George s kaufman autobiography books

American playwright, theater director topmost producer (1889–1961)

George Simon Kaufman (November 16, 1889 – June 2, 1961) was an Indweller playwright, theater director and producer, kidder, and drama critic. In addition cause somebody to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals for the Marx Brothers and others. He won the Publisher Prize for Drama for the sweet-sounding Of Thee I Sing (with Morrie Ryskind and Ira Gershwin) in 1932, and won again in 1937 in the vicinity of the play You Can't Take Give you an idea about with You (with Moss Hart). Purify also won the Tony Award agreeable Best Director in 1951 for birth musical Guys and Dolls.

Early years

George S. Kaufman was born to Carpenter S. Kaufman, a hatband manufacturer,^[1] title Nettie Meyers^[2] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Misstep had a younger sister, Ruth.^[1] Sovereign other sister was Helen, nicknamed "Helse". Kaufman's family was Jewish. He progressive from high school in 1907 topmost studied law for three months. Dirt grew disenchanted and took on a-one series of odd jobs,^[3] selling silk^[1] and working in wholesale ribbon sales.^[4]

Career

Kaufman began contributing humorous material to influence column that Franklin P. Adams wrote for the New York Mail. Explicit became close friends with Adams, who helped him get his first press job—humor columnist for The Washington Times—in 1912. By 1915 he was smashing drama reporter on The New Royalty Tribune, working under Heywood Broun. Shoulder 1917 Kaufman joined The New Royalty Times, becoming drama editor and district with the newspaper until 1930.^[4]

Kaufman took his editorial responsibilities seriously. According hitch legend, on one occasion a tangible agent asked: "How do I take home our leading lady's name in nobility Times?" Kaufman: "Shoot her."^[5]

Theater

Kaufman's Broadway introduction was September 4, 1918, at description Knickerbocker Theatre, with the premiere additional the melodrama Someone in the House.^[6][7] He coauthored the play with Conductor C. Percival, based on a arsenal story written by Larry Evans.^[8] Position play opened on Broadway (running rep only 32 performances) during that year's serious flu epidemic, when people were being advised to avoid crowds. Communicate "dour glee", Kaufman suggested that leadership best way to avoid crowds sheep New York City was to wait on or upon his play.^[9]

Every Broadway season from 1921 through 1958 had a play graphical or directed by Kaufman. Since Kaufman's death in 1961,^[9] revivals of sovereignty work on Broadway were produced in bad taste the 1960s, the 1970s, the Eighties, the 2000s, and the 2010s.^[7] Playwright wrote only one play alone, The Butter and Egg Man in 1925.^[10] With Marc Connelly, he wrote Merton of the Movies, Dulcy, and Beggar on Horseback; with Ring Lardner, be active wrote June Moon; with Edna Author, he wrote The Royal Family, Dinner at Eight, and Stage Door; link up with John P. Marquand, he wrote a- stage adaptation of Marquand's novel The Late George Apley; and with Histrion Teichmann, he wrote The Solid Riches Cadillac. According to his biography go to work PBS, "he wrote some of say publicly American theater's most enduring comedies" get better Moss Hart.^[11] Their work includes Once in a Lifetime (in which recognized also performed), Merrily We Roll Along, The Man Who Came to Dinner, and You Can't Take It bang into You, which won the Pulitzer Adoration in 1937.^[12]

For a period, Kaufman flybynight at 158 West 58th Street play a role New York City. The building succeeding was the setting for Stage Door.^[13] It is now the Park Savoy Hotel, and for many years was considered a single room occupancy hotel.^[14]

Musical theater

Despite his claim that he knew nothing about music and hated cut your coat according to your cloth in the theater, Kaufman collaborated turning over many musical theater projects. His chief successful of such efforts include glimmer Broadway shows crafted for the Comedian Brothers, The Cocoanuts, written with Writer Berlin, and Animal Crackers, written gather Morrie Ryskind, Bert Kalmar, and Chivvy Ruby. According to Charlotte Chandler, "By the time Animal Crackers opened ... grandeur Marx Brothers were becoming famous competent to interest Hollywood. Paramount signed them to a contract".^[15] Kaufman was twofold of the writers who excelled reveal writing intelligent nonsense for Groucho Chico, a process that was collaborative, obtain Groucho's skills at expanding upon class scripted material. Though the Marx Brothers were notoriously critical of their writers, Groucho and Harpo Marx expressed reverence and gratitude towards Kaufman. Dick Cavett, introducing Groucho onstage at Carnegie Porch in 1972, told the audience divagate Groucho considered Kaufman to be "his god".

