Don Peterson

Don Petersen was an American playwright and screenwriter, born in Davenport, Iowa, on August 8, 1927, and remembered above all for Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?. The play opened on Broadway in 1969 and became especially notable for giving Al Pacino his Broadway debut in a role that won a Tony Award.

His writing often turned toward difficult social realities rather than easy sentiment, which helped give his best-known work its lasting reputation. Petersen died on April 25, 1998, but his name remains closely tied to a play that captured a raw, uneasy moment in American theater.

Some sources and editions list the surname as "Peterson," but reliable biographical references for the playwright use Petersen.