Arthur Laurents (born July 14, 1918) is an award-winning
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwrightA playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. These works are usually written to be performed in front of a live audience by actors...
, librettist, stage director, and
screenwriterScreenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
. His credits include the stage musicals
West Side StoryWest Side Story is an American musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The musical's plot is based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet....
and
GypsyGypsy is a 1959 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. It is usually referred to as simply Gypsy...
and the film
The Way We WereThe Way We Were is a 1973 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack. The screenplay by Arthur Laurents was based on his college days at Cornell University and his experiences with the House Un-American Activities Committee....
.
Early life
Laurents, the son of a lawyer and a former schoolteacher who gave up her career when she married, was born and raised in the
FlatbushFlatbush is a community of the Borough of Brooklyn, a part of New York City, consisting of several neighborhoods.The name Flatbush is an Anglicization of the Dutch language Vlacke bos ....
section of
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
, the elder of two children, and attended
Erasmus Hall High SchoolErasmus Hall Campus High School is a four-year public high school in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, operated by the New York City Department of Education....
. His sister Edith suffered from
choreaChoreia is an abnormal involuntary movement disorder, one of a group of neurological disorders called dyskinesias. The term choreia is derived from a Greek word χορεία , as the quick movements of the feet or hands are vaguely comparable to dancing or piano playing.The term hemichoreia refers to...
as a child, and as a result Laurents always felt protective towards her. His paternal grandparents were
Orthodox JewsOrthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim.Orthodox...
and his mother's parents, although born Jewish, were
atheistsAtheism can be either the rejection of theism,or the position that deities do not exist.In the broadest sense, it is the absence of belief in the existence of deities....
. His mother kept a
KosherKashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit"...
home for her husband's sake, but was lax about attending temple and observing the
Jewish holidayA Jewish holiday or festival is a day or series of days observed by Jews as a holy or secular commemoration of an important event in Jewish history...
s. His Bar Mitzvah marked the end of Laurents' religious education and the beginning of his rejection of all fundamentalist religions, although he continued to identify himself as Jewish.
After graduating from
Cornell UniversityCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
, Laurents took an evening class in
radioRadio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
writing at
New York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian, research university in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. His instructor, a
CBS RadioCBS Radio Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, fourth behind main rival Clear Channel Communications , Cumulus Media and Citadel Broadcasting...
director/producer, submitted his script
Now Playing Tomorrow, a comedic fantasy about
clairvoyanceThe term clairvoyance is used to refer to the alleged ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
, to the network, and it was produced with
Shirley BoothShirley Booth was an American actress.Primarily a theatre actress, Booth's Broadway career began in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama Come Back, Little Sheba, for which she received a Tony Award in 1950...
in the lead role. It was Laurents' first professional credit. The show's success led to his being hired to write scripts for various radio shows, among them
Lux Radio TheaterLux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series [NBC Blue Network ; CBS ; NBC ] which first adapted Broadway stage works, and then films to hour-long radio programs performed live before studio audiences...
.
Military career
Laurents' career came to a halt when he was drafted into the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
in the middle of
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Through a series of clerical errors, he never saw battle, but instead was assigned to a base located in a former film studio in
Astoria, QueensAstoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...
, where he wrote training films and met, among others,
George CukorGeorge Cukor was an American film director who mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed a string of impressive films including What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David...
and
William HoldenWilliam Holden was an American film actor.Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954, and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974....
. He later was reassigned to write plays for
Armed Service Force Presents, a radio show that dramatized the contributions of all branches of the armed forces.
Theatrical career
Soon after being discharged from the Army, Laurents met ballerina
Nora KayeNora Kaye was an American ballerina called the Duse of Dance after acclaimed actress Eleonora Duse. She also worked in films as a choreographer and producer....
