Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright, librettist, and theater director.

Early years

Hart was born 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 ...

, the son of Lillian (Solomon) and Barnett Hart, a cigar maker. He had a younger brother, Bernard. He grew up in relative poverty with his English-born

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

immigrant parents in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

and in Sea Gate, Brooklyn. In his youth, he had a formative relationship with his Aunt Kate, who piqued his interest in the theater, often taking him to see performances. Hart even went so far as to create an "alternate ending" to her life in his book '' Act One''. He learned that the theater made possible "the art of being somebody else … not a scrawny boy with bad teeth, a funny name … and a mother who was a distant drudge." Hart's first glimpse of Broadway came in 1918 when he was 14 years old. He later recounted exiting the subway at

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

and standing agog at the urban tableau before him: "A swirling mob of shouting happy people... confetti and paper streamers... soldiers and sailors climbed happily onto the tops of taxis, grabbing girls up to dance with them. My first thought was 'Of course, that's just the way I thought it would be.'" Unbeknownst to Hart, his arrival had coincided with the signing of the armistice that ended World War One.

Career

After working several years as a director of amateur theatrical groups and an entertainment director at summer resorts, he scored his first Broadway hit with '' Once in a Lifetime'' (1930), a farce about the arrival of the sound era in Hollywood. The play was written in collaboration with Broadway veteran George S. Kaufman, who regularly wrote with others, notably

Marc Connelly Marcus Cook Connelly (December 13, 1890 – December 21, 1980) was an American playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist. He was a key member of the Algonquin Round Table, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. Biogra ...

and

Edna Ferber Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 – April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' So Big'' (1924), '' Show Boat'' (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), '' Cima ...

. (Kaufman also performed in the play's original Broadway cast in the role of a frustrated playwright hired by Hollywood) and produced by

Sam Harris Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, determinism, neuroscience, meditation ...

. Hart's agent at this time was

Frieda Fishbein Frieda Fishbein (March 7, 1886 - September 6, 1981) was a Romanian Americans, Romanian American theatrical, film, television and literary agent for writers including Elmer Rice, George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jean Anouilh, and ...

, who brought a lawsuit against Hart, contending she was entitled to a percentage of the royalties from plays produced by Harris. The matter was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. During the next decade, Kaufman and Hart teamed on a string of successes, including '' You Can't Take It with You'' (1936) and '' The Man Who Came to Dinner'' (1939). Though Kaufman had hits with others, Hart is generally conceded to be his most important collaborator. ''You Can't Take It With You'', the story of an eccentric family and how they live during the Depression, won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for drama. It is Hart's most-revived play. When director

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...

and writer Robert Riskin adapted it for the screen in 1938, the film won the Best Picture Oscar and Capra won for Best Director. ''The Man Who Came To Dinner'' is about the caustic Sheridan Whiteside who, after injuring himself slipping on ice, must stay in a

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 ...

ern family's house. The character was based on Kaufman and Hart's friend, critic Alexander Woollcott. Other characters in the play are based on

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

Harpo Marx Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Groucho and Chico, Harp ...

and

Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born in 1 ...

. Throughout the 1930s, Hart worked both with and without Kaufman on several musicals and revues, including '' Face the Music'' (1932); '' As Thousands Cheer'' (1933), with songs by

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

; '' Jubilee (musical)'' (1935), with songs by

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 ...

; and ''

I'd Rather Be Right ''I'd Rather Be Right'' is a 1937 musical with a book by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and music by Richard Rodgers. The story is a Depression-era political satire set in New York City about Washington politics and ...

'' (1937), with songs by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

and

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...

. (Lorenz Hart and Moss Hart were not related.) After '' George Washington Slept Here'' (1940), Kaufman and Hart called it quits. Hart continued to write plays after parting with Kaufman, such as ''Christopher Blake'' (1946) and ''Light Up the Sky'' (1948), as well as the book for the musical '' Lady In The Dark'' (1941), with songs by

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

and

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...

. However, he became best known during this period as a director. Among the Broadway hits he staged were '' Junior Miss'' (1941), '' Dear Ruth'' (1944) and '' Anniversary Waltz'' (1954). By far his biggest hit was the musical ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

'' (1956), adapted from

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

's '' Pygmalion'', with book and lyrics by

Alan Jay Lerner Alan Jay Lerner (August 31, 1918 – June 14, 1986) was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, and later Burton Lane, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre bot ...

and music by

Frederick Loewe Frederick Loewe ( ; born Friedrich "Fritz" Löwe, ; June 10, 1901 – February 14, 1988

. The show ran over six years and won a Tony Award for Best Musical. Hart picked up the Tony for Best Director. Moss Hart Arlene Francis Answer Yes or No 1950

Moss Hart Arlene Francis Answer Yes or No 1950

In 1950 Hart was host of the game show '' Answer Yes or No'' on NBC television. Hart also wrote some screenplays, including '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) (for which he received an Oscar nomination), ''

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

'' (1952) and '' A Star Is Born'' (1954). His memoir '' Act One: An Autobiography'' (1950) was adapted for film in 1963, with George Hamilton portraying Hart. The last show Hart directed was the

Lerner and Loewe Lerner and Loewe is the partnership between lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe. Spanning three decades and nine musicals from 1942 to 1960 and again from 1970 to 1972, the pair are known for being behind the cr ...

musical ''

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

'' (1960). During a troubled out-of-town tryout, Hart had a heart attack. The show opened before he fully recovered, but he and Lerner reworked it after the opening. That, along with huge pre-sales and a cast performance on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'', helped ensure the expensive production was a hit.