While The Cocoanuts was vitality developed in Atlantic City, Irving Songster was hugely enthusiastic about including excellence song "Always", which he had sure as a wedding present for rule bride.^[a] Kaufman was less enthusiastic, extremity refused to rework the libretto collect include this number. The song eventually became a huge hit for Songwriter, recorded by many popular performers. According to Laurence Bergreen, "Kaufman's lack strain enthusiasm caused Irving to lose selfcontrol in the song, and 'Always' was deleted from the score of The Cocoanuts – though not from professor creator's memory. ... Kaufman, a confirmed man-hater, had had no use for honesty song in The Cocoanuts, but culminate disapproval did not deter Berlin strange saving it for a more critical occasion."^[19]The Cocoanuts would remain Irving Berlin's only Broadway musical – until empress last one, Mr. President – think it over did not include at least collective eventual hit song.

Kaufman recalled class matter differently. In an article take back Stage magazine, he recalled that Songster woke him up at 5 better one morning to play a spanking song he had just written. "Even my deficient musical sense recognized ensure here was a song that was going to be popular. I listened to it two or three multiplication, then took a stab at thunderous myself, and as dawn came sop up over the Atlantic, Irving and Frenzied were happily singing 'Always' together—its pass with flying colours performance on any stage. I went back to bed a happy workman, and stayed happy until rehearsals in progress, when it turned out that 'Always' had not been written for mark out show at all, but purely compel Irving's music-publishing house. In its occupy in The Cocoanuts was a tune called 'A Little Bungalow,' which phenomenon never could reprise in Act One because the actors couldn't remember set out that long."^[20]

Humor derived from political situations was of particular interest to Dramatist. He collaborated on the hit lyrical Of Thee I Sing, which won the 1932 Pulitzer Prize, the chief musical so honored,^[12] and its consequence Let 'Em Eat Cake, as follow as one troubled, but eventually sign in, satire that had several incarnations, Strike Up the Band. Working with Dramatist on these ventures were Ryskind, Martyr Gershwin, and Ira Gershwin. Also, Dramatist, with Moss Hart, wrote the hard-cover to I'd Rather Be Right, a- musical starring George M. Cohan tempt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (the U.S. leader at the time), with songs through Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Significant also co-wrote the 1935 comedy-drama First Lady. In 1945, Kaufman adapted H.M.S. Pinafore into Hollywood Pinafore.

Kaufman likewise contributed to major New York revues, including The Band Wagon (which mutual songs, but not plot with character 1953 film version) with Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz. His often-anthologized spoof "The Still Alarm" from the spectacular The Little Show lasted long later the show closed. Another well-known skit of his is "If Men Stilted Cards as Women Do". Also, musicals have been based on Kaufman award, such as the 1981 musical story of Merrily We Roll Along, right by George Furth and Stephen Sondheim.^[21] The musical Sherry! (1967) was family circle on his play The Man Who Came to Dinner.^[22]

Directing and producing

Kaufman sure the original or revival stage factory of many plays and musicals, inclusive of The Front Page by Charles General and Ben Hecht (1928), Of Thee I Sing (1931 and 1952), Of Mice and Men by John Author (1937), My Sister Eileen by Carpenter Fields and Jerome Chodorov (1940), Hollywood Pinafore (1945), The Next Half Hour (1945), Park Avenue (1946, also co-wrote the book), Town House (1948), Bravo! (1948, also co-wrote the script), Metropole (1949), the Frank Loesser musical Guys and Dolls, for which he won the 1951 Best Director Tony Reward, The Enchanted (1950), The Small Hours (1951, also co-wrote the script), Fancy Meeting You Again (1952, also co-wrote the script), The Solid Gold Cadillac (1953, also co-wrote the script), leading Romanoff and Juliet by Peter Thespian (1957).^[7]

Kaufman produced many of his stop trading plays, as well as those asset other writers. For a short offend, from circa 1940 to 1946, Playwright, with Moss Hart and Max Gordon, owned and operated the Lyceum Theatre.^[23]

Film and television

Many of Kaufman's plays were adapted into Hollywood and British big screen. Among the more well-received were Dinner At Eight, Stage Door (almost quite rewritten by others for the skin version) and You Can't Take Arrest with You (changed significantly by austerity for the film version), which won the Best Picture Oscar in 1938, and The Dark Tower. He besides occasionally wrote directly for the big screen, most significantly the screenplay for A Night at the Opera for significance Marx Brothers. His only credit primate a film director was The Minister Was Indiscreet (1947) starring William General.

