George S. Kaufman

Bio

(1889-1961) Dramatist, librettist, playwright and journalist. George S. Kaufman was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was a member of the Algonquin Hotel’s Round Table. As a drama critic for various New York newspapers he was influential in raising the standards of criticism in the theater. He collaborated on more than 40 plays, many of them tremendously successful, which varied in mood from the rowdy farces of his early days to his later more sophisticated comedies. His collaboration with Marc Connelly produced such plays as “Merton of the Movies” (1922) and “Beggar on Horseback” (1924) and was followed by collaborations with Ring Lardner–“June Moon” (1929)–and, with Edna Ferber, “The Royal Family” (1927), “Dinner at Eight” (1932), and “Stage Door” (1936). In 1932, Mr. Kaufman won the Pulitzer Prize for the musical “Of Thee I Sing” (1931), written with Morrie Ryskind, to a score by George Gershwin. Some of his most famous plays were done in collaboration with Moss Hart, notably “Once in a Lifetime” (1930), “Merrily We Roll Along” (1934), “You Can’t Take It With You” (1936; Pulitzer Prize), and “The Man Who Came to Dinner” (1939).