Dylan Thomas has proved to be very influential, especially on The Beat Generation that came after him, and those who were in turn influenced by them. References to his works crop up all over the place...
Comic Books
- Preacher: Cassidy, an Irish-born vampire who's spent the last seventy years or so in New York, claims to have hung out with Dylan Thomas the night he died. Notably, he accurately points out that, rather than dying in the White Horse, Thomas collapsed on the sidewalk outside it.
Films
- The President in Independence Day misquotes from "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" during his rousing speech as he prepares to lead the attack against the alien invaders.President: We will not go quietly into the night!
- In Solaris, Chris Kelvin (George Clooney) reads the first stanza of "And Death Shall Have No Dominion".
Literature
- Llamedos, the Wales Expy in Terry Pratchett's Discworld, is so named in homage to Llareggub in Under Milk Wood.
Live Action TV
- In the Doctor Who episode "The Shakespeare Code", the Tenth Doctor quotes the line "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (from "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night") to William Shakespeare, who likes it.
- In the Mad Men episode "Out of Town", Ken Cosgrove partly quotes from "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" when referring to a colleague who has been fired.
Music
- An American musician by the name of Robert Zimmerman was so inspired by him that he adopted a new surname in homage to him.
- The album Jazz Suite Inspired by Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood" (1965) by The Stan Tracey Quartet was, as the title suggests, inspired by Under Milk Wood.
- Simon & Garfunkel's 1966 song "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)" includes the following lines:He's so unhip that when you say Dylan,
He thinks you're talking about Dylan Thomas,
Whoever he was. - He can be found somewhere on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
- Ray Davies has stated that The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society was inspired by Under Milk Wood.
- "Sunset Poem", better known as the Reverend Eli Jenkins' evening prayer from Under Milk Wood, has been set to music and sung by Bryn Terfel, who included it in his album We'll Keep a Welcome.
- The Manic Street Preachers's album Resistance is Futile has a track called "Dylan and Caitlin" which is about the Dylan Thomas's relationship with his wife, Caitlin Macnamara.
Western Animation
- Some of the storylines of Ivor the Engine drew heavily on, and were influenced by, the works of Thomas.
- In the Family Guy episode "Fore Father", an ill Stewie Griffin tells himself:Fight it Stewie, fight it. "Do not go gentle into that good night", to quote Bob Dylan. Wait, no, wait, Dylan Thomas.
