Frederic Arnold Kummer Sr. (August 5, 1873 – November 22, 1943) was an American author, playwright and screenwriter. He also used the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Arnold Fredericks. Several of his works were made into movies. A

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

of him is on the wall of

Sardi's Sardi's is a continental restaurant located at 234 West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City. Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927. It is known for the caric ...

restaurant.

Early life

Frederic Arnold Kummer was born in

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 44,701 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. The community is a streetcar suburb of Baltimore along the cit ...

, to Arnold Kummer. His father was a banker and his mother was of a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

family. He was educated in public schools and

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

Career

Kummer became a life member of the

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

and assistant editor of the ''Railroad Gazette''. He also became the president of a wood block paving company, but the company failed during the

Panic of 1907 The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange suddenly fell almost ...

. Kummer then became an author. Kummer wrote stories and plays. He wrote the play '' The Painted Woman'' which premiered at the Auditorium Theatre in 1917. It came to

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

in 1938 as the opera ''Captive'', with music by

Gustav Strube Gustav Strube (3 March 1867 – 2 February 1953) was a German-born conductor and composer. He was the founding conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1916, and taught at the Peabody Conservatory. He wrote two operas, ''Ramona'', which pr ...

. In testimony to the House of Representatives Special Committee on Un-American Activities, he was name by Counsel Robert Lynch as a member of the executive committee of the

XV International Brigade The XV International Brigade was one of the International Brigades formed to fight for the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. History The XVth Brigade mustered at Albacete in January 1937. It consisted of English-speaking volunte ...

, a volunteer military unit which fought for the pro-socialist Republic of Spain during the Spanish Civil War.

Personal life

Kummer built a house in

Guilford, Maryland Guilford is an unincorporated community located in Howard County in the state of Maryland. The location is named after the Guilford Mill. Guilford is near Kings Contrivance, one of the nine "villages" of Columbia. For United States Census B ...

. Following this, he relocated to West Lafayette, and later Park Avenue in Baltimore. Kummer married twice. He first married playwright Clare Kummer (born Clare Rodman Beecher) in 1895. They had two daughters, Marjorie (who married English actor Roland Young) and Frederica. They divorced during 1903 (she was remarried to Arthur Henry in 1910). Kummer also had three more children. His son Frederic Arnold Kummer Jr. was also an author. In 1927, Kummer was hospitalized at Union Memorial Hospital and newspapers falsely reported his death. He died on November 22, 1943, at his home at 1501 Park Avenue in Baltimore. He was buried at

Loudon Park Cemetery Loudon Park Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated on January 27, 1853, on of the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by James Carey, a local merchant and politician. The entrance to the cemetery ...

Legacy

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

was named after him during World War II.

Filmography

*''Adventure of the Absent Minded Professor'' (1914) *''Adventure of the Counterfeit Money'' (1914) *''Adventure of the Missing Legacy'' (1914) *'' The Yellow Pawn'' (1916) *''

The Belgian ''The Belgian'' is a 1917 American silent film directed by Sidney Olcott and produced by Sidney Olcott Players with Valentine Grant and Walker Whiteside in the leading roles. It is not known whether the film currently survives. Plot As desc ...

'' (1917) *'' The Slave Market'' (1917) *''

The Town Scandal ''The Town Scandal'' is a 1923 American comedy film directed by King Baggot from a screenplay written by Hugh Hoffman. It was based on the novel ''The Chicken That Came Home to Roost'' by Frederic Arnold Kummer. The film stars Gladys Walton, Edw ...

'' (1923)

Writings

*''The Brute'' *''The First Days of Man'' *''The Green God'' *''The Little Fortune'' (1915) *''Peggy-Elise'' (1919) *''Shades of Hades'' *''Love's Greatest Mistake'' *''Forbidden Wine'' *''The Web'' *''A Song of Sixpence'' *''Gentlemen in Hades: The Story of a Damned Debutante'' *"Honeymoon Detectives" series (Richard and Grace Duvall: ''One Million Francs''; ''The Ivory Snuff-Box''; ''The Blue Lights''; ''The Film of Fear'') *''Leif Erikson, the Lucky'' *''The Torch of Liberty'' (1941) *''Death at Eight Bells: A Novel'' (1937) *''The Pipes of Yesterday'' *''Eternal Conflict'' *''Death at Eight Bells'' *''The Emigrant'', a play in three acts *''The First Days of Man'' *''The First Days of Knowledge''

Short stories

* "Mr. Buttles" * "The Choice" * "Are You a Suffragette?" * " The Canterbury Cathedral Murder" (with Basil Mitchell)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kummer, Frederic Arnold 1873 births 1943 deaths 19th-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters People from Catonsville, Maryland Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni Writers from Maryland