Luther Berryhill Davis (August 29, 1916 – July 29, 2008) was an American playwright and screenwriter.

Early life an education

Davis was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from

Culver Military Academy Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culver ...

in 1934 and received a bachelor of arts from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1938.Weber, Bruce
"Luther Davis: Tony-award winning writer of musical and movies"
''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...

'', Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, volume 82, number 6, August 6, 2008, A-11. He served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

until 1945, rising to the rank of major. While in the army air forces, he served in Asia and Europe.

Career

In collaboration with

Charles Lederer Charles Davies Lederer (December 31, 1910 – March 5, 1976) was an American screenwriter and film director. He was born into a theatrical family in New York, and after his parents divorced, was raised in California by his aunt, Marion Davies, ...

, Robert Wright, and

George Forrest George Forrest may refer to: *G. Topham Forrest (George Topham Forrest, 1872–1945), principal architect for the London County Council * George Forrest (author) (1915–1999), American author and musician *George Forrest (botanist) (1873–1932), ...

, Luther Davis wrote '' Kismet'', ''

Timbuktu! ''Timbuktu!'' is a musical, with lyrics by George Forrest and Robert Wright, set to music by Borodin, Forrest and Wright. The book is by Luther Davis. It is a resetting of Forrest and Wright's musical '' Kismet''. The musical is set in 1361 in ...

'', and two different treatments of

Vicki Baum Hedwig "Vicki" Baum (; he, ויקי באום; January 24, 1888 – August 29, 1960) was an Austrian writer. She is known for the novel ''Menschen im Hotel'' ("People at a Hotel", 1929 — published in English as '' Grand Hotel''), one of h ...

’s novel '' Grand Hotel'' (''At the Grand'' for the Los Angeles and San Francisco Light Opera Association and the Broadway musical version, '' Grand Hotel, The Musical''). He received two

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

s in 1954 (with Lederer) for ''Kismet'' as Best Author (Musical) and as co-author of the book contributed to the Best Musical win. He was nominated again in 1978, for Most Innovative Production of a Revival, as producer of ''Timbuktu!'', and in 1990 as author of the Best Book (Musical) for ''Grand Hotel, The Musical''. He wrote fifteen movies, many television specials and co-produced

Stephen MacDonald Stephen MacDonald (5 May 1933 – 12 August 2009) was a British actor, director and dramatist. MacDonald was brought up and educated in Birmingham, where he trained as an actor, but subsequently worked extensively in Scotland as a theatre d ...

’s

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

play, ''Not About Heroes''. He won two

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

s and was nominated many times by the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

and the

League of American Theatres and Producers The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry based in New York, New York. Its members include theat ...

. He was the father of two daughters and was married to soap opera actress

Jennifer Bassey Jennifer Bassey (born July 22, 1942) is an American actress who has worked on both stage and screen. She is perhaps best known for her role as Marian Colby in the ABC soap opera ''All My Children'' which she played on and off from 1983 until the ...

, his companion since 1978, from 2004 until his death.

Credits

Stage plays

*'' Kiss Them for Me'' (March 20, 1945 – June 23, 1945) *''

New Faces of 1952 ''New Faces of 1952'' is a musical revue with songs and comedy skits. It ran on Broadway for nearly a year in 1952 and was then made into a motion picture in 1954. It helped launch the careers of several young performers including Paul Lynde, Alic ...

'' (May 16, 1952 – March 28, 1953) *'' Kismet'' (December 3, 1953 – April 23, 1955) *''

'' (March 1, 1978 – September 10, 1978) *'' Grand Hotel'' (November 12, 1989 – April 25, 1992)

Screenplays

*''

The Hucksters ''The Hucksters'' is a 1947 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film directed by Jack Conway starring Clark Gable and Deborah Kerr, her debut in an American film. The supporting cast includes Sydney Greenstreet, Adolphe Menjou, Ava Gardner, Keenan Wynn, and ...

'' (1947) *''

B.F.'s Daughter ''B.F.'s Daughter'' is a 1948 drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Van Heflin. It was adapted from John P. Marquand's 1946 novel of the same name, about a prominent couple whose marital tensions come to a boi ...

'' (1948) *''

Black Hand Black Hand or The Black Hand may refer to: Extortionists and underground groups * Black Hand (anarchism) (''La Mano Negra''), a presumed secret, anarchist organization based in the Andalusian region of Spain during the early 1880s * Black Hand (e ...

'' (1950) *'' A Lion Is in the Streets'' (1953) *''

New Faces ''New Faces'' is a British television talent show that aired in the 1970s and 1980s. It has been hosted by Leslie Crowther, Derek Hobson and Marti Caine. It was produced for the ITV network by ATV, and later by Central. Original series: 197 ...

'' (1954) *'' Kismet'' (1955) *''

The Eternal Sea ''The Eternal Sea'' (aka ''The Admiral Hoskins Story'') is a 1955 American war film directed by John H. Auer and starring Sterling Hayden, Alexis Smith and Ben Cooper. After an American naval officer loses his leg at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, he ...

'' (1955) *'' Kiss Them for Me'' (1957) *''

The Gift of Love ''The Gift of Love'' is a 1958 American CinemaScope drama romance film directed by Jean Negulesco and starring Lauren Bacall and Robert Stack. The film's screenplay was based on the short story "The Little Horse" by Nelia Gardner White, or ...

'' (1958) *''

Holiday for Lovers ''Holiday for Lovers'' is a 1959 DeLuxe in CinemaScope comedy film directed by Henry Levin. Based on a 1957 play of the same title by Ronald Alexander, the film stars Clifton Webb, Jane Wyman, Jill St. John and Carol Lynley. Plot Robert Dea ...

'' (1959) *'' Le Meraviglie Di Aladino'' (1961) *''

Lady in a Cage ''Lady in a Cage'' is a 1964 American psychological thriller film directed by Walter Grauman, written and produced by Luther Davis, and released by Paramount Pictures. It stars Olivia de Havilland and James Caan in his first substantial film ro ...

'' (1964) *''

Daughter of the Mind ''Daughter of the Mind'' is a 1969 American made-for-television horror-thriller film starring Don Murray, Ray Milland and Gene Tierney. It was first broadcast on ABC on December 9, 1969 as the ABC Movie of the Week.TV Guide, December 6–12, 196 ...

'' (1969) *''

The Old Man Who Cried Wolf ''The Old Man Who Cried Wolf'' is a 1970 American made-for-television thriller film directed by Walter Grauman and starring Edward G. Robinson, Martin Balsam and Diane Baker. It originally aired as the ''ABC Movie of the Week'' on October 13 ...

'' (1970) *''

The Silent Force ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (TV series) (1970-1971) *''

Across 110th Street ''Across 110th Street'' is a 1972 American action-crime film directed by Barry Shear and starring Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Franciosa and Paul Benjamin. The film is set in Harlem, New York and takes its name from 110th Street, the ...

'' (1972)

Creator

*''

'' (TV series) (1970-1971)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Luther 1916 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters People from Brooklyn Place of death missing Edgar Award winners Tony Award winners American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) Culver Academies alumni 20th-century American screenwriters United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Yale College alumni