Dwight Oliver Taylor (January 1, 1903 – December 31, 1986) was an American author, playwright, and film/television screenwriter.

Background

Dwight Taylor was the son of actress Laurette Taylor and her husband, Charles A. Taylor. Dwight Taylor attended

Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a Private school, private, coeducational College-preparatory school, preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Local government in New Jersey, unincorporated community of Lawrenceville, New Jers ...

in Lawrence Township, New Jersey where he began drawing and painting and wrote a book of poetry. After refusing an opportunity to work as a cub

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

for '' The New York World'', he began his career as a journalist for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' magazine, serving as one of the first editors for their "Talk of the Town". He began screenwriting for

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

films in 1930 and for television in 1953. His first produced play was '' Don't Tell George'' (1928). Other plays included such as ''

Lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetics, cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick ...

'' and '' Gay Divorce''. Taylor's first screenplay was ''Jailbreak''.

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

bought the project in 1929 while it was still in manuscript form and had Alfred A. Cohn and Henry McCarty adapt it to become the 1930 film '' Numbered Men'' starring

Conrad Nagel John Conrad Nagel (March 16, 1897 – February 24, 1970) was an American film, stage, television and radio actor. He was considered a famous matinée idol and leading man of the 1920s and 1930s. He was given an Honorary Academy Award in 1940, a ...

and Bernice Claire. '' Gay Divorce'' was adapted into a Broadway musical by Cole Porter. In 1934,

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

, which renamed it ''

The Gay Divorcee ''The Gay Divorcee'' is a 1934 American Musical film, musical romantic comedy film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. It also features Alice Brady, Edward Everett Horton, Erik Rhodes (actor, born 1906), Erik ...

'' to appease the censors, filmed it with

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

and

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

. He was a founding member, and had served one term as president, of the

Writers Guild of America, West The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 m ...

Death

On December 31, 1986, one day before his 84th birthday, Dwight Taylor died of a heart attack at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...

where he had resided since 1981, thus achieving a rare feat of being born on New Year's Day and dying on New Year's Eve. He had been widowed three months earlier by his second wife, former Hollywood costume designer Natalie Visart (born Natalie Visart Schenkelberg; 1910–1986), with whom he had a daughter, Laurel. His first wife was Marigold Lockhart Taylor (née Langworthy; born July 22, 1901 – died 1951?), whom he married on May 25, 1929, and by whom he had three children (Andrew, Audrey, and Jeffrey).

Filmography

Film

* '' Numbered Men'' (1930) * '' Secrets of a Secretary'' (1931) * ''Are You Listening?'' (1932) * '' If I Were Free'' (1933) * '' Today We Live'' (1933) * '' Lady by Choice'' (1934) * ''

'' (1934) * ''

Stingaree The Stingaree was a neighborhood in downtown San Diego from the boom of the 1880s until it was demolished during a vice eradication campaign of 1916. It was the site of the city's Chinatown.Elizabeth Perl (Spring, 1977). San Diego's Chinese Mis ...

'' (1934) * '' Long Lost Father'' (1934) * ''

Top Hat A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or ...

'' (1935) * '' Paris in Spring'' (1935) * ''

Follow the Fleet ''Follow the Fleet'' is a 1936 American musical comedy film with a nautical theme starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their fifth collaboration as dance partners. It also features Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, and Astrid Allwyn, wi ...

'' (1936) * '' Gangway'' (1937) * '' Head over Heels'' (1937) * '' The Amazing Mr. Williams'' (1939) * '' When Tomorrow Comes'' (1939) * '' Rhythm on the River'' (1940) * '' I Wake Up Screaming'' (1941) * ''

Kiss the Boys Goodbye ''Kiss the Boys Goodbye'' is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Mary Martin, Don Ameche and Oscar Levant. It is based on a play by Clare Boothe Luce which was inspired by the search for an actress to ...

'' (1941) * ''

Nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety, disgust or sadness. The dream may contain situations o ...

'' (1942) * '' Conflict'' (1945) * '' The Thin Man Goes Home'' (1945) * '' We're Not Married!'' (1952) * '' Something to Live For'' (1952) * '' Pickup on South Street'' (1953) * '' Vicki'' (1953) * '' Special Delivery'' (1955) * '' Boy on a Dolphin'' (1957) * '' Interlude'' (1957) * '' The Cape Town Affair'' (1967)

Television

* ''

The Loretta Young Show ''The Loretta Young Show'' (originally known as ''Letter to Loretta'') is an American anthology drama television series broadcast on Sunday nights from September 2, 1953, to June 4, 1961, on NBC for a total of 165 episodes. The series was hoste ...

'' (1 episode, 1953), "Trial Run" * '' Schlitz Playhouse'' (1 episode, 1957), "The Girl in the Grass" (1957) * ''

The Thin Man ''The Thin Man'' (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of '' Redbook''. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main ...

'' (2 episodes, 1957), "Fatal Cliche", "Angels in Paradise" * ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...

'' (1 episode, 1959), "A Check Will Do Nicely" * ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' (1 episode, 1967), "Louie, the Lilac"

Theatre

* '' Don't Tell George'' (1928) * '' Phyllis Feels Frlghtened'' (1928) * '' Trevelyn's Ghost'' (1929) * ''

'' (1929) * '' Gay Divorce'' (1932) * '' Paris in Spring'' (1935) * '' Where Do We Go from Here?'' (1938) * '' Out of this World'' (1950) (co-written with

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

) * '' Billie: a play in three acts'' (1960)

Bibliography

* '' Some Pierrots Come from Behind the Moon'' (1923) (Poetry) * '' Joy Ride'' (1959) (novel) * '' What Sank the Dreamboat'' * '' Blood and Thunder'' (1962) (novel)