, and the two became involved in an on-again, off-again romantic relationship. While Kaye was on tour with
Fancy FreeFancy Free is a ballet by Jerome Robbins, subsequently balletmaster of New York City Ballet, made on Ballet Theatre, predecessor of American Ballet Theatre, to a score by Leonard Bernstein, with scenery by Oliver Smith, costumes by Kermit Love and lighting by Ronald Bates. The premiere took place...
, Laurents continued to write for the radio but was becoming discontented with the medium. At the urging of
Martin GabelMartin Gabel was an American actor, film director and film producer.-Biography:Gabel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Ruth and Israel Gabel, who was a jeweler...
, he spent nine consecutive nights writing a play inspired by a photograph of GIs in a
South PacificThe South West Pacific was one of two theatres of World War II in the Pacific region, between 1942 and 1945. The South West Pacific theatre included the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies , Borneo, Australia, the Australian Territory of New Guinea , the western part of the Solomon Islands and some...
jungleA jungle is usually a dense forest in a hot climate, such as a tropical rainforest. The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which refers to uncultivated land, among other meanings. The term is prevalent in many languages of the Indian subcontinent and particularly Urdu and Hindi...
. The result was
Home of the Brave, a drama about
anti-semitismAntisemitism is prejudice against or hostility towards Jews, often rooted in hatred of their ethnic background, culture, or religion....
in the military, which opened on
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
on December 27, 1945 and ran for 69 performances. Five years later, his second Broadway production,
The Bird Cage, was even less successful, running for only 21 performances. In 1952,
The Time of the CuckooThe Time of the Cuckoo is a play by Arthur Laurents. It focuses on the bittersweet romance between Leona Samish, a single American executive secretary vacationing in Europe, and Renato Di Rossi, a shopkeeper she meets in Venice...
reunited him with Shirley Booth and ran for 263 performances. (Laurents later would adapt it for the 1965
musicalMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Do I Hear a Waltz?Do I Hear A Waltz? is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Richard Rodgers, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It was adapted from Laurents' 1952 play The Time of the Cuckoo, which was the basis for the 1955 film Summertime starring Katharine Hepburn.-Background:Laurents originally...
) Other successes in the 1950s included the books for
West Side Story and
Gypsy.
In 1962, Laurents directed
I Can Get It for You WholesaleI Can Get It for You Wholesale is a musical with music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a book by Jerome Weidman based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in...
, which turned then-unknown
Barbra Streisand Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, film and theatre actress. She has also achieved note as a composer, liberal political activist, film producer, and film director. She has won two Academy Awards, ten Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, and a Peabody all by the age of...
into a star. His next project was
Anyone Can WhistleAnyone Can Whistle is a 1964 musical with a book by Arthur Laurents and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The story concerns a corrupt mayoress, an idealistic nurse, a man who may be a doctor, and various officials, patients and townspeople, all fighting to save a bankrupt town...
, which he directed and for which he wrote the book. It proved to be an infamous flop. He later redeemed himself with
Hallelujah, Baby!Hallelujah, Baby! is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden, and a book by Arthur Laurents. The show is "a musical chronicle of the African American struggle for equality during the [first half of the] 20th century."...
(written for
Lena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne is an American singer and actress. She has recorded and performed extensively, independently and with other jazz notables, including Artie Shaw, Teddy Wilson, Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, Charlie Barnet, Benny Carter and Billy Eckstine...
but ultimately starring
Leslie UggamsLeslie Uggams is an American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her Tony Award-winning work in Hallelujah, Baby!...
) and
La Cage Aux Folles, but stumbled again with
Nick & NoraNick & Nora is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., and music by Charles Strouse.At its core are witty and urbane high society couple Nick and Nora Charles, characters created by Dashiell Hammett in his novel The Thin Man, which inspired six films, a radio show,...
.
In 2008, Laurents directed a Broadway revival of
Gypsy starring
Patti LuPonePatti LuPone is an American singer and actress, perhaps best known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 musical Evita, and Rose in "Gypsy", and in her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les Misérables.-Personal life:LuPone was...
