Dr. Richard Eugene Jackson was born February 25, 1941 in Helena, Arkansas. In 1968 he began teaching children's theater and creative drama at San Francisco State University. In 1971 he earned his doctorate at Southern Illinois. After his doctorate, he started working at South Alabama, eventually becoming chairman of the Dramatic Arts Department. Many of Jackson's children's plays have been published and produced. Jackson's plays include Cinder-Ella, Little Red Riding Wolf, The Hatfields and the McFangs, Who can Fix the Dragon's Wagon?, and Song of Hiawatha. Jackson frequently judged playwriting and talent contests and held workshops on playwriting and auditioning.