Richard Edward Connell Jr. (October 17, 1893 – November 22, 1949) was an American author and journalist. He is most notable for his short story "

The Most Dangerous Game "The Most Dangerous Game", also published as "The Hounds of Zaroff", is a short story by Richard Connell, first published in ''Collier's'' on January 19, 1924, with illustrations by Wilmot Emerton Heitland. The story features a big-game hunter ...

" (1924). Connell was one of the most popular American short story writers of his time. His stories were published in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'' and ''

Collier's } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...

'' magazines. He had equal success as a journalist and screenwriter, and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1942 (

Best Original Story The Academy Award for Best Story was an Academy Award given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1956. This award can be a source of confusion for modern audiences, given its co-existence with the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenpl ...

) for the movie ''

Meet John Doe ''Meet John Doe'' is a 1941 American comedy drama film directed and produced by Frank Capra, written by Robert Riskin, and starring Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward Arnold. The film is about a "grassroots" political campaign created ...

'' (1941), directed by

Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...

and based on his 1922 short story " A Reputation".

Life and career

Connell was born on October 17, 1893, in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...

, the son of Richard E. Connell and Mary Miller Connell. He began his writing career for ''

The Poughkeepsie Journal The ''Poughkeepsie Journal'' is a newspaper based in Poughkeepsie, New York, and owned by Gannett, which bought the paper in 1977. Founded in 1785 (though not a daily newspaper until 1860), the ''Journal'' is the oldest paper in New York state, a ...

'', and attended

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers over 40 undergraduate degrees and a Mas ...

for a year before going to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. While at Harvard, Connell edited '' The Lampoon'' and ''

The Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduate students. His ...

''. He subsequently worked on the city staff of ''

The New York American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 ...

'' and as a copy writer for J. Walter Thompson. Connell served in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. While in the army, he was the editor of his camp's newspaper. After the war, he turned to writing short stories, and eventually wrote over 300.

Screenplays

* ''

'' (1932) (contributing writer) * ''

The Milky Way The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galaxy, which are ...

'' (1936) (writer) * ''

F-Man ''F-Man'' is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline and written by Richard Connell, Henry Johnson, Paul Gerard Smith and Eddie Welch. The film stars Jack Haley, William Frawley, Grace Bradley, Adrienne Marden, Onslow Stevens a ...

'' (1936) (writer) * ''

Our Relations ''Our Relations'' is a 1936 American comedy film directed by Harry Lachman starring Laurel and Hardy, produced by Stan Laurel for Hal Roach Studios. Plot Stan and Ollie are unexpectedly reunited with their long-lost twin brothers, Alf and Bert ...

'' (1936) (screen story) * ''

Love on Toast Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good hab ...

'' (1937) (writer) * ''Okusama ni shirasu bekarazu'' (1937) (writer) * '' The Cowboy and the Lady'' (1938) (contributing writer) (uncredited) * '' Doctor Rhythm'' (1938) (writer) * '' Hired Wife'' (1940) (writer) * '' Nice Girl?'' (1941) (writer) * '' Rio Rita'' (1942) (screenplay) * ''

Presenting Lily Mars ''Presenting Lily Mars'' is a 1943 American musical comedy film directed by Norman Taurog, produced by Joe Pasternak, starring Judy Garland and Van Heflin, and based on the 1933 novel by Booth Tarkington. The film is often cited as Garland's fir ...

'' (1943) (screenplay) * ''

Two Girls and a Sailor ''Two Girls and a Sailor'' is a 1944 American musical film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Van Johnson, June Allyson and Gloria DeHaven. Set on the American homefront during World War II, it's about two singing sisters who create a lavi ...

'' (1944) (writer) * ''

Thrill of a Romance ''Thrill of a Romance'' (also known as ''Thrill of a New Romance'') is an American Technicolor romance film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1945, starring Van Johnson, Esther Williams and Carleton G. Young, with musical performances by Tommy D ...

'' (1945) (writer) * ''

Her Highness and the Bellboy ''Her Highness and the Bellboy'' is a 1945 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Hedy Lamarr, Robert Walker, June Allyson and Rags Ragland. Written by Richard Connell and Gladys Lehman, the film is about a be ...

'' (1945) (writer) * '' Luxury Liner'' (1948) (writer)

Novels

* ''The Mad Lover'' (1927) * ''Murder at Sea'' (1929) * ''Playboy'' (1936) * ''What Ho!'' (1937)

Short story collections

*''The Sin of Monsieur Pettipon and Other Humorous Tales'' (1922) – Also known as ''Mister Braddy's Bottle and Other Humorous Tales'' *''Apes and Angels'' (1924) – Includes "The Man Who Could Imitate a Bee". *''Variety'' (1925) – Includes "

". *''Ironies'' (1930) – Includes "The Law Beaters".
Ironies
' at WorldCat *''The Most Dangerous Game''

References

External links

*
Works by Richard Connell
a
Library of Short Stories
* * * * *
Richard Connell
at

The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures The ''AFI Catalog of Feature Films'', also known as the ''AFI Catalog'', is an ongoing project by the American Film Institute (AFI) to catalog all commercially-made and theatrically exhibited American motion pictures from the birth of cinema i ...

Additional biography and text of ''The Most Dangerous Game''

Works by Richard Connell
(public domain in Canada)
Louise Fox Connell Papers, 1904-1986
at

Harvard University Library Harvard Library is the network of libraries and services at Harvard University, a private Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Library is the oldest library system in the United States and both the largest academic librar ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connell, Richard 1893 births 1949 deaths 20th-century American poets 20th-century American short story writers American male novelists American male poets American male short story writers Writers from Poughkeepsie, New York Harvard University alumni 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences alumni United States congressional aides