Paul Meredith Potter (June 3, 1853 - March 7, 1921) was an American playwright and journalist, best known for adapting the popular novel ''

Trilby A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in Britain Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. Barnes & Noble. and ...

'' into a

stage play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and intended for theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Reading (process), reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Pla ...

.(8 March 1921)
Paul M. Potter, Playwright, Dead: Dramatist of "Trilby" Stricken in His Room in Murray Hill Baths in His 68th Year
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''(8 March 1921)
Paul M. Potter, Author of Many Dramas, Is Dead
''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

''(8 March 1921)
Paul M. Potter is Found Dead In Bed
''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. His ...

'' Potter was born Walter Arthur McLean in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1853. His father was headmaster of King Edward's School in Bath. He adopted the name Paul Potter after traveling to India upon graduating from school. He became the foreign editor for the ''

'' in 1876, and later their London correspondent. In 1885 he became the ''Heralds drama critic, and in 1888, he left the ''Herald'' to join the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. Potter's first play was '' The City Directory'' (1889), following by a string of additional plays, including the adaptation of ''Trilby''.

Partial bibliography

* '' The City Directory'' (1889) * ''The Ugly Duckling'' (1890) (featured Broadway debut of

Mrs. Leslie Carter Caroline Louise Dudley (June 10, 1857 – November 13, 1937) was an American silent film and stage actress who found fame on Broadway through collaborations with impresario David Belasco. She was a strikingly beautiful and vivacious performer ...

)(1 June 1890)
Among the Playhouses
''Sunday Herald'' (Washington, D.C.) * ''The World's Fair'' (1891) * ''The American Minister'' (1892) (for

William H. Crane William Henry Crane (April 30, 1845March 7, 1928) was an American actor. Early years Crane was born in Leicester, Massachusetts on April 30, 1845. He grew up in Boston and graduated from Brimmer School. Career He made his first professional ap ...

) * ''Sheridan, or the Maid of Bath'' (1893) (for

E. H. Sothern Edward Hugh Sothern (December 6, 1859 – October 28, 1933) was an American actor who specialized in dashing, romantic leading roles and particularly in Shakespeare roles. Biography Sothern was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of English ...

) * ''Our Country Cousins'' (1893)(3 June 1907)
This is my 54th Birthday
''Lewiston Evening Teller'' * ''The Victoria Cross'' (1894) * ''The Pacific Mail'' (1894)(28 October 1894)

''

'' * ''

'' (1895) * ''The Stag Party'' (1895) (co-written with humorist

Bill Nye William Sanford Nye (born November 27, 1955), popularly known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, is an American mechanical engineer, science communicator, and television presenter. He is best known as the host of the science television show ''Bill ...

) * ''The Conquerors'' (1898) * ''Under Two Flags'' (1901) (based on 1867 novel) * ''The Red Kloof'' (1901) * ''Notre Dame'' (1902) * ''

The School Girl ''The School Girl'' is an Edwardian musical comedy, in two acts, composed by Leslie Stuart (with additional songs by Paul Rubens) with a book by Henry Hamilton and Paul M. Potter, and lyrics by Charles H. Taylor and others. It concerns a Fre ...

'' (1903) * ''Nancy Stair'' (1905) (based on

Elinor Macartney Lane Elinor Macartney Lane (1864 – March 15, 1909) was an American novelist who was popular in the first decade of the 1900s. After publishing a number of short stories, she wrote three novels: ''Mills of God'' (1901),(17 August 1901)A Woman's Fi ...

novel) * ''Barbara's Millions'' (1906) * ''The Honor of the Family'' (1908) * ''The Queen of the Moulin Rouge'' (1908)(5 January 1909)
Stage Morality on the Wane
''The Evening Times'' * ''

The Girl from Rector's ''The Girl from Rector's'' is a play written by Paul M. Potter. The play is a sex farce involving several couples in a tangle of adulterous affairs, and was considered indecent by many critics, as well as some government officials who censored p ...

'' (1909) (with Henry Hamilton) * ''Arsene Lupin'' (adaptation, see

Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation: ʁsɛn lypɛ̃ is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazi ...

) * ''Israel''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Paul M. 1853 births 1921 deaths 19th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights