Donald Ogden Stewart (November 30, 1894 – August 2, 1980) was an American writer and screenwriter best known for his sophisticated
golden age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...
comedies and melodramas such as ''
The Philadelphia Story'' (based on the play by
Philip Barry
Philip Jerome Quinn Barry (June 18, 1896 – December 3, 1949) was an American dramatist best known for his plays ''Holiday'' (1928) and '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1939), which were both made into films starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Gran ...
), ''
Tarnished Lady'' and ''
Love Affair''. Stewart worked with a number of the directors of his time, including
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head ...
(a frequent collaborator),
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...
and
Ernst Lubitsch
Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...
. Stewart was a member of the
Algonquin Round Table
The Algonquin Round Table was a group of New York City writers, critics, actors, and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle", as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel ...
and, with
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
's friend Bill Smith, the model for Bill Gorton in ''
The Sun Also Rises
''The Sun Also Rises'' is a 1926 novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, his first, that portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bu ...
''. His 1922 parody on etiquette, ''Perfect Behavior'', published by George H. Doran and Co., was a favourite book of
P. G. Wodehouse.
Life and career
His hometown was
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...
. He graduated from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
, where he became a brother to the
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fiftee ...
fraternity (Phi chapter), in 1916 and served in the naval reserves in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.
After the war he started to write, and found success with ''A Parody Outline of History'', a
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...
of ''
The Outline of History
''The Outline of History'', subtitled either "The Whole Story of Man" or "Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind", is a work by H. G. Wells chronicling the history of the world from the origin of the Earth to the First World War. It appeare ...
'' (1920) by
H. G. Wells. This led him to becoming a member of the
Algonquin Round Table
The Algonquin Round Table was a group of New York City writers, critics, actors, and wits. Gathering initially as part of a practical joke, members of "The Vicious Circle", as they dubbed themselves, met for lunch each day at the Algonquin Hotel ...
. Around that time a friend of his got him interested in theater and he became a playwright on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in the 1920s. He was friends with
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker (née Rothschild; August 22, 1893 – June 7, 1967) was an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist based in New York; she was known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles.
From a conflicted and unhap ...
,
Robert Benchley
Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at '' The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thr ...
,
George S. Kaufman
George Simon Kaufman (November 16, 1889June 2, 1961) was an American playwright, theater director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals for the Marx Brothers and other ...
, and Ernest Hemingway, who partly based the character of Bill Gorton in ''
The Sun Also Rises
''The Sun Also Rises'' is a 1926 novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, his first, that portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bu ...
'' on Stewart. In 1924, he wrote ''Mr. and Mrs. Haddock Abroad'' for the publishing house
George H. Doran
George H. Doran Company (1908–1927) was an American book publishing company established by George Henry Doran. He organized the company in Toronto and moved it to New York City on February 22, 1908.
The firm prospered, becoming one of the maj ...
. It was a send up of the
ugly American tourist.
He became interested in adapting some of his plays to film, but on first entering
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
he had to adapt the plays of others as his own were initially shelved. Once there he mostly wrote, but he also had a small part in the film ''
Not So Dumb''. By the 1930s he had become known primarily as a screenwriter and won an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for ''
The Philadelphia Story'' (1940). As
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
approached, he became a member of the
Hollywood Anti-Nazi League, and admitted to being a member of the
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Rev ...
at one of its public meetings. During the
Second Red Scare Stewart was
blacklist
Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...
ed in 1950 and the following year he and his wife, activist and writer
Ella Winter
Leonore (Ella) Sophie Winter Steffens Stewart (1898–1980) was an Australian-British journalist and activist.
Early life
She was born in 1898 to Freda Lust and Adolph Wertheimer in Nuremberg, Germany. Her parents were Freda Lust and Adolph W ...
(they had married in 1939), emigrated to England. In 1968, he signed the "
Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. His 1975 memoir is entitled ''By a Stroke of Luck''.
Stewart died in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1980. His widow died three days later. Stewart had two sons from a previous marriage.
[
]
Film portrayal
Stewart was portrayed by the actor and playwright David Gow in the 1994 film ''Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
''Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle'' is a 1994 American biographical drama film directed by Alan Rudolph from a screenplay written by Rudolph and Randy Sue Coburn. The film stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as writer Dorothy Parker and depicts the mem ...
''.
Partial filmography
As a writer
*'' Brown of Harvard'' (1926) (adaptation)
*'' Humorous Flights'' (1929)
*'' Traffic Regulations'' (1929)
*''Laughter
Laughter is a pleasant physical reaction and emotion consisting usually of rhythmical, often audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or internal stimuli. Laughter ...