, and in 2009, he tackled a bilingual revival of
West Side Story, with Spanish translations to some dialogue and lyrics by
Lin-Manuel MirandaLin-Manuel Miranda is a Tony Award winning composer and lyricist, and a Tony Award nominated actor. He is most famous for writing and starring in the Broadway musical In the Heights, which opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in 2008.-Early life:Lin-Manuel was born in Northern...
. While preparing the show, he noted, "The musical theatre and cultural conventions of 1957 made it next to impossible for the characters to have authenticity." Following the production's March 19 opening at the Palace Theatre,
Ben BrantleyBen Brantley is the chief theater critic of the New York Times.-Biography:Born Benjamin D. Brantley in Durham, North Carolina, Brantley received a B.A...
of the
New York Times called the translations "an only partly successful experiment" and added, "Mr. Laurents has exchanged insolence for innocence and, as with most such bargains, there are dividends and losses."
Film career
Laurents' first Hollywood experience proved to be a frustrating disappointment. Unhappy with the script for
The Snake PitThe Snake Pit is a 1948 film which tells the story of a woman who finds herself in an insane asylum and cannot remember how she got there. It stars Olivia de Havilland, Mark Stevens, Leo Genn, Celeste Holm, Beulah Bondi and Lee Patrick....
submitted by
Frank PartosFrank Partos an American screenwriter, and an early executive committee member of the Screen Actor's Guild, which he helped found.-Career:...
and
Millen BrandMillen Brand was an American writer and poet. His novels Savage Sleep and The Outward Room, which addressed mental health institutions, were bestsellers in the 1960s and 1930s, respectively.-Career:...
, director
Anatole LitvakAnatole Litvak was a Ukrainian-born filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in a various countries and languages...
hired Laurents to rewrite it. Partos and Brand later insisted the bulk of the shooting script was theirs, and produced carbon copies of many of the pages Laurents actually had written to bolster their claim. Having destroyed the original script and all his notes and rewritten pages after completing the project, Laurents had no way to prove most of the work was his, and the
Writers Guild of AmericaIn the United States, screenwriting credit for motion pictures and television programs under its jurisdiction is determined by either the Writers Guild of America, East or the Writers Guild of America, west . Since 1941, the Guilds have been the final arbiter of who receives credit for writing a...
denied him screen credit. Brand later confessed he and Partos had copied scenes written by Laurents and apologized for his role in the deception. Four decades later, Laurents learned he was ineligible for WGA health benefits because he had failed to accumulate enough credits to qualify. He was short by one, the one he failed to get for
The Snake Pit.
Upon hearing
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox, is one of the six major American film studios...
executives were pleased with Laurents' work on
The Snake Pit,
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British filmmaker and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
hired him to Americanize the British play
RopeRope is a 1948 film based on the play Rope by Patrick Hamilton and adapted by Hume Cronyn and Arthur Laurents, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by Sidney Bernstein and Hitchcock as the first of their Transatlantic Pictures productions...
for the screen. With his then-lover
Farley GrangerFarley Granger is an American actor. In a career spanning several decades, he perhaps is known best for his two collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Rope in 1948 and Strangers on a Train in 1951.-Early life:...
set to star, Laurents was happy to accept the assignment. His dilemma was how to make the audience aware of the fact the three main characters were
homosexualHomosexuality is the romantic or sexual attraction or behavior among members of the same sex, situationally or as an enduring disposition. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is considered to lie within the heterosexual-homosexual continuum of human sexuality, and refers to an individual’s...
without blatantly saying so. The Hays Office kept close tabs on his work, and the final script was so discreet that Laurents was unsure whether co-star
James StewartJames Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart was an American film and stage actor, best known for his self-effacing persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
ever realized that his character was gay.
