George S. Kaufman

George S. Kaufman (Original Play, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, 1889-1961) was a playwright, director, producer, and drama critic most noted for his many collaborations with other writers. He co-authored Merton of the Movies and Beggar on Horseback with Marc Connelly; June Moon with Ring Lardner; The Royal Family, Dinner at Eight, and Stage Door with Edna Ferber; a stage adaptation of Marquand’s novel The Late George Apley with John P. Marquand; and The Solid Gold Cadillac with Howard Teichmann. Possibly his most successful collaboration in the non-musical theatre was with Moss Hart, with whom he wrote several popular plays, including Once in a Lifetime, You Can’t Take it with You (1937 Pulitzer Prize in Drama), and The Man Who Came to Dinner; and The Butter and the Egg Man alone. Kaufman also collaborated on several musicals, including The Cocoanuts, written with Irving Berlin for the Marx Brothers; Animal Crackers, also written for the Marx Brothers with Morrie Ryskind, Bert Kalmar, and Harry Ruby; and Of Thee I Sing (1932 Pulitzer Prize for Drama—the first musical to win that award) and Let Em Eat Cake, with Ryskind and George Gershwin. The musical Strike Up the Band was based on the book he wrote alone.