Kaufman, George S.

Kaufman, George S.

(kôf`mən), 1889–1961, American dramatist and journalist, b. Pittsburgh as George Kaufman. 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 ConnellyConnelly, Marc
(Marcus Cook Connelly) , 1890–1981, American dramatist, b. McKeesport, Pa. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning play The Green Pastures
..... Click the link for more information.  produced such plays as Merton of the Movies (1922) and Beggar on Horseback (1924) and was followed by collaborations with Ring LardnerLardner, Ring
(Ringgold Wilmer Lardner), 1885–1933, American humorist and short-story writer, b. Niles, Mich. He was a sports reporter in Chicago, St. Louis, and Boston from 1907 to 1919.
..... Click the link for more information. —June Moon (1929)—and Edna FerberFerber, Edna,
1887–1968, American author, b. Kalamazoo, Mich. Her novels portray the lives of a wide variety of Americans in a vigorous, colorful, and panoramic fashion.
..... Click the link for more information. —The Royal Family (1927), Dinner at Eight (1932), and Stage Door (1936). In 1932, Kaufman won the Pulitzer Prize for the musical Of Thee I Sing (1931), written with Morrie Ryskind, to a score by George GershwinGershwin, George
, 1898–1937, American composer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Jacob Gershwin. Gershwin wrote some of the most original and popular musical works produced in the United States.
..... Click the link for more information. . Some of his most famous plays, containing some of his best wisecracking wit, were done in collaboration with Moss HartHart, Moss,
1904–61, American dramatist, b. New York City, studied at Columbia. His first important play, Once in a Lifetime (1930), marked the beginning of a long collaboration with George S. Kaufman.
..... Click the link for more information. , 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). Among his later works are The Late George Apley (with J. P. Marquand, 1944) and The Solid Gold Cadillac (with Howard Teichmann, 1954). Kaufman directed several successful plays including The Front Page (1928), My Sister Eileen (1940), and Guys and Dolls (1950).

Bibliography

See Kaufman & Co.: Broadway Comedies (2004); biographies by S. Meredith (1974) and R. G. Pollack (1988).

Kaufman, George S. (Simon)

(1889–1961) playwright, director; born in Pittsburgh, Pa. After brief periods studying law and as a salesman, he began to contribute humorous material to newspapers; by 1915 he was writing for the theater section of the New York Tribune, moving to the New York Times (1917–30). His first successful play, Dulcy (1921), was in collaboration with Marc Connelly, and during the next 35 years he enjoyed almost unparalleled success, writing a string of sophisticated satires of contemporary life for the stage and movies in collaboration with others—Marc Connelly, Edna Ferber, Ring Lardner, Moss Hart, Alexander Woolcott, Robert Sherwood; his only success by himself was The Butter and Egg Man (1925). After 1928 he staged most of his own plays, and although Hollywood constantly beckoned, he was never really comfortable there. With Morris Ryskind he wrote one of the most successful Marx Brothers scripts, A Night at the Opera (1935). He shared two Pulitzers—with Ryskind, for the book to the musical, Of Thee I Sing (1931), and with Moss Hart for the play, You Can't Take It With You (1936).