ball: 10, ASB: 03
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 3 numbers from July 6 drawing
Morning: 1-8-6, Wild: 1
Midday: 3-3-5, Wild: 6
Evening: 7-6-0, Wild: 6
Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 4 numbers from July 6 drawing
Morning: 9-0-5-4, Wild: 7
Midday: 3-8-1-8, Wild: 8
Evening: 0-1-6-3, Wild: 6
Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Daily Tennessee Jackpot numbers from July 6 drawing
04-13-19-25-27
Check Daily Tennessee Jackpot payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Tennessee Cash numbers from July 6 drawing
05-15-17-30-31, Bonus: 04
Check Tennessee Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from July 6 drawing
22-25-27-47-50, Powerball: 21
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 6 drawing
02-08-32-54-56, Bonus: 03
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Tennessee Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.
For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Tennessee Lottery offices. By mail, send a winner claim form, winning lottery ticket, a copy of a government-issued ID and proof of social security number to P.O. Box 290636, Nashville, TN 37229. Prize claims less than $600 do not require a claim form. Please include contact information on prizes claimed by mail in the event we need to contact you.
To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a winner claim form and deliver the form, along with the ticket and government-issued ID and proof of social security number to any of these locations:
Nashville Headquarters & Claim Center: 26 Century Blvd., Nashville, TN 37214, 615-254-4946 in the (615) and (629) area, 901-466-4946 in the (901) area, 865-512-4946 in the (865) area, 423-939-7529 in the (423) area or 1-877-786-7529 (all other areas in Tennessee). Outside Tennessee, dial 615-254-4946. Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Knoxville District Office: Cedar Springs Shopping Center, 9298 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37922, (865) 251-1900. Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $199,999.
Chattanooga District Office: 2020 Gunbarrel Rd., Suite 106, Chattanooga, TN 37421, (423) 308-3610. Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $199,999.
Memphis District Office: Chiles Plaza, 7424 U.S. Highway 64, Suite 104, Memphis, TN 38133, (901) 322-8520. Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes up to $199,999.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://tnlottery.com/.
When are the Tennessee Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10:00 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
- Cash 3, 4: Daily at 9:28 a.m. (Morning) and 12:28 p.m. CT (Midday), except for Sunday. Evening game daily, seven days a week, at 6:28 p.m. CT.
- Daily Tennessee Jackpot: 9:00 p.m. CT daily.
- Tennessee Cash: 10:34 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
- Powerball Double Play: 10:30 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Tennessean editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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