Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Charles MacArthur

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Charles Gordon MacArthur
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

(born Nov. 5, 1895, Scranton, Pa., U.S. — died April 21, 1956, New York, N.Y.) U.S. journalist, playwright, and screenwriter. He worked as a reporter in Chicago and New York City (1914 – 26) before collaborating with Edward Shelden on the play Lulu Belle (1926). With Ben Hecht he wrote the Broadway hits The Front Page (1928; film, 1931) and Twentieth Century (1932; film, 1934) and several later plays noted for their graphic, crisp dialogue. Their screenplays included the film adaptations of their own plays and Wuthering Heights (1939), and they wrote and directed movies such as Crime Without Passion (1934), The Scoundrel (1935), and Soak the Rich (1936). He was married to actress Helen Hayes.

For more information on Charles Gordon MacArthur, visit Britannica.com.

Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Writer: Charles MacArthur
Top
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: May 05, 1895 in Scranton, Pennsylvania
  • Died: 1956
  • Occupation: Writer, Director
  • Active: '30s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Comedy Drama
  • Career Highlights: Wuthering Heights, Gunga Din, Twentieth Century
  • First Major Screen Credit: King of Jazz (1930)

Biography

American screenwriter, playwright, and director Charles MacArthur broke into show business as a collaborator of playwright Ben Hecht; together the two wrote many Broadway hits during the early 1930s, including The Front Page and Twentieth Century. Later they began writing screenplays notable for their liveliness and sophistication. In the mid 1930s, they also began co-directing films. MacArthur occasionally wrote his own stories, adaptations, and scripts; sometimes he also collaborated with other writers besides Hecht. His wife was actress Helen Hayes, and his son was actor James MacArthur. In 1957, a year after his death, his partner Hecht wrote his biography, Charlie, as a tribute. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Charles MacArthur
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Charles MacArthur
Born Charles Gordon MacArthur
November 5, 1895(1895-11-05)
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Died April 21, 1956 (aged 60)
New York City, New York
Spouse(s) Helen Hayes (1928-1956)

Charles Gordon MacArthur (November 5, 1895, Scranton, Pennsylvania – April 21, 1956, New York City) was an American playwright and screenwriter. The son of a Baptist minister, he is best known for his plays with Ben Hecht, Ladies and Gentlemen (filmed as Perfect Strangers), Twentieth Century and the frequently filmed The Front Page, which was based in part on MacArthur's experiences at the City News Bureau of Chicago. MacArthur also co-wrote, with Edward Sheldon, a play called Lulu Belle, which was successfully staged in 1926 by David Belasco.

MacArthur was friends with members of the Algonquin Round Table. He shared an apartment with Robert Benchley and briefly dated Dorothy Parker.

His second marriage was to the stage and screen actress, Helen Hayes, from 1928 until his death. They lived in Nyack, New York. They were preceded in death by their daughter, Mary, who died unexpectedly of polio in 1949 at the age of 19. The shock of her death hastened MacArthur's own, according to those who knew him.

Their adopted son, James MacArthur, is also an actor, best known for playing "Danny Williams" on the American television series Hawaii Five-O.

His brother, John D. MacArthur, was an insurance-company owner and executive, and founded the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the benefactor of the "genius awards".

Contents

Film portrayal

MacArthur was portrayed by the actor Matthew Broderick in the 1994 film Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle.[1]

Selected Works

Plays

  • The Front Page (1928), with Ben Hecht, made into the 1931, 1945, and 1974 motion pictures of the same name, the 1940 film His Girl Friday, and the 1988 movie Switching Channels

Screenplays

  • Wuthering Heights (1939)
  • Gunga Din (1939)
  • Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
  • King of Gamblers (1937), aka Czar of the Slot Machines
  • Soak the Rich (1936)
  • Barbary Coast (1935)
  • Once in a Blue Moon (1935)
  • The Unholy Garden (1931)

References

  1. ^ Internet Movie Database entry for Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Writer. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Charles MacArthur".  Read more

Related answers
» More
 
Answer these
» More

Mentioned in

» More» More