Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright and director of plays and musical theater. Hart recalled his youth, early career and rise to fame in his autobiography, Act One, adapted to film in 1963, with George Hamilton portraying Hart. October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Template:Unsourced A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is someone who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... A theatre director is a principal in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a play by unifying various endeavors and aspects of production. ... Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theatre combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ...

Biography

As a young boy he grew up at 74 East 105th Street in Manhattan, “a neighborhood not of carriages and hansom cabs, but of dray wagons, pushcarts, and immigrants” (Bach 1). Early on he had a strong relationship with his Aunt Kate, whom he later lost contact with because of a falling out between her and his parents, and her weakening mental state. She got him interested in the theater and took him to see performances often. Hart even went so far as to create an "alternate ending" to her life in his book Act One. He writes that she died while he was working on out-of-town tryouts for The Beloved Bandit. Later, Kate became quite eccentric, vandalizing Hart's home, writing threatening letters and setting fires backstage during rehearsals for Jubilee. But his relationship with Kate was life-forming. He understood that the theater made possible "the art of being somebody else… not a scrawny boy with bad teeth, a funny name… and a mother who was a distant drudge." (Bach 13). Manhattan is a borough of New York City, USA, coterminous with New York County. ... Jubilee is a theatre musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Moss Hart. ...

After working several years as a director of amateur theatrical groups and an entertainment director at summer resorts, he scored his first Broadway hit with Once In A Lifetime (1930), a farce about the arrival of the sound era in Hollywood. The play was written in collaboration with Broadway veteran George S. Kaufman, who regularly wrote with others, notably Marc Connelly and Edna Ferber. During the next decade, Kaufman and Hart teamed on a string of successes, including You Can't Take It With You (1936) and The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939). Though Kaufman had hits with others, Hart is generally conceded to be his most important collaborator. Once in a Lifetime is a song by Talking Heads, off their album Remain in Light. ... George Simon Kaufman (November 16, 1889 - June 2, 1961) was an American playwright, director, producer, humorist, and drama critic noted for his many collaborations with other writers and his contributions to 20th century American comedy. ... Marc Connelly photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1937 Marcus Cook Connelly (December 13, 1890 - December 21, 1980) was a member of the Algonquin roundtable and composed several musicals with playwright George S. Kaufman: 1921 Dulcy 1922 Merton of the Movies 1925 Beggar on Horseback Categories: 1890 births | 1980 deaths ... Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 - April 16, 1968), Jewish-American novelist, author, and playwright. ... You Cant Take It with You is a 1938 Academy Award winning film directed by Frank Capra. ... The Man Who Came to Dinner, comedy in three acts written by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart that debuted on October 16, 1939 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. ...

You Can't Take It With You, the story of an eccentric family and how they live during the Depression, won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for drama. It is Hart's most-revived play. When director Frank Capra and writer Robert Riskin adapted it for the screen in 1938, the film won the Best Picture Oscar and Capra won for Best Director. This article is about the film director. ... Robert Riskin (March 30, 1897–September 20, 1955) was an American screenwriter and playwright, best known for his collaborations with director-producer Frank Capra. ...

The Man Who Came To Dinner is about the caustic Sheridan Whiteside who, after injuring himself slipping on ice, must stay in a Midwestern family's house. The character was based on Kaufman and Hart's friend, critic Alexander Woollcott. Other characters in the play are based on Noel Coward and Harpo Marx. The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... Alexander Woollcott, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was a critic and commentator for The New Yorker magazine, and a member of the Algonquin Round Table. ... Noel Coward Sir Noel Peirce Coward (December 16, 1899 – March 26, 1973) was an English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. ... Adolph Arthur Marx, popularly known as Harpo Marx, (November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was one of the Marx Brothers, a group of Vaudeville entertainers who later achieved fame as comedians in the Motion Picture industry. ...

After George Washington Slept Here (1940), Kaufman and Hart called it quits. Hart had decided it was time to move on. Throughout the 1930s, Hart also worked, with and without Kaufman, on several musicals and revues, including Face the Music (1932), As Thousands Cheer (1933), with songs by Irving Berlin, Jubilee (musical) (1935), with songs by Cole Porter and I'd Rather Be Right (1937), with songs by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Face the Music was a 1932 Broadway musical revue. ... As Thousands Cheer is a Broadway revue that opened September 30, 1933, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and book by Moss Hart. ... Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was an American composer and lyricist, one of the most prodigious and famous American songwriters in history. ... Jubilee is a theatre musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Moss Hart. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter from Indiana. ... Id Rather Be Right is a 1937 Moss Hart and George Kaufman musical play about Franklin Roosevelt, with George M. Cohan, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. ... For more on his work with his two partners, see Rodgers and Hart and Rodgers and Hammerstein. ... Lorenz (Larry) Hart (May 2, 1895 - November 22, 1943) was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. ...

Hart continued to write plays after parting with Kaufman, such as Christopher Blake (1946) and Light Up The Sky (1948), as well as the book for the musical Lady In The Dark (1941), with songs by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin. However, he became best known during this period as a director. Light Up The Sky is a song from American Rock band Van Halens 1979 album Van Halen II. Although it was never released as a single and only ever featured on the II: World Vacation tour drummer Alex Van Halen tried to persuade both his bandmates and record label... Lady in the Dark was a Broadway musical written by Kurt Weill (music), Ira Gershwin (lyrics), and Moss Hart (book and direction). ... Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950), born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York City, was a German and in his later years, a German-American composer active from the 1920s until his death. ... Ira Gershwin (6 December 1896 – 17 August 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century. ...

