Albert Maurice Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995) was an American actor, dramatist and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

most noted for his collaborations with his partner and wife Frances Goodrich.

Early years

Hackett was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, the son of actress Florence Hackett (née Hart) and Maurice Hackett. He attended Professional Children's School and started out as a child actor, appearing on stage and in films. His brother was actor Raymond Hackett. Their stepfather was the early film actor

Arthur V. Johnson Arthur Vaughan Johnson (February 2, 1876 – January 17, 1916) was a pioneer actor and director of the early American silent film era. Career Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Rev. Myron A. Johnson, Arthur Vaughan Johnson left college at 19 t ...

, who married their mother Florence around 1910. His sister-in-law was Blanche Sweet, Raymond's second wife.

Career

Hackett acted in many films, including '' Anne of Green Gables'' (1919). His Broadway credits as a performer include ''Mr. and Mrs. North'' (1941), ''Up Pops the Devil'' (1930), ''Mirrors'' (1928), ''Off-Key'' (1927), ''Twelve Miles Out'' (1925), ''The Nervous Wreck'' (1923), ''Up the Ladder'' (1922), ''Just a Woman'' (1914) and ''The Happy Marriage'' (1909). His Broadway credits as a writer include ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1955 and 1997), ''The Great Big Doorstep'' (1942), ''Bridal Wise'' (1932), ''Everybody's Welcome'' (1931) and ''Up Pops the Devil'' (1930). Soon after marrying screenwriter Frances Goodrich, the couple moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s to write the screenplay for their stage success ''Up Pops the Devil'' for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. In 1933, they signed a contract with MGM and remained with the studio until 1939. Among their earliest assignments was writing the screenplay for '' The Thin Man'' (1934). They were encouraged by director W. S. Van Dyke to use the writing of Dashiell Hammett as a basis only and to concentrate on providing witty exchanges for the principal characters, Nick and Nora Charles (played by William Powell and

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films ...

). The resulting film became one of the year's major hits, and the script, considered to show a modern relationship in a realistic manner for the first time, was considered groundbreaking, although it preceded enforcement of the

Motion Picture Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

Recognition

The Hacketts received Academy Award for Screenplay nominations for ''The Thin Man'', '' After the Thin Man'' (1936), '' Father of the Bride'' (1950) and '' Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' (1955). They won

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers G ...

awards for '' Easter Parade'' (1949), '' Father's Little Dividend'' (1951), ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' (1954) and ''

The Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Neth ...

'' (1959), and were nominated for '' In the Good Old Summertime'' (1949), ''Father of the Bride'' (1950) and '' The Long, Long Trailer'' (1954). They also won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics' Circle award for their original play ''

''. Some of their other films include '' Another Thin Man'' (1939) and '' It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946).

Filmography

References

* * * Holmstrom, John. ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 16.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hackett, Albert 1900 births 1995 deaths American male screenwriters Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American male actors American male stage actors American male film actors American male silent film actors American male child actors Male actors from New York City 20th-century American screenwriters