Dwight Deere Wiman (August 8, 1895 – January 20, 1951) was an American silent movie actor, playwright and theatrical director. He is best known as a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

producer.

Biography

Early life and education

Wiman was born in

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Rock Island County and the List of municipalities in Illinois, ninth-most populous in Illinois outside ...

, one of two boys born to William Wiman (son of Erastus Wiman and Eleanor née Galbrith/Erastus was the son of

Erastus Wiman Erastus Wiman (21 April 1834 – 9 February 1904) was a Canadian journalist and businessman who later moved to the United States. He is best known as a developer in the New York City borough of Staten Island, a founder of whiskey producer Cana ...

and Therese Amelia née Matthews) and Anna Deere, a granddaughter of

John Deere Deere & Company, Trade name, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, Transmission (mechanical device), transmi ...

. His granduncle was architect

Merton Yale Cady Merton Yale Cady (1840 – 1900) was a prominent architect and builder in Moline, Illinois. He designed various buildings at World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago World's Fair in 1893, and designed the Riverside Cemetery (Moline, Illinois), River ...

of the

Yale family Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges char ...

. His mother died in 1906 and after his grandfather, Charles Deere, died the following year he, his father and his brother, Charles Deere Wiman, went to live with his grandmother on her estate in Moline, which was named "Overlook". His grandmother died in 1913 and his father died in 1914. He and his brother were cared for by his uncle and aunt,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and Katherine Butterworth who lived across the street. Both his grandfather, uncle and brother served as president of

Deere & Company Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment an ...

. He was sent to

Todd Seminary for Boys The Todd Seminary for Boys (1848–1954) was an independent preparatory school located in Woodstock, Illinois, Woodstock, in the U.S. state of Illinois. From 1930 it was called the Todd School for Boys. Under headmaster Roger Hill from 1929, it bec ...

Woodstock, Illinois Woodstock is a city in and the county seat of McHenry County, Illinois, McHenry County, Illinois, United States. It is located 51 miles northwest of Chicago, making it one of the city's outer-most suburbs. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, for school. He served in the military during

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 studied drama under

Monty Woolley Edgar Montillion "Monty" Woolley (August 17, 1888May 6, 1963) was an American film and theater actor.Obituary '' Variety'', May 8, 1963, page 223. At the age of 50, he achieved a measure of stardom for his role in the 1939 stage play '' The Man ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Career

He spent two years working for Deere & Company before he and a couple of his friends organized an independent film production company, Film Guild, in

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Queens, Long Island C ...

from 1920 to 1924. He acted in three silent movies during this time. The film company suffered from marketing difficulties and it dissolved. In 1925 he started a partnership with William A. Brady Jr. They produced plays such as ''Lucky Sam McCarver'' (1925), the revivals of ''

Little Eyolf ''Little Eyolf'' (''Lille Eyolf'' in the original Norwegian title) is an 1894 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play was first performed in Norwegian on December 3, 1894, at a 9 a.m. matinee performance in the Haymarket Theatre in Lo ...

'' and ''The Two Orphans'' in 1926, ''The Road to Rome'' (1927), and ''

The Little Show ''The Little Show'' was a musical revue with lyrics by Howard Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz. It was the first of 11 musicals that featured the songs of Dietz and Schwartz. The revue opened at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway on April 30, 19 ...

'' (1929). Their working relationship ended amicably in 1929 as Wiman was the only one interested in musical theater. Between 1930 and 1951 he produced more than 50 shows. The more significant productions include: ''The Vinegar Tree'' (1930), ''

Gay Divorce ''Gay Divorce'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Dwight Taylor, adapted by Kenneth Webb and Samuel Hoffenstein. It was Fred Astaire's last Broadway show and featured the hit song " Night and Day" in which Astaire ...

'' (1932), ''She Loves Me Not'' (1933), ''

On Your Toes ''On Your Toes'' (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939. While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dol ...

'' (1936), ''

Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a work ...

'' (1937), ''On Borrowed Time'' (1938), ''

I Married an Angel ''I Married an Angel'' is a 1938 musical comedy by Rodgers and Hart. It was adapted from a play by Hungarian playwright János Vaszary, entitled ''Angyalt Vettem Felesegul''. The book was by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, with music by Rodger ...

'' (1938), ''

Morning's at Seven ''Morning's at Seven'' is a play by Paul Osborn. Its plot focuses on four aging sisters living in a small Midwestern United States, Midwestern town in 1928, and it deals with ramifications within the family when two of them begin to question the ...

'' (1939), ''

By Jupiter ''By Jupiter'' is a musical with a book by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. The musical is based on the play '' The Warrior's Husband'' by Julian F. Thompson, set in the land of the Amazons. ''By Jupiter'' pr ...

'' (1942), and ''The Country Girl'' (1950). Wiman also directed works by

Paul Osborn Paul Osborn (September 4, 1901 – May 12, 1988) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Osborn's original plays are '' The Vinegar Tree'', ''Oliver Oliver'', and '' Morning's at Seven'' and among his several successful adaptations, '' On Bo ...

John Van Druten John William Van Druten (1 June 190119 December 1957) was an English playwright and theatre director. He began his career in London, and later moved to America, becoming a U.S. citizen. He was known for his plays of witty and urbane observations ...

, and

Clifford Odets Clifford Odets (July 18, 1906 – August 14, 1963) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. In the mid-1930s, he was widely seen as the potential successor to Nobel Prize–winning playwright Eugene O'Neill, as O'Neill began to withd ...

among others. He had a long association with

Rodgers and Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served as the director of entertainment for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Personal life and death

Wiman was married to Dorothea Stephens. The couple divorced in 1946. He died in

Hudson, New York Hudson is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. On the east side of the Hudson River, f ...

, in 1951 at the age of 56 and was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Moline.

Filmography

Wiman acted in the following silent films: *'' Youthful Cheaters'' (1923), as Dexter French *''

Puritan Passions ''Puritan Passions'' is a 1923 silent film directed by Frank Tuttle, based on Percy MacKaye's 1908 play '' The Scarecrow'', which was itself based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story " Feathertop". The film stars Glenn Hunter, Mary Astor, and ...

'' (1923) as Richard Talbot *''Peter Stuyvesant'' (1924) as

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

Stage productions

Wiman was the producer, director or writer for the following stage productions: *''Ostriches'' (1925), producer *''Lucky Sam McCarver'' (1925), producer *''

'', (1926), producer *''The Masque of Venice'' (1926), producer *''Devils'' (1926), producer *''The Two Orphans'' (1926), producer *''Seed of the Brute (1926), producer *''Hangman's House'' (1926), producer *''The Road to Rome'' (1927), producer *''The Dark'' (1927), producer *''House of Shadows'' (1927), producer *''Women Go On Forever'' (1927), producer *''The Command to Love'' (1927), producer *''The Queen's Husband'' (1928), producer *''The Road to Rome'' (1928), producer *''The Grey Fox'' (1928), producer *''The Jealous Moon'' (1928), producer *''A Most Immoral Lady'' (1928), director, producer *''Judas'', (1929), producer *''Paolo and Francesca'' (1929), producer *''

'' (1929), producer, director *''Jenny'' (1929), producer *''

The Second Little Show ''The Second Little Show'' is a musical revue with lyrics by Howard Dietz and music mostly by Arthur Schwartz. Produced by William A. Brady, Jr. and Dwight Deere Wiman, in association with Tom Weatherly, the Broadway production opened at the Roya ...

(1930), writer, director, producer *''The Vinegar Tree'' (1930), producer *''The Third Little Show'' (1931), writer, producer *'' After All!'' (1931), producer *''

'' (1932), producer *''Bad Manners'' (1933), producer, director *''Champagne, Sec'' (1933), producer *''She Loves Me Not'' (1933), producer *''The Wooden Slipper'' (1934), producer *''Oliver Oliver'' (1934), producer *''The Distaff Side'' (1934), producer *''The Distant Shore'' (1935), producer *''Most of the Game'' (1935), producer *''A Room in Red and White'' (1936), producer *''

'' (1936), producer *''

'' (1937), producer, production supervisor *''On Borrowed Time'' (1938), producer *''

'' (1938), producer *''Great Lady'' (1938), producer *''Stars in Your Eyes'' (1939), Producer *''

'' (1939), producer *''Leave Her To Heaven'' (1940), producer *'' Higher and Higher'' ( 1940), producer *''Old Acquaintance'' (1940), producer *''Letters to Lucerne'' (1941), producer *''Solitaire'' (1942), producer *''

'' (1942), producer *''The Damask Cheek'' (1942), producer *'' Street Scene'' (1947), producer *''A Story for Strangers'' (1948), producer *''The Big Knife'' (1949), producer *''Dance Me a Song'' (1950), producer *''The Country Girl'' (1950), producer *''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' (1951), producer

References

External links

Dwight Deere Wiman Papers
at the

Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR) is a major archive of motion picture, television, radio, and theater research materials. Located in the headquarters building of the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, Wisconsin, th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiman, Dwight Deere 1895 births 1951 deaths Deere family Yale family People from Moline, Illinois Yale University alumni Broadway theatre directors Broadway theatre producers American male film actors American male silent film actors American theatre managers and producers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Male actors from Illinois Male actors from New York City Writers from Illinois Writers from New York City 20th-century American male actors Burials at Riverside Cemetery (Moline, Illinois)