Frederick Hugh Herbert

Herbert, F[rederick] Hugh (1898?–1958), playwright. Born in Vienna, but raised in England, he studied at London's Royal School of Mines with the intention of becoming an engineer. However, wounded in World War I, he elected to take a position in the advertising office of a London department store before coming to America to write for films. His first stage play, Quiet Please (1940), written with Hans Kraly, satirized Hollywood morals and had a short run, but his first solo effort, the comedy Kiss and Tell (1943), was a hit. Herbert's subsequent works included For Keeps (1944), For Love or Money (1947), the book for the musical Out of This World (1950), and his biggest hit, The Moon Is Blue (1951). A subsequent comedy, A Girl Can Tell (1953), failed, as did his adaptation of an Italian play, The Best House in Naples (1956).