His many Broadway works included Tea and Sympathy, Silent Night, Holy Night, You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running, and I Never Sang For My Father. His last Broadway outing was a pair of one-acts entitled Solitaire/Double Solitaire that ran briefly in 1971.

He also wrote the film and television versions of most of his works, earning an Oscar nomination and WGA Award for I Never Sang For My Father. He also received an Oscar nomination for the screenplay for The Nun's Story and a Golden Globe Award nomination for The Sand Pebbles.