Want a peek inside William Saroyan’s Fresno home? Tune into this live feed on Thursday

Famed Fresno author William Saroyan would have celebrated his 109th birthday on Thursday. And to help honor this internationally known writer, a group of supporters will go live to reveal plans for converting his central Fresno home into a museum.

Discussion of the project will be live streamed at www.saroyanhouse.com, starting at 1 p.m. As part of the event, visitors will be shown the inside and outside of the stucco home at 2729 Griffith Way. He lived in the home during the last 17 years of his life.

Although not as quaint as the southeast Fresno bungalow at 3204. East El Monte Way where Saroyan spent his teenage years, the home is still significant and was nearly lost to foreclosure.

A Fresno couple rescued the home in 2015 and it was later sold to the Intellectual Renaissance Foundation based in Yerevan, Armenia, the group behind the museum project.

Saroyan’s name is well-known to many, but in case you need a reminder of why he’s famous, here are five quick things to know about him.

▪ 1. Born in Fresno in 1908, Saroyan was a prolific writer, publishing more than 40 books and more than a dozen plays.

▪ 2. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 for his play, “The Time of Your Life.” The play was later made into a movie starring James Cagney.

▪ 3. Saroyan’s novel “The Human Comedy” was made into a movie in 1943, winning the Academy Award for best picture and screenplay.

▪ 4. He and his cousin, Ross Bagdasarian, wrote the lyrics to the No. 1 hit song “Come On-a My House” that was made famous by Rosemary Clooney.

▪ 5. Although he lived in many cities, Saroyan returned to Fresno, where he died in 1981.

This story was originally published August 30, 2017 at 5:56 PM with the headline "Want a peek inside William Saroyan’s Fresno home? Tune into this live feed on Thursday."