born Nov. 5, 1895, Scranton, Pa., U.S.
died April 21, 1956, New York, N.Y.
U.S. journalist, playwright, and screenwriter.
He worked as a reporter in Chicago and New York City (191426) before collaborating with Edward Shelden on the play Lulu Belle (1926). With Ben Hecht he wrote the Broadway hits The Front Page (1928; film, 1931) and Twentieth Century (1932; film, 1934) and several later plays noted for their graphic, crisp dialogue. Their screenplays included the film adaptations of their own plays and Wuthering Heights (1939), and they wrote and directed movies such as Crime Without Passion (1934), The Scoundrel (1935), and Soak the Rich (1936). He was married to actress Helen Hayes .