Elliott Nugent (September 20, 1896 – August 9, 1980) was an American actor, playwright, writer, and film director.

Biography

Nugent was born in Dover, Ohio, the son of actor

J.C. Nugent John Charles Nugent (April 6, 1868 – April 21, 1947), was an American actor, director, and screenwriter. A veteran stage performer, he appeared in 20 films between 1929 and 1943. Early life Nugent was born in Niles, Ohio, and attended R ...

. He successfully made the transition from

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

to sound film. He directed '' The Cat and the Canary'' (1939), starring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...

and Paulette Goddard. He also directed the Hope films '' Never Say Die'' (1939) and ''

My Favorite Brunette ''My Favorite Brunette'' is a 1947 American romantic comedy film and film noir parody, directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. Written by Edmund Beloin and Jack Rose, the film is about a baby photographer on deat ...

'' (1947). Nugent was a college classmate (and lifelong friend) of fellow Ohioan

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected ...

. Together, they wrote the Broadway play ''The Male Animal'' (1940) in which Nugent starred with Gene Tierney. He also directed the 1942 film version of '' The Male Animal'', starring

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

and

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...

. Nugent was the brother-in-law of actor Alan Bunce of '' Ethel and Albert'' fame. He died in his sleep at his

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

home.

Partial filmography

* '' Headlines'' (1925) - Roger Hillman * ''

The Single Standard ''The Single Standard'' is a 1929 American romantic drama film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer directed by veteran John S. Robertson and starring Greta Garbo, Nils Asther, and Johnny Mack Brown. This was Greta Garbo's fifteenth film and her second co ...

'' (1929) - Party Boy (uncredited) * '' Wise Girls'' (1929) - Kempy * '' So This Is College'' (1929) - Eddie * '' Not So Dumb'' (1930) - Gordon * ''

The Sins of the Children ''The Sins of the Children'', also known as ''Father's Day'' and ''The Richest Man in the World'', is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film, which was produced and directed by Sam Wood and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Synopsis Adolf Wage ...

'' (1930) - Johnnie Wagenkampf * '' The Unholy Three'' (1930) (also writer, with

) - Hector * '' Romance'' (1930) - Harry * '' For the Love o' Lil'' (1930) - Sandy Jenkins * '' The Virtuous Husband'' (1931) - Daniel Curtis * '' The Last Flight'' (1931) - Francis * '' The Mouthpiece'' (1932, director) * '' Life Begins'' (1932, co-director) * ''

Whistling in the Dark Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The a ...

'' (1933, director) * '' Three-Cornered Moon'' (1933, director) - Stock Broker (uncredited) * '' If I Were Free'' (1933, director) * ''

Two Alone 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

'' (1934, director) * ''

Strictly Dynamite ''Strictly Dynamite'' is a 1934 American pre-Code film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Lupe Vélez and Jimmy Durante. Premise Norman Foster plays a poet whose life changes when he begins writing comedy for Durante and develops an infatu ...

'' (1934, director) - Performer (uncredited) (unbilled) * '' She Loves Me Not'' (1934, director) * '' Enter Madame'' (1935, director) * '' Splendor'' (1935, director) * ''

Wives Never Know ''Wives Never Know'' is a 1936 American black-and-white comedy film directed by Elliott Nugent. Written by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan, Edwin Justus Mayer and Keene Thompson, the film stars Charlie Ruggles, Mary Boland, and Adolphe Menjou, and w ...

'' (1936, director) * ''

It's All Yours ''It's All Yours'' is a 1937 American comedy film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Madeleine Carroll, Francis Lederer and Mischa Auer.Sikov p.218 Cast * Madeleine Carroll as Linda Gray * Francis Lederer as Jimmy Barnes * Mischa Auer a ...

'' (1937) * '' Thunder in the City'' (1937) - Casey (uncredited) * '' Professor Beware'' (1938, director) * '' Give Me a Sailor'' (1938, director) * '' Never Say Die'' (1939, director) * '' The Cat and the Canary'' (1939, director) * '' Nothing But the Truth'' (1941, director) * '' The Male Animal'' (1942, director) * '' The Crystal Ball'' (1943, director) * '' Stage Door Canteen'' (1943) - Himself * ''

Up in Arms ''Up in Arms'' is a 1944 musical film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Danny Kaye and Dinah Shore. It was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1945. Plot Danny Weems works as an elevator operator in a New York Medical building, so he can b ...

'' (1944, director) * ''

'' (1947, director) * ''

Welcome Stranger The Welcome Stranger is the biggest alluvial gold nugget that has ever been found, which had a calculated refined weight of .Potter, Terry F. (1999) ''The Welcome Stranger: a definitive account of the worlds largest alluvial gold nugget''. I ...

'' (1947, director) - Dr. Morton (uncredited) * ''

My Girl Tisa ''My Girl Tisa'' is a 1948 film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Lilli Palmer and Sam Wanamaker. It is based on the play ''Ever the Beginning'' by Lucille S. Prumbs and Sara B. Smith (copyrighted 14 May 1946). Plot In 1905, Tisa Kepes is a ...

'' (1948, director) - Man on Boat (uncredited) * ''

Mr. Belvedere Goes to College ''Mr. Belvedere Goes to College'' is a 1949 American comedy film directed by Elliott Nugent. The screenplay written by Mary Loos, Mary C. McCall, Jr., and Richard Sale was based on characters created by Gwen Davenport. It follows on from '' Sittin ...

'' (1949, director) * ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...

'' (1949, director) * ''

The Skipper Surprised His Wife ''The Skipper Surprised His Wife'' is a 1950 film directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Robert Walker and Joan Leslie. Plot The skipper, Cmdr. William Lattimer ( Robert Walker) whose wife Daphne (Joan Leslie) is incapacitated by a broken leg, ...

'' (1950, director) * '' My Outlaw Brother'' (1951, director) - Ranger Captain (uncredited) * '' Just for You'' (1952, director)

References

External links

* * *
Elliott Nugent papers, 1916-1965
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts 1896 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American male actors People from Dover, Ohio Film directors from Ohio American male film actors 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male stage actors Writers from Ohio Male actors from Ohio {{US-film-actor-1890s-stub