Hatcher Hughes (12 February 1881, Polkville, North Carolina – 19 October 1945,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) was an American playwright who lived in Grover, NC, as featured in the book ''Images of America''. He was on the teaching staff of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

from 1912 onward. He was awarded the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for his 1922 play '' Hell-Bent Fer Heaven''.

Early life and education

He was the tenth of eleven children of Andrew Jackson Hughes and Martha Jane Gold Hughes. He received both his undergraduate degree (1907) and master's degree (1909) in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Career

''Hell-bent fer Heaven'' (1924) was performed 122 times at the Klaw Theater (which later became the Avon and then CBS Theater #2). The play starred multiple

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 ce ...

and Pulitzer Prize winner

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. Early years Abbott was born in Forestville, New Yo ...

(author of ''The Pajama Game'', ''Fiorello'', and ''Damn Yankees'') and

Clara Blandick Clara Blandick (born Clara Blanchard Dickey; June 4, 1876 – April 15, 1962) was an American character, film, stage and theater actress. She played Aunt Em in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). As a character actress, sh ...

(who played Auntie Em in ''The Wizard of Oz''). It was made into a movie in 1926. Hughes was a professor at

. A UNC graduate, he returned often to NC to speak and provide insight on Broadway. His detailed correspondence from New York to North Carolina and his mother provides a wealth of information to this day for Silver Screen researchers and archivists at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

Family

In 1930 he married Janet Ranney Cool. The marriage produced a daughter, Ann Ranney Hughes. During the First World War, he served as an Army captain. He and his family divided their time between their home in New York City and their farm in West Cornwall, Connecticut.

Works

* ''A Marriage Made in Heaven'' (1918) * ''Wake Up, Jonathan!'' (with

Elmer Rice Elmer Rice (born Elmer Leopold Reizenstein, September 28, 1892 – May 8, 1967) was an American playwright. He is best known for his plays ''The Adding Machine'' (1923) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of New York tenement life, '' Street Sce ...

, 1921) * ''Hell-Bent fer Heaven'' (1924), made into the 1926 motion picture of the same name * ''Ruint'' (1920) * ''It's a Grand Life'' (1930) * ''The Lord Blesses the Bishop'' (co-author, 1934)

External links

* * 1881 births 1945 deaths Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners People from Cleveland County, North Carolina Writers from North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Columbia University faculty American military personnel of World War I 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters {{US-dramatist-stub