'' (1930)
*'' Rebound'' (1931) (based on his play of the same name)
*'' Tarnished Lady'' (1931)
*''Finn and Hattie
''Finn and Hattie'' is a 1931 American comedic pre-Code film directed by Norman Taurog, starring Leon Errol, Mitzi Green and ZaSu Pitts
Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dra ...
'' (1931) (novel Mr and Mrs Haddock Abroad)
*'' Smilin' Through'' (1932) (dialogue)
*'' Dinner at Eight'' (1933) (additional dialogue)
* ''Going Hollywood
''Going Hollywood'' is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Marion Davies and Bing Crosby. It was written by Donald Ogden Stewart and based on a story by Frances Marion. ''Going Hollywood'' was released by ...
'' (1933)
*''Another Language
''Another Language'' is a 1933 American Pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith and starring Robert Montgomery and Helen Hayes.
Plot
A newlywed discovers that she and her husband's snobby family speak different languages: ...
'' (1933)
*'' The White Sister'' (1933)
* '' Manhattan Melodrama'' (1934)
* '' The Barretts of Wimpole Street'' (1934)
* ''No More Ladies
''No More Ladies'' is a 1935 American romantic comedy film directed by Edward H. Griffith. The film stars Joan Crawford and Robert Montgomery, and co-stars Charlie Ruggles, Franchot Tone, and Edna May Oliver. The screenplay credited to Donald ...
'' (1935)
*''The Prisoner of Zenda
''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in orde ...
'' (1937) (additional dialogue)
*''Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
'' (1938) (screenplay)
*''Holiday
A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or t ...
'' (1938) (screenplay)
*'' The Night of Nights'' (1939) (also story)
*'' Love Affair'' (1939)
*'' Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman'' (1940) (additional dialogue), aka '' Kitty Foyle'' (USA: short title)
*'' The Philadelphia Story'' (1940) (screenplay)
*'' Smilin' Through'' (1941) (screenplay)
*'' A Woman's Face'' (1941)
*'' That Uncertain Feeling'' (1941) (screenplay), aka ''Ernst Lubitsch's That Uncertain Feeling'' (USA: complete title)
*'' Keeper of the Flame'' (1942) (screenplay)
*''Tales of Manhattan
''Tales of Manhattan'' is a 1942 American anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Molnár, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart, worked on the six stories in this film. Ba ...
'' (1942)
*'' Forever and a Day'' (1943)
*'' Without Love'' (1945)
*''Cass Timberlane
''Cass Timberlane'' is a 1947 romantic drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner and Zachary Scott and directed by George Sidney. It was based on the 1945 novel ''Cass Timberlane: A Novel of Husbands and Wives'' by Sinclair Lewis, which was ...
'' (1947) (adaptation)
*'' Life with Father'' (1947)
*'' Edward, My Son'' (1949)
*''The Prisoner of Zenda
''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in orde ...
'' (1952) (additional dialogue) (originally uncredited)
*'' Summertime'' (1955) (uncredited)
*''An Affair to Remember
''An Affair to Remember'' is a 1957 American romance film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Filmed in CinemaScope, it was distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is considered among the most romantic films of all ti ...
'' (1957) (originally uncredited)
*''Love and Death
''Love and Death'' is a 1975 American comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It is a satire on Russian literature starring Allen and Diane Keaton as Boris and Sonja, Russians living during the Napoleonic Era who engage in mock-serious ...
'' (1975) (uncredited)[Kapsis, Robert E., ed. ''Woody Allen: Interviews (revised and updated)''. University Press of Mississippi, 2016, xxxiii]
As an actor
*''Holiday
A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or t ...
'' (1928) – Nick Potter
*''Humorous Flights'' (1929) – Donald Ogden Stewart
*''Night Club'' (1929/I)
*'' Not So Dumb'' (1930) – Skylar Van Dyke/Horace Patterson
Journalism
* "The Love Life of Jimmy Durante", ''Photoplay
''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film (another name for ''photoplay'') fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded '' Motion Picture Story,'' a magazine also directed at fans. For mo ...
'', August 1932, p. 58.
References
External links
Matthew J. Bruccoli collection of Donald Ogden Stewart
held at the University of South Carolina Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.
Algonquin Round Table history site
*
*
*
*
*
* Donald Ogden Stewart and Ella Winter Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Donald Ogden
1894 births
1980 deaths
Writers from Columbus, Ohio
Yale University alumni
American male screenwriters
American tax resisters
Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners
Hollywood blacklist
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
American male dramatists and playwrights
American male short story writers
20th-century American short story writers
20th-century American memoirists
American emigrants to England
20th-century American male writers
American male non-fiction writers
Screenwriters from Ohio
American communists
American anti-fascists
Algonquin Round Table
20th-century American screenwriters