Nancy Hamilton (July 27, 1908 - February 18, 1985) was an American actress, playwright, lyricist, director and producer.

Early life and education

Nancy Hamilton was born in

Sewickley, Pennsylvania Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, west northwest of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River. It is a residential suburb of Pittsburgh. The population was 3,827 according to the 2010 census. The Sewickley Bridge crosses the Ohi ...

on July 27, 1908, daughter of Charles Lee Hamilton and Margaret Miller Marshall. She was educated at Miss Dickinson's School in Sewickley, at the Sorbonne, and received a B.A. from

Smith College Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is the largest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite women's coll ...

in 1930. At Smith, Hamilton was active in the theater and was president of the school's Dramatic Association her senior year. She caused a bit of a scandal at the college with ''And So On'', a topical revue that she wrote and directed. Billy J. Harbin, Kim Marra and Robert A. Schanke, in their book ''The Gay & Lesbian Theatrical Legacy: A Biographical Dictionary of Major Figures in American Stage History in the Pre-Stonewall Era'', wrote "She

amilton Amilton may refer to: *Amilton Prado (born 1979), Peruvian football defender *Amílton (footballer, born 1981), Brazilian football striker *Amilton (footballer, born 1989), Brazilian football right winger *Amilton Filho Amilton Miguel Santana F ...

had received special permission from the president of this women's college to hire men to play in the show's orchestra. On opening night the audience was scandalized when it was discovered that Hamilton had incorporated many of the men into onstage scenes."

Career

After a period of amateur acting and producing in Pittsburgh and Montclair, New Jersey, she moved to New York City in 1932 and leased a large apartment with an assortment of women friends. For a short time, she worked for Stern's Department Store and then for

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

as a spy who checked audience reactions and reported on vaudeville acts. Hamilton's initial venture into New York theater was as the understudy to

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

in ''

The Warrior's Husband ''The Warrior's Husband'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Walter Lang and starring Elissa Landi, David Manners, and Ernest Truex. It tells the story of the Amazons, who ruled over men thanks to the sacred girdle of Diana, and ...

''. She made her Broadway debut in 1934 in ''New Faces'', appearing in the show and writing many of the lyrics. When it closed, she turned to play writing. She collaborated with Rosemary Casey and James Shute on ''Return Engagement'', which was made into the film ''

Fools for Scandal ''Fools for Scandal'' is a 1938 screwball comedy film starring Carole Lombard and Fernand Gravet, featuring Ralph Bellamy, Allen Jenkins, Isabel Jeans, Marie Wilson and Marcia Ralston, and produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. It was written ...

''. During the next two years, Hamilton wrote radio scripts for comic actress

Beatrice Lillie Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Lady Peel (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1989), known as Bea Lillie, was a Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedic performer. She began to perform as a child with her mother and sister. She made her West End theat ...

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

, and Lois Long, and published articles and poems in ''Stage Magazine'' and ''Harper's Bazaar''. She wrote lyrics for three successful Broadway revues (a genre of musical theater that flourished in the 1930s): ''One for The Money'' (1939) ran for 132 performances, ''Two for the Show'' (1940) ran for 124 performances, and ''Three to Make Ready'' (1946) ran for 323 performances. These revues launched the careers of Alfred Drake, Keenan Wynn, Gene Kelley, Betty Hutton, Eve Arden, and Ray Bolger. In her book ''Stormy Weather: The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazzwomen'', Linda Dahl quoted Hamilton as saying "The only way to get a show is to write a show." Dahl added "The revues she wrote, chock-full of talented unknowns who later became stars, pulled in chic New York audiences." Hamilton is perhaps best known as the lyricist for the popular song " How High the Moon." In 1945 she spent six months with the American Theater Wing War Players touring the battle areas of France, Italy, Belgium, and Netherlands. In the mid-1950s, Hamilton produced '' Helen Keller In Her Story'' (also known as ''The Unconquered''), a documentary on the life of Helen Keller, narrated by

Katharine Cornell Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by critic A ...

Personal life

Hamilton was the lifelong partner of actress

Death

Hamilton died in New York City, February 18, 1985, after a long illness.

Awards

In 1955, Hamilton won an

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosoph ...

for '' Helen Keller in Her Story'' (1954), becoming the first woman to win that award. The film was restored by the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

in 2006.

References

External links

Nancy Hamilton Papers, 1927-1972
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 ...

Nancy Hamilton papers
at the

Sophia Smith Collection The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history. General One of the largest recognized repositories of manuscripts, ...

, Smith College Special Collections * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Nancy 1908 births 1985 deaths American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses American women dramatists and playwrights American theatre directors Women theatre directors American lyricists American LGBT actors American LGBT writers LGBT people from Pennsylvania Directors of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners LGBT dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers 20th-century LGBT people