born Dec. 15, 1888, Atlantic, Pa., U.S.
died Feb. 28, 1959, Stamford, Conn.
U.S. playwright.
He worked as a journalist before cowriting his first successful play, What Price Glory? (1924), which was followed by Saturday's Children (1927). His verse dramas Elizabeth the Queen (1930) and Mary of Scotland (1933) were later adapted for film. He returned to prose for the satire Both Your Houses (1933, Pulitzer Prize) and the tragedy Winterset (1935), then turned to verse again for High Tor (1936), a romantic comedy. He collaborated with Kurt Weill on the musicals Knickerbocker Holiday (1938) and Lost in the Stars (1949). His last play, The Bad Seed (1954), became a successful film.