Marc Connelly
Marc Connelly | |
|---|---|
 photographed byCarl Van Vechten,1937 | |
| Born | Marcus Cook Connelly December 13, 1890 McKeesport, Pennsylvania,US |
| Died | December 21, 1980(aged 90) New York City, US |
| Occupation |
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| Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for Drama(1930) |
Marcus Cook Connelly[citation needed](December 13, 1890 – December 21, 1980) was an American playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist. He was a key member of theAlgonquin Round Table,and received thePulitzer Prize for Dramain 1930.
Biography[edit]
Connelly was born to actor and hotelier Patrick Joseph Connelly and actress Mabel Fowler Cook inMcKeesport, Pennsylvania.His father died in 1902. Connelly attended Trinity Hall boarding school in Washington, Pennsylvania, after which he began collecting money for ads inThe Pittsburgh Pressto help to support his mother.[1]
His initial newspaper job led to Connelly's working as anAssociated Presscub reporter, after which he became a junior reporter forThe Pittsburgh Gazette Times.Eventually he began writing a humor column for that newspaper.[1]In 1919 he joined theAlgonquin Round Table.[citation needed]
While he was working in Pittsburgh, Connelly ventured into writing for the stage, creating skits for shows put on by an athletic association and one-act plays for a little theater group. His interest in the theater increased after he began reporting on the theater beat forThe Morning Telegraphin New York City. In that role he developed a friendship withGeorge S. Kaufman,who wrote about drama forThe New York Times.[1]
Connelly had contributed to several Broadway musicals before teaming up with his most important collaborator, Kaufman, in 1921. During their four-year partnership, they wrote five comedies –Dulcy(1921),To the Ladies(1922),Merton of the Movies(1922),The Deep Tangled Wildwood(1923) andBeggar on Horseback(1924) – and also co-directed and contributed sketches to the 1922 revueThe '49ers,collaborated on the book to the musical comedyHelen of Troy, New York(1923), and wrote both the book and lyrics for another musical comedy,Be Yourself(1924).[citation needed]
Connelly received thePulitzer Prize for DramaforThe Green Pasturesin 1930.[2]The play, a re-telling of episodes from theOld Testament,was staged with the first all-blackBroadwaycast. He contributed verse and articles toLife,Everybody's,and other magazines.
Connelly was a drama teacher atYale Universityfrom 1946 to 1950.[3]In 1968, Connelly published his memoirs,Voices Offstage.Over the years, Connelly appeared as an actor in 21 movies, includingThe Spirit of St. Louis(1957) withJames Stewart.
Connelly's television debut as an actor came in 1953 in an episode ofBroadway TV TheatreonWOR-TV.A review in the trade publicationVarietysaid that Connelly "handled himself with winning aplomb".[4]
A film about the Round Table members,The Ten-Year Lunch(1987), won theAcademy Award for Best Documentary Featureand featured Connelly, who was the last survivor. The 1994 filmMrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle,a fictional account of the group, featured actorMatt Malloyas Connelly.
Connelly died on December 21, 1980, in St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan, aged 90.[1]
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | The Sleep of Cyma Roget | Minor Role | |
| 1957 | The Spirit of St. Louis | Father Hussman | |
| 1960 | Tall Story | Prof. Charles Osman |
References[edit]
- ^abcdWhitman, Alden (December 22, 1980)."Marc Connelly, Playwright, Dies; Won Fame With 'Green Pastures'".The New York Times.p. A 1.RetrievedMay 29,2022.
- ^Buckley, Tom (November 8, 1980)."City Hall Celebrates Marc Connelly at 90: Doing the 'Tribute Circuit' City Hall Salutes Marc Connelly".The New York Times.p. 25.RetrievedMay 29,2022.
- ^"Marc Connelly | American playwright | Britannica".December 9, 2023.
- ^"Television Followup".Variety.May 20, 1953. p. 26.RetrievedNovember 5,2023.
- Dennis Rodgers Jr. (2008)."Author Biographies: Marc Connelly".Pennsylvania Center for the Book.RetrievedDecember 15,2008.
External links[edit]
- Works by or about Marc ConnellyatInternet Archive
- Marc Connellyat theInternet Broadway Database
- Marc ConnellyatIMDb
- Algonquin Round Table Walking Tours
- Algonquin Round Table page at the Algonquin Hotel's web site
- Algonquin Circle Links
- Stephen Wilde Official Website
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1890 births
- 1980 deaths
- 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
- People from McKeesport, Pennsylvania
- Writers from Pennsylvania
- Writers from New York City
- Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners
- American male journalists
- American male dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century American male actors
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- The New Yorker people
- Journalists from Pennsylvania
- 20th-century American male writers
- 20th-century American non-fiction writers
- 20th-century American journalists
- Algonquin Round Table
- Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters