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Charles Gordon MacArthur (November 5, 1895 – April 21, 1956) was an American
playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...
,
screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
, and 1935 winner of the Academy Award for Best Story.


Life and career

MacArthur was born in
Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
, the sixth of seven children of stern evangelist William Telfer MacArthur and Georgiana Welsted MacArthur. Early in life, MacArthur developed a passion for reading. Declining to follow his father into ministry, he moved to the
Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
and soon became a successful reporter in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, working for the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' and '' Chicago Daily News''. MacArthur joined the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
for
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, and served in France as a private assigned to Battery F, 149th Field Artillery, a unit of the 42nd Division, The Rainbow Division. He recounted his wartime experience in 1919's ''A Bug's-Eye View of the War''. After the war, he wrote several short stories, two of which, "Hang It All" (1921) and "Rope" (1923), were published in H. L. Mencken's ''
The Smart Set ''The Smart Set'' was an American monthly literary magazine, founded by Colonel William d'Alton Mann and published from March 1900 to June 1930. Its headquarters was in New York City. During its Jazz Age heyday under the editorship of H. L. Men ...
'' magazine. Eventually he settled in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where he turned to playwriting. MacArthur is best known for his plays in collaboration with
Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...
, '' Ladies and Gentlemen'' (filmed as '' Perfect Strangers''), '' Twentieth Century'' and the frequently filmed '' The Front Page'', which was based in part on MacArthur's experiences at the
City News Bureau of Chicago City News Bureau of Chicago (CNB), or City Press (1890–2005), was a news bureau that served as one of the first cooperative news agencies in the United States. It was founded in 1890 by the newspapers of Chicago to provide a common source ...
. MacArthur also co-wrote, with Edward Sheldon, the play ''Lulu Belle'', which was staged in 1926 by David Belasco. MacArthur was friends with members of the
Algonquin Round Table The Algonquin Round Table was a group of New York City writers, critics, actors, and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle", as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel ...
, shared an apartment with
Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist, newspaper columnist and actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, through his many years writing essays ...
and had an affair with
Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet and writer of fiction, plays and screenplays based in New York; she was known for her caustic wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. Parker ros ...
. His second marriage was to the stage and screen actress
Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...
, from 1928 until his death. They lived in Nyack, New York. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Mary, who died of polio in 1949 at age 19. The shock of her death hastened MacArthur's own, according to those who knew him. Their adopted son, James MacArthur, was also an actor, best known for playing Danny "Danno" Williams on the American
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
series '' Hawaii Five-O''. His brother, John D. MacArthur, was an insurance-company owner and executive, and founded the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the benefactor of the MacArthur Fellowships.


Awards and nominations

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for Best Writing, Original Story - '' The Scoundrel'' (shared with
Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...
) (1936) * Nominations: ** Best Writing, Screenplay - ''
Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is the only novel by the English author Emily Brontë, initially published in 1847 under her pen name "Ellis Bell". It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the ...
'' (shared with
Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...
) in 1940 ** Best Writing, Original Story - '' Rasputin and the Empress'' in 1934 In 1983, MacArthur was posthumously inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.


Film portrayal

MacArthur was portrayed by
Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in ''WarGames'' (1983) as a teen government hacker, and ''Ladyhawke (film), Ladyhawke'' (1985), a medieval fantasy alongside Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. He play ...
in the 1994 film '' Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle''.


Selected works


Plays

* ''Swan Song'' (1946), (with
Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...
) * '' Ladies and Gentlemen'' (1939), (with
Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...
), made into the 1950 film '' Perfect Strangers'' * ''Johnny on a Spot'' * ''Jumbo'', (with
Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...
), made into the 1935 musical play ''
Jumbo Jumbo (December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and then tr ...
'' and the 1962 film musical '' Billy Rose's Jumbo'' * '' Twentieth Century'' (with
Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...
), made into the 1934 film '' Twentieth Century'' * ''The Front Page'' (1928), with
Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...
, made into the 1931, 1945, and 1974 motion pictures of the same name, the 1940 film '' His Girl Friday'', and the 1988 movie '' Switching Channels'' * '' Lulu Belle'' (1926), (with Edward Sheldon)


Screenplays

* ''
Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is the only novel by the English author Emily Brontë, initially published in 1847 under her pen name "Ellis Bell". It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the ...
'' (1939) * '' Gunga Din'' (1939) * '' Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938) (uncredited) * ''King of Gamblers'' (1937), aka ''Czar of the Slot Machines'' (uncredited) * '' Soak the Rich'' (1936) * '' The Scoundrel'' (1935) * ''
Barbary Coast The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery, or Berber Coast) were the coastal regions of central and western North Africa, more specifically, the Maghreb and the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, a ...
'' (1935) * '' Once in a Blue Moon'' (1935) * '' Crime Without Passion'' (1934) (also directed by him and
Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...
) *'' Topaze'' (1933) * '' Freaks'' (1932) (uncredited) * '' Rasputin and the Empress'' (1932) * '' The Unholy Garden'' (1931) * '' Quick Millions'' (1931) (uncredited) * '' Hell Divers'' (1931) * ''
New Adventures of Get Rich Quick Wallingford ''New Adventures of Get Rich Quick Wallingford'' is a 1931 American pre-Code crime / romantic comedy film directed by Sam Wood and starring William Haines as a con artist and Jimmy Durante as his pickpocket buddy. The film is based on a serie ...
'' (1931) * '' The Sin of Madelon Claudet'' (1931) * '' Paid'' (1930) * '' Way for a Sailor'' (1930) * '' King of Jazz'' (1930) (uncredited) * '' Billy the Kid'' (1930) * '' The Girl Said No'' (1930)


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macarthur, Charles 1895 births 1956 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
Writers from Chicago Writers from New York City Writers from Scranton, Pennsylvania Best Story Academy Award winners People from Nyack, New York American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Illinois Screenwriters from Pennsylvania Baptists from New York (state) Baptists from Pennsylvania Chicago Tribune people 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century Baptists Algonquin Round Table United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army soldiers