Bernie McElroy
(1937-1991)
Background and Education:
After receiving his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1971, Professor Bernie McElroy joined the faculty of the Loyola Department of English in 1975, and became a full professor in 1988.
Over the course of his career, he received several prestigious research fellowships, notably one from the National Endowment for the Humanities (1974) and another from the Guggenheim Foundation (1979).
Work in Theatre:
Bernie McElroy believed in performing, rather than merely reading drama, and he himself acted in plays at Loyola and at a local theatre in Evanston.
Hardly surprising for a Shakespearean scholar, he performed some of his most memorable roles in Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing, and the tragedies King Lear, and Macbeth.
Publications and Teaching:
Bernie McElroy's Ph.D. thesis at Cornell University was entitled Macrocosm and Microcosm in Shakespearean Tragedy (1971). His first book, Shakespeare's Mature Tragedies (1973), was published by Princeton University Press, followed by Fiction of the Modern Grotesque (1989) from St. Martin's Press. He was at work on his third book, "Shakespeare's Invention of the Past," at the time of his premature death in December 1991.
Continuing Legacy:
Professor McElroy's dedication to Shakespearean studies continues to inspire his friends, colleagues, students, and others interested in dramaturgy and theatre.
The McElroy Shakespeare Celebration, held annually in Bernie McElroy's honor, fondly commemorates the professor's contributions to scholarship and the performance of Shakespeare's plays.