Charles Tazewell (June 2, 1900 – June 26, 1972) was an actor, radio playwright, and children's book author, whose work has been adapted multiple times for film.

Life

Charles Tazewell was born in 1900 in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, and began acting while still in high school.

Theater

In 1923, he had a small part in the

Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the W ...

's ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...

'' at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...

. In 1924, he appeared in the Guild's production of

Ernst Toller Ernst Toller (1 December 1893 – 22 May 1939) was a German author, playwright, left-wing politician and revolutionary, known for his Expressionism (theatre), Expressionist plays. He served in 1919 for six days as President of the short-lived B ...

's ''Man and the Masses''. Later that year, he was in

Sidney Howard Sidney Coe Howard (June 26, 1891 – August 23, 1939) was an American playwright, dramatist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for ''Gone with the Wind''. ...

's '' They Knew What They Wanted''. The play premiered on November 24, 1924, and closed in October 1925, after 192 performances."'They Knew What They Wanted' Broadway 1924"
ibdb.com, accessed December 21, 2015 He followed this the following year with Howard's ''Lucky Sam McCarver''. At this time, he was living at 143 West 72nd St. In 1931, he wrote the book for the short-lived musical ''Sugar Hill''.

Writing

During the 30s, Tazewell wrote scripts for radio programs, including ''Downbeat on Murder'' for the

Columbia Workshop ''Columbia Workshop'' was a radio series that aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from 1936 to 1943, returning in 1946–47. Irving Reis The series began as the idea of Irving Reis. Reis had begun his radio career as an engineer and devel ...

. It was broadcast on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

on June 6, 1937. An experimental series, in Tazewell's play, voices changed into musical notes. He also worked in television, scripting special material for

Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for ...

. Tazewell is perhaps best known for the classic Christmas story, '' The Littlest Angel''. In 1939 he wrote an unproduced radio script, which was published in book form in 1945 and became one of the best-selling children's books of all time. It was republished multiple times and at the time of his death in 1972, ''The Littlest Angel'' was in its 38th printing. It was adapted several times for film and radio, most notably as a musical TV drama for the

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...

in 1969. The heartwarming tale, written in just three days, is about a small boy's adjustment to being an angel in heaven and his gift to the holy infant. The beloved and enduring Christmas story has been reprinted countless times and translated into many languages.Des Moines Register
Famous Iowans
/ref> He wrote other children's books including ''

The Small One ''The Small One'' (also known as ''A Christmas Miracle'' in the UK) is a 1978 American animated featurette produced by Walt Disney Productions and released theatrically by Buena Vista Distribution on December 16, 1978 with a re-issue of ''Pinocch ...

'', which

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

adapted into the animated short of the same name in 1978. His book ''The Littlest Snowman'' was also adapted into a film as a segment of ''Christmas Fairy Tale'' (12 minutes). Previously, a shorter adaptation narrated by

Bob Keeshan Robert James Keeshan (June 27, 1927 – January 23, 2004) was an American television producer and actor. He created and played the title role in the children's television program '' Captain Kangaroo'', which ran from 1955 to 1984, the longes ...

had been annually shown on the CBS children's daytime television show ''

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program ...

''. ''The Littlest Snowman'' won the Thomas A. Edison Prize for the best children's story of 1956.

Personal

He was married to Louise Skinner Tazwell. They lived in Los Angeles before later moving to

Chesterfield, New Hampshire Chesterfield is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,552 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Spofford and West Chesterfield. Chesterfield is home to Spofford Lake, Chesterfield Gorge Natural ...

. Tazewell was a founder of the Brattleboro Little Theater in nearby

Brattleboro, Vermont Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about no ...

. His grave can be found at Lindenwood Cemetery,

Stoneham, Massachusetts Stoneham ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, nine miles (14.5 km) north of downtown Boston. Its population was 23,244 at the 2020 census. Its proximity to major highways and public transportation offer convenient access to Bos ...

Works

* ''The Littlest Angel'' (1945) * ''The Small One'' (1947) * ''The Littlest Tree'' * ''The Littlest Uninvited One'' * ''The Littlest Red Horse'' * ''The Littlest Snowman''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tazewell, Charles American children's writers 1900 births 1972 deaths Writers from Des Moines, Iowa People from Chesterfield, New Hampshire Writers from New Hampshire