Rosemary Drachman Taylor was a best-selling author whose works were made into plays, films, radio and television programs. Taylor was born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

on May 8, 1899, to

Mose Mose, Mosè, or Mosé is a given name which may refer to: People In religion * Mose Durst, former president of the Unification Church of the United States * Mosé Higuera, Colombian Catholic bishop * Mosè Tovini, Italian Roman Catholic priest In ...

and Ethel Drachman. When the Drachmans returned to Tucson in the early 1900s, she moved there with them. She first attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, before transferring to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, where she graduated with honors in 1922. She was also a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. She was married to another writer, John Winchcombe-Taylor. Early in her career she was a war correspondent for the ''

Tucson Citizen The ''Tucson Citizen'' was a daily newspaper in Tucson, Arizona. It was founded by Richard C. McCormick with John Wasson as publisher and editor on October 15, 1870, as the ''Arizona Citizen''. When it ceased printing on May 16, 2009, the daily ...

'', and covered the

Rif War The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by History of France, France in 1924) and the Berbers, Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at ...

from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. Her novels included ''

Chicken Every Sunday ''Chicken Every Sunday'' is a 1949 American comedy film directed by George Seaton. The screenplay by Seaton and Valentine Davies is based on the 1944 play of the same title by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein, which was based on Chicken Ev ...

'', '' Ridin' the Rainbow'', ''Bar Nothing Ranch'', '' Come Clean, My Love'', and ''Harem Scare'm''. Taylor wrote the best-selling novel, ''Chicken Every Sunday'' in 1943. The book was an autobiographical look at the Mose Drachman family during the early 1900s, and was compared to ''

Life With Father ''Life with Father'' is a 1939 play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, adapted from a humorous autobiographical book of stories compiled in 1935 by Clarence Day. The Broadway production ran for 3,224 performances over 401 weeks to become the l ...

''. The book was adapted as a play by

Julius The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

and

Philip G. Epstein Philip G. Epstein (August 22, 1909 – February 7, 1952) was an American screenwriter most known for his screenplay for the film ''Casablanca'' (1942), which won an Academy Award. He had written it in partnership with his twin brother Julius and ...

in 1944 under the same name. The play ran for 9 months 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 ...

from April 1944 to January 1945. The book was further adapted into a film of the same name in 1949 starring

Dan Dailey Daniel James Dailey Jr. (December 14, 1915 – October 16, 1978) was an American dancer and actor. He is best remembered for a series of popular musicals he made at 20th Century Fox such as ''Mother Wore Tights'' (1947). Biography Early life Da ...

and

Celeste Holm Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress. Holm won an Academy Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947), and was nominated for her roles in ''Come to th ...

. The film had its world premiere in Tucson, at the Fox Theater on February 12, 1949. In addition, the book was adapted into a radio program airing on the

NBC Radio Network The NBC, National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network it was ...

, beginning in July 1949.

Billie Burke Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was an American actress who was famous on Broadway and radio, and in silent and sound films. She is best known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North ...

was cast in the leading role as Ethel Drachman, while

Harry Von Zell Harry Rudolph von Zell (July 11, 1906 – November 21, 1981) was an American announcer of radio programs, and an actor in films and television shows. He is best remembered for his work on ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show''. Life and ...

played the character of Mose Drachman. Taylor's one stipulation was that the character's last name needed to be changed from Drachman to something else. Her second novel, ''Ridin' the Rainbow'', was published the next year, in 1944. The novel was also about her family, but whereas the first novel's protagonist was Ethel, the family matriarch, this novel focused on the family's patriarch, Mose, and his various business dealings. The ''

Corpus Christi Caller-Times The ''Corpus Christi Caller-Times'' is the newspaper of record for Corpus Christi, Texas. History There has been a newspaper in Corpus Christi for almost as long as there has been a town. In 1883, the ''Caller'' was started in a frame buildi ...

'' said the novel was "one of the most amusing personal histories available this season." The ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' also gave the novel a positive review, although they did not like it as much as ''Chicken Every Sunday''. Taylor died on November 7, 1981, from a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

at her home in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

References

{{Reflist 1899 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American journalists