Among the Broadway hits he staged were Junior Miss (1941), Dear Ruth (1944) and Anniversary Waltz (1954). By far his biggest hit was the musical My Fair Lady (1956), adapted from George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The show ran over seven years and won a Tony Award for Best Musical. Hart picked up the Tony for Best Director. My Fair Lady is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, based on George Bernard Shaws Pygmalion. ... George Bernard Shaw (born 26 July 1856, Dublin, Ireland died November 2, 1950, Hertfordshire, England) was an Irish writer. ... Play cover, depicting Mrs Campbell as Eliza Pygmalion (1913) is a play by George Bernard Shaw based on Ovids tale of Pygmalion. ... Alan Jay Lerner (August 31, 1918 – June 14, 1986) was an American Broadway lyricist and librettist. ... Frederic Loewe, an Austrian-American composer (June 10, 1901 - February 14, 1988) worked with lyricist Alan J. Lerner in musical theater. ...

Occasionally, Hart wrote screenplays, including Gentleman's Agreement (1947) — for which he received an Oscar nomination—Hans Christian Andersen (1952) and A Star Is Born (1954). Gentlemans Agreement is a 1947 film about a journalist (played by Gregory Peck) who falsely represents himself as a Jew to research anti-semitism in the affluent community of Darien, Connecticut. ... Hans Christian Andersen is a 1952 Hollywood musical film, with words and music by Frank Loesser. ... A Star Is Born is a 1954 musical remake of the original 1937 film, directed by George Cukor and starring Judy Garland and James Mason. ...

Hart also wrote a best-selling book, Act One: An Autobiography, which came out in 1959. It tells of his early days, culminating in the opening of Once In A Lifetime. Once in a Lifetime is a song by Talking Heads, off their album Remain in Light. ...

The last show Hart directed was the Lerner and Loewe musical Camelot (1960). During a troubled out-of-town tryout, Hart had a heart attack. The show opened before he fully recovered, but he and Lerner reworked it after the opening. That, along with huge pre-sales and a cast performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, helped ensure the expensive production was a hit. The 1960 Original Broadway cast recording album cover Camelot is a 1960 musical play by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederic Loewe (music). ... Ed Sullivan The Ed Sullivan Show is an American television variety show that ran from June 20, 1948 to June 6, 1971, and was hosted by former entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. ...

Moss Hart died of heart failure at age 57 on December 20, 1961 and was interred in a crypt at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Alan Jay Lerner gave tribute to Hart in his memoir The Street Where I Live. December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Founded in 1903, the non-sectarian Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located on Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, Westchester County, New York, about 25 miles north of New York City. ... Hartsdale is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York. ... NY redirects here. ... Alan Jay Lerner (August 31, 1918 – June 14, 1986) was an American Broadway lyricist and librettist. ...

Sexuality

Hart married Kitty Carlisle in 1946, and they had two biological children. Nonetheless, the longtime bachelor was thought to be homosexual by many of his own friends and reportedly spent much time in therapy regarding his attraction to men. (Carlisle reportedly did ask him if he was gay before they married and he responded that he was not.) Kitty Carlisle in Die Fledermaus, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1933 Kitty Carlisle Hart (b. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ...

In his screenplay for the 1952 film Hans Christian Andersen, Hart wrote the following line for bisexual actor Danny Kaye (playing the title character): "You'd be surprised how many kings are only a queen with a moustache." The movie Hans Christian Andersen (1952) is a fictionalised, romanticised story revolving around the life of the Danish poet and story-teller Hans Christian Andersen. ... In human sexuality, bisexuality describes a man or woman having a sexual orientation to persons of either or both sexes (a man or woman who sexually likes both sexes; people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to both males and females). ... Kaye entertaining U.S. troops at Sasebo, Japan, 25 Oct 1945 David Daniel Kaminsky, known as Danny Kaye (January 18, 1913 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, singer and comedian. ...

Selected list of works

George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart plays

• 1930 Once in a Lifetime
• 1934 Merrily We Roll Along
• 1936 You Can't Take It With You (won a Pulitzer Prize)
• 1937 I'd Rather Be Right
• 1939 The Man Who Came to Dinner
• 1940 George Washington Slept Here

Merrily We Roll Along is a play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, and a musical loosely based on it by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth. ... You Cant Take It with You is a 1938 Academy Award winning film directed by Frank Capra. ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ... Id Rather Be Right is a 1937 Moss Hart and George Kaufman musical play about Franklin Roosevelt, with George M. Cohan, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. ... The Man Who Came to Dinner, comedy in three acts written by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart that debuted on October 16, 1939 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. ...

Other plays by Hart

• 1941 Lady in the Dark, with Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin
• 1943 Winged Victory
• 1948 Light Up the Sky

Lady in the Dark was a Broadway musical written by Kurt Weill (music), Ira Gershwin (lyrics), and Moss Hart (book and direction). ... Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900 – April 3, 1950), born in Dessau, Germany and died in New York City, was a German and in his later years, a German-American composer active from the 1920s until his death. ... Ira Gershwin (6 December 1896 – 17 August 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century. ...

Screenplays by Hart

• 1947 Gentleman's Agreement
• 1952 Hans Christian Andersen
• 1954 A Star Is Born

Gentlemans Agreement is a 1947 film about a journalist (played by Gregory Peck) who falsely represents himself as a Jew to research anti-semitism in the affluent community of Darien, Connecticut. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A Star Is Born is a 1954 musical remake of the original 1937 film, directed by George Cukor and starring Judy Garland and James Mason. ...

External links

• Steven Bach's Dazzler: The LIfe and Times of Moss Hart (full text of first chapter)
• Internet Broadway Database3: Moss Hart

References

• Bach, Steven (2001). Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart. Random House Inc. ISBN 0-679-44154-9.