Guild presidency

Hart was the tenth president of the Dramatists Guild of America, from 1947 until 1956, when

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

became his successor.

Personal life

Hart married Kitty Carlisle on August 10, 1946; they had two children.

Death

Moss Hart died of a heart attack at the age of 57 on December 20, 1961, at his winter home in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

. He was entombed in a crypt at Ferncliff Cemetery in

Hartsdale, New York Hartsdale is a hamlet located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of New York City. History Hartsdale, a CDP/hamlet/post-office in the town of Gre ...

Legacy

In 1972, 11 years after his death, Moss Hart was inducted into the

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame was founded in 1972 in New York City. The first head of its executive committee was Earl Blackwell. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the Uris Theatre, ...

, one of 23 people to be selected into the Hall of Fame's first induction class that year.

paid tribute to Hart in his memoir, '' The Street Where I Live''.

Moss Hart Awards

The New England Theatre Conference offers the Moss Hart Memorial Award at their annual convention to theater groups in New England that put forth imaginative productions of exemplary scripts. These awards are designed to honor Moss Hart as well as the award recipients.. Past winners include Wellesley Repertory Theatre, Staples Players, and Suffield Academy.

Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle Hart New Play Initiative

Developed as an offshoot of the very successful New Play Initiative of

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

's Grove Theater Center, the Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle Hart New Play Initiative (Hart NPI) expands the program to one of the few programs of its kind where a playwright will be guaranteed a production of his/her play in Los Angeles (Burbank), as well as an Off-Broadway Premiere at 59E59 Theaters in New York City. The GTC New Play Initiative is the brainchild of producers Charles Johanson and Kevin Cochran (founders of Grove Theater Center) and its expansion to a truly bi-coastal program with the focus on the author and their vision for their work. The Hart NPI is under the leadership of Moss Hart's son Christopher Hart (artistic director), Kevin Cochran (producing artistic director) and Charles Johanson (executive director). In the first Hart NPI play cycle (2017-2018) there were 1,243 submissions from 44 states and 6 countries!. The Hart NPI will select 16-21 semifinalists, which will then be narrowed down to eight finalists and the eight will be narrowed down to the winners: Four Bronze Hart NPI winners will have a reading of their play at 59E59 Theaters, two Silver Hart NPI winners will have a production of their play in Los Angeles (Burbank), CA at the GTC Burbank and the Gold Hart NPI winner will have an Off-Broadway premiere at 59E59 Theaters. Dr. Catherine Hart (Moss and Kitty's daughter, who also serves on the board of trustees of the Hart NPI) said that "Having a program like this in Moss & Kitty's name would have made them proud."

Work

; Plays * 1930 '' Once In A Lifetime'' (Kaufman and Hart) * 1934 '' Merrily We Roll Along'' (Kaufman and Hart) * 1936 '' You Can't Take It with You'' (Kaufman and Hart;

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winner) * 1937 ''

'' (Kaufman and Hart) * 1938 '' The Fabulous Invalid'' (Kaufman and Hart) * 1939 ''

The American Way The American way of life or the American way is the U.S. nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. At the center of the American way is the belief in an American Dream that is claimed to be ac ...

'' (Kaufman and Hart) * 1939 '' The Man Who Came to Dinner'' (Kaufman and Hart) * 1940 '' George Washington Slept Here'' (Kaufman and Hart) * 1941 '' Lady in the Dark'', with

and

* 1943 ''

Winged Victory The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Niké of Samothrace'', is a Votive offering, votive monument originally discovered on the island of Samothrace in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Helleni ...

'' * 1946 ''Christopher Blake'' * 1948 '' Light Up the Sky'' ; Screenplays * 1944 ''

'' * 1947 '' Gentleman's Agreement'' * 1952 ''

'' * 1954 '' A Star Is Born'' ; Director * 1941 '' Lady in the Dark'' * 1941 ''Junior Miss'' * 1943 ''

'' * 1944 '' Dear Ruth'' * 1945 ''The Secret Room'' * 1946 ''Christopher Blake'' * 1948 '' Light Up the Sky'' * 1949 '' Miss Liberty'' * 1952 ''The Climate of Eden'' * 1954 '' Anniversary Waltz'' * 1956 ''

'' * 1960 ''

'' ; Autobiography * 1959 (1989)

References

External links

*
Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle Hart 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:Hart, Moss 1904 births 1961 deaths American theatre directors Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery Donaldson Award winners Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Tony Award winners Jewish theatre directors Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Writers from Brooklyn Writers from Palm Springs, California American people of English-Jewish descent 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights People with bipolar disorder American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers People from Sea Gate, Brooklyn 20th-century American Jews