Since our founding in 1964, dozens of generous donors have provided for the O’Neill through bequests and other estate gifts, which have allowed us to provide a world-renowned haven for new work and new artists. We were recently informed of one such gift from two longtime members of the O’Neill family: Trustees Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who have made provisions for a significant bequest to the O'Neill as part of their estate plans. As a token of our deep gratitude, we have renamed our planned giving program in their honor: The Cowen & Lipman Society.

Ron (NPC '67-'69, '72) and Dan (NPC '72) first came to the O’Neill as playwrights during the formative years of the National Playwrights Conference. Cowen’s first play, Summertree, premiered at the O’Neill in 1967 and was produced the following year at Lincoln Center where it won the Drama Desk Award. After meeting at the O'Neill in 1972 they began a lifelong personal and professional relationship that would result in the creation of numerous plays, the groundbreaking TV series Queer as Folk (U.S.) and Sisters, and their most important work: An Early Frost, which aired on NBC in 1985. It was the first major film to ever address the AIDS epidemic, and won for them the Emmy Award for their teleplay and the Peabody Award. Most recently, they wrote the book for Betty Blue Eyes, which was produced in London’s West End by Sir Cameron Mackintosh and was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Musical.