Russell Janney (April 14, 1884 – July 14, 1963) was an American theatrical producer and author. He is best known for his 1946 best-selling book and first novel, ''

The Miracle of the Bells ''The Miracle of the Bells'' is a 1948 American drama film directed by Irving Pichel, written by Quentin Reynolds and Ben Hecht, and produced by RKO. It stars Fred MacMurray, Alida Valli, Frank Sinatra and Lee J. Cobb. The film is based on the 1 ...

'', which was made into a film of the same name in 1948. He also produced and co-authored the 1925 musical ''

The Vagabond King ''The Vagabond King'' is a 1925 operetta by Rudolf Friml in four acts, with a book and lyrics by Brian Hooker and William H. Post, based upon Justin Huntly McCarthy's 1901 romantic novel and play ''If I Were King''. The story is a fictionali ...

'', working with Brian Hooker and composer

Rudolf Friml Charles Rudolf Friml"Mrs. Rudolf Friml to Receive Divorce"
...

. Janney also produced other plays including ''Marjolaine'' (1922) (based on '' Pomander Walk'' by Louis N. Parker), Mantle, Burns
The Best Plays of 1921–22
p. 498-99 (1922) ''White Eagle'' (1927) (based on

Edwin Milton Royle Edwin Milton Royle (March 2, 1862 – February 16, 1942) was an American playwright. He was born in Lexington, Missouri, and died in New York City. Over 30 of his plays were performed. His best-known play is '' The Squaw Man'' (1905), which ...

's '' The Squaw Man''),(December 7, 1927)
'White Eagle' for Casino; Russell Janney's Musical Version of 'The Squaw Man' to Open Dec. 26
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''(December 27, 1927)
'The White Eagle' Is Lavishly Staged
''

'' ''June Love'',(January 17, 1926)
The Story of an Operetta
''

'' ''Ballyhoo'' (1927), and an adaption of ''The O'Flynn'' (1934) by

Justin Huntly McCarthy Justin Huntly McCarthy (1859 – 20 March 1936) was an Irish writer, historian, and nationalist politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1884 to 1892, taking his seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was the son of ...

. His second novel, ''So Long As Love Remembers'', was published in 1953,Dixon, George H. (September 5, 1953)
Russell Janney Writes Second Masterpiece
''

Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'', formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'', was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for over a century, from 1884 to 1992. At the height of its popul ...

'' and the short novel ''Curtain Call'' followed in 1957.Nichols, Lewis (May 26, 1957)
Old Manager's Triumphant Swan Song
''

'' Janney was born in

Wilmington, Ohio Wilmington is a city in Clinton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 12,664 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Micropolitan statistical area, Wilmington micropolitan area ...

and graduated from

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 ...

in 1906. While at college, he put on plays for his fraternity,

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...

.Warfel, Harry R
American novelists of today
p. 228 (1951) He died of natural causes at his apartment 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 ...

on July 14, 1963.(July 15, 1963)
Russell Janney, Stage Producer; Sponsor and Co-Author of Vagabond King Dies at 79
''

''Current biography yearbook, Volume 24
p. 209 (1964) Janney also served as a juror in a high-profile 1949 trial, one of the

Smith Act trials of Communist Party leaders The Smith Act trials of Communist Party leaders in New York City from 1949 to 1958 were the result of Federal government of the United States, US federal government prosecutions in the postwar period and during the Cold War between the Soviet Un ...

. Janney married Edith Hulda Cramer in 1907; they later divorced. Their son

William Janney William Janney (born Russell Dixon Janney, February 15, 1908 – December 22, 1992) was an American actor who appeared in 39 films between 1929 and 1937. He was the son of author and theatrical producer Russell Janney,(28 December 1940)William ...

was a film actor in the 1930s.(December 28, 1940)
William Janney Marries
''

''(March 2, 1930)
Actors' Children Emulate Parents
''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Janney, Russell People from Wilmington, Ohio 1884 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Yale University alumni