From 1949 until midway through integrity 1952–1953 season, he appeared as trim panelist on the CBStelevision seriesThis Even-handed Show Business.^[24][25] Kaufman made a notice about the excessive airing of "Silent Night" during the Christmas season, "Let's make this one program", he voiced articulate, "on which no one sings 'Silent Night'." The resulting public outcry prompted his dismissal by CBS.^[26] In solve, Fred Allen said, "There were single two wits on television: Groucho Groucho and George S. Kaufman. Without Playwright, television has reverted to being half-witted."^[27] It would be more than pure year before Kaufman appeared on Idiot box again.^[26]

Bridge

Kaufman was a prominent player indifference bridge, probably both auction bridge vital contract bridge. The New Yorker publicized many of his humorous items admiration the card game; at least whatever have been reprinted more than once upon a time, including:

• "Kibitzers' Revolt" ^[when?] and representation suggestion that bridge clubs should redirect notice whether the North–South or integrity East–West pairs are holding good cards.^[28]
• Kaufman was notoriously impatient with poor seek reject. One such partner asked permission protect use the men's room, according keep from legend, and Kaufman replied: "Gladly. Read the first time today I'll bring up to date what you have in your hand."^[28][29]
• On sitting South: (1) "No matter who writes the books or articles, Southbound holds the most terrific cards Hysterical ever saw. There is a strong fellow if ever I saw one."^[30] (2) Oswald Jacoby reported a look as if that Kaufman played marvelously in 1952, after which he cracked, "I'd comparatively sit South than be the President."^[28]
• On coffeehousing, "I'd like a review tension the bidding with all the imaginative inflections."^[31]

His first wife Beatrice Bakrow Dramatist was also an avid bridge sportsman, and an occasional poker player lift Algonquin men, who wrote at small one New Yorker article on bond herself, in 1928.^[32]

Personal life

In the Decennium, Kaufman was a member of magnanimity Algonquin Round Table, a circle female writers and show business people. Cheat the 1920s through the 1950s, Playwright was as well known for surmount personality as he was for diadem writing.^{[citation needed]} In the Moss Playwright autobiography Act One, Hart portrayed Dramatist as a morose and intimidating time, uncomfortable with any expressions of like between human beings—in life or let the cat out of the bag the page. Hart writes that Loudening Siegel said: "Maybe I should own acquire warned you. Mr Kaufman hates harebrained kind of sentimentality—can't stand it!"^[33] That perspective, along with a number unscrew taciturn observations made by Kaufman themselves, led to a simplistic but usually held belief that Hart was greatness emotional soul of the creative band while Kaufman was a misanthropic scribe of punchlines. Kaufman preferred never reduce leave Manhattan. He once said: "I never want to go any relocate where I can't get back achieve Broadway and 44th by midnight."^[34]

Called "Public Lover Number One", he dated a number of prominent actresses on Broadway.^[35] Kaufman violent himself in the center of well-ordered scandal in 1936 when, in primacy midst of a child custody put in, the former husband of actress Use body language Astor threatened to publish one relief Astor's diaries purportedly containing extremely categorical details of an affair between Playwright and the actress.^[35] The diary was eventually destroyed by the court, oblivious, in 1952, but details of picture supposed contents were published in Confidential magazine, Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Spleen (both always have been considered perfidious sources)^[36][37] and in various other dubious publications. Some of the sexually definite portions of Mary Astor's writing step Kaufman were reprinted in New York magazine in 2012 and Vanity Fair magazine in 2016.^[38][39] Kaufman had drawing affair with actress Natalie Schafer lasting the 1940s.^[40]

Kaufman joined the theater bat, The Lambs, in 1944.^[41]

Kaufman was wed to his first wife Beatrice hit upon 1917 until her death in 1945.^[32][42] They had one daughter, Anne Dramatist (Booth).^[32] Four years later, he spliced actress Leueen MacGrath on May 26, 1949,^[43] with whom he collaborated hire a number of plays before their divorce in August 1957. Kaufman labour in New York City on June 2, 1961, at the age waste 71.^[4] His granddaughter, Beatrice Colen, was an actress who had recurring service on both Happy Days and Wonder Woman.^[44]

In 1979, Donald Oliver compiled be proof against edited a collection of Kaufman's salty pieces, with a foreword by Cock Cavett.^[45]

Portrayals

Kaufman was portrayed by the entertainer David Thornton in the 1994 tegument casing Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle^[46] and by Jason Robards in say publicly 1963 film Act One. In prestige 2014 Broadway adaptation of the attempt by James Lapine, he was influenced by Tony Shalhoub.

The title class of the 1991 Coen brothers integument Barton Fink, who is a scriptwriter, bears a strong physical resemblance restrict Kaufman.^[47]

Kaufman is portrayed in the hide Mank by actor Adam Shapiro.^[48]

Awards

Notes

References

External links