Frances Goodrich (December 21, 1890 – January 29, 1984) was an American actress, dramatist, and screenwriter, best known for her collaborations with her partner and husband Albert Hackett. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with her husband in 1956 for ''

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 Netherl ...

'' which had premiered the previous year.

Personal life

Goodrich was born in Belleville, New Jersey, the daughter of Madeleine Christy (née Lloyd) and Henry Wickes Goodrich. The family moved to nearby Nutley, New Jersey when Goodrich was two. She attended Collegiate School in Passaic, New Jersey, and graduated from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely foll ...

in 1912, and attended the New York School of Social Work from 1912 to 1913. She married actor Robert Ames in 1917 (divorced 1923), writer

Hendrik Willem van Loon Hendrik Willem van Loon (January 14, 1882 – March 11, 1944) was a Dutch-American historian, journalist, and children's book author. Life He was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the son of Hendrik Willem van Loon and Elisabeth Johanna Hanken. ...

in 1927 (divorced 1930), and writer Albert Hackett in 1931. Goodrich and Hackett remained married until she died. Goodrich was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Muckraking writer Henry Demarest Lloyd was Goodrich's uncle.

Career

Soon after she left the New York School of Social Work, Goodrich began the acting portion of her career at the Players Club in New York City. From there she went to Northampton, Massachusetts, where she acted in stock theater. Her acting credits on Broadway included ''Perkins'' (1918), ''Daddy Long Legs'' (1918), ''Fashions for Men'' (1922), ''Queen Victoria'' (1923), ''A Good Bad Woman'' (1925), ''Skin Deep'' (1927), and ''Excess Baggage'' (1927). Not long after marrying Hackett, the couple settled in 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 them until 1939. Among their early assignments was writing the screenplay for '' The Thin Man'' (1934). They were encouraged by director

W.S. Van Dyke Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II (Woody) (March 21, 1889 – February 5, 1943) was an American film director and writer who made several successful early sound films, including ''Tarzan the Ape Man'' in 1932, ''The Thin Man'' in 1934, ''San Francis ...

to use the writing of

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...

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). The resulting film was one of the major hits of the year, and the script was considered to show a modern relationship in a realistic manner for the first time. The couple 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 awards for '' Easter Parade'' (1949), '' Father's Little Dividend'' (1951), ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' (1954), and ''

'' (1959), as well as nominations 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 for their play ''

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

Death

Goodrich died from lung cancer on January 29, 1984 at the age of 93 in New York City.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goodrich, Frances 1890 births 1984 deaths American women screenwriters Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) People from Belleville, New Jersey People from Nutley, New Jersey Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Vassar College alumni Columbia University alumni Columbia University School of Social Work alumni American women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers Screenwriters from New Jersey Tony Award winners Jewish American screenwriters 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American actresses American stage actresses Broadway theatre people