Chester Erskine (November 29, 1905 – April 7, 1986) was an American director, producer, and writer.

Biography

Chester Erskine was born in

Hudson, New York Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the rive ...

and studied for a short time at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His first directing job was ''Harlem'', a 1929 all-black revue. He also directed

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

in the Broadway production of ''

The Last Mile The Last Mile may refer to: * The Last Mile (prison rehabilitation program), a program for inmates in the California corrections system * ''The Last Mile'' (play), a 1930 play by John Wexley * ''The Last Mile'' (1932 film), an American adaptatio ...

'' in 1930. Erskine's likeness was drawn in caricature by

Alex Gard Alex Gard (born Alexei Mikhailovich Kremkov, russian: Алексе́й Миха́йлович Кремко́в; also tr. Kremkoff; June 17, 1898 – June 1, 1948) was a Russian American cartoonist. He was a regular cartoonist for newspapers, mag ...

for

Sardi's Sardi's is a continental restaurant located at 234 West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City. Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927. It is known for the carica ...

, the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

theater district restaurant. The picture is now part of the collection of the New York Public Library.The New York Public Library Inventory of Sardi's Caricatures
/ref> In 1932, he began working in Hollywood, where his best-known work includes the direction of '' The Egg and I'' and the screenplay adaptation of '' All My Sons''. Other films directed by Erskine include the 1949 mystery ''

Take One False Step ''Take One False Step'' is a 1949 American film noir crime film directed by Chester Erskine and starring William Powell and Shelley Winters. Plot Married college professor Andrew Gentling reluctantly agrees to have a drink with Catherine Sykes, ...

'' starring

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters cr ...

and the 1952 comedy '' A Girl in Every Port'' featuring Groucho Marx. Erskine produced a number of films, notably ''

The Wonderful Country ''The Wonderful Country'' (aka ''The Wonderful Country, A Novel'') is a 1952 Western novel written by Tom Lea. The book is set in Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico, and Texas and New Mexico in the United States. It was filmed in 1959. After the ...

'', a 1959 western with

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

. He died in Beverly Hills, California at the age of 80.

References

External links

* *
Chester Erskine papers, 1870-1991 (bulk 1930-1987)
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, Chester 1905 births 1986 deaths American theatre directors American theatre managers and producers American film directors American film producers 20th-century American businesspeople