In later years, Hitchcock asked him to script both
Torn CurtainTorn Curtain is a political thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews.-Plot:The movie opens on a cruise ship en route to Copenhagen, where Michael Armstrong , an esteemed American physicist and rocket scientist, is to attend a scientific conference...
and
Topaz but, unenthused by the material, Laurents declined the offers.
Laurents also scripted
AnastasiaAnastasia is a 1956 20th Century Fox historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner, and Helen Hayes...
and
Bonjour Tristesse.
The Way We Were, in which he incorporated many of his own experiences, particularly those with the HUAC, reunited him with Barbra Streisand, and
The Turning PointThe Turning Point was written by Arthur Laurents and directed by Herbert Ross. In starring roles were Shirley MacLaine, Anne Bancroft, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Browne, Tom Skerritt, Martha Scott, Anthony Zerbe, Marshall Thompson and James Mitchell.-Synopsis:This film tells the story of two...
, inspired in part by his love for Nora Kaye, was directed by her husband
Herbert RossHerbert Ross was an American film director, producer, choreographer and actor.-Early life and career:Born Herbert David Ross in Brooklyn, New York, he made his stage debut as Third Witch with a touring company of Macbeth in 1942...
.
Blacklist
Because of a casual remark made by
Russel CrouseRussel Crouse was an American playwright and librettist, best known for his work in the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse.-Biography:...
, Laurents was called to Washington, DC to account for his political views. He explained himself to the
House Un-American Activities CommitteeThe House Committee on Un-American Activities was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
, and his appearance had no obvious impact on his career, which at the time was primarily in the theatre.
When the
McCarran Internal Security ActThe Internal Security Act of 1950 is a United States federal law that required the registration of Communist organizations with the United States Attorney General and established the Subversive Activities Control Board to investigate persons suspected of engaging in subversive activities or...
, which prohibited individuals suspected of engaging in subversive activities from obtaining a
passportA passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth...
, was passed in 1950, Laurents and Granger immediately applied for and received passports and departed for
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
with
Harold ClurmanHarold Edgar Clurman was a visionary American theatre director and drama critic, most famous for being one of the three original founders of the New York City's Group Theatre...
and his wife
Stella AdlerStella Adler was an American actress and an acclaimed acting teacher, who founded the Stella Adler Conservatory in New York City , where she taught the Method technique of acting for over four decades...
. Laurents and Granger remained abroad, traveling throughout
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
and northern
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
, for about eighteen months.
Years earlier, Laurents and
Jerome RobbinsJerome Robbins was an American film director and choreographer whose work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
had developed
Look Ma, I'm Dancing!, a stage musical about the world of ballet that never was produced. Robbins approached
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
about directing a screen version, and the studio agreed as long as Laurents was not part of the package. It wasn't until then that Laurents learned he officially had been
blacklistedThe Hollywood blacklist—more precisely the entertainment industry blacklist, into which it expanded—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political...
, primarily because a review of
Home of the Brave had been published in the
Daily WorkerThe Daily Worker was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, some attempts were made to make it a paper that reflected the spectrum of left-wing...
. He decided to return to Paris, but the
State DepartmentThe United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, similar to foreign ministries, foreign offices, ministries of external relations, etc. in other countries...
refused to renew his passport. Laurents spent three months trying to clear his name, and after submitting a lengthy letter explaining his political beliefs in detail, it was determined they were so
idiosyncraticIdiosyncrasy, from Ancient Greek , idiosyngkrasía, "a peculiar temperament", "habit of body" is defined as an individualizing quality or characteristic of a person or group, and is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity. The term can also be applied to symbols...
he couldn't have been a member of any subversive groups. Within a week his passport was renewed, and the following day he sailed for Europe on the
Ile de FranceIle de France may refer to:*Île-de-France * SS Ile de France, an ocean liner* Île-de-France , a breed of sheep* A historical name for Mauritius, an island nation in the southwest Indian Ocean...
. While on board, he received a cable from
MGMMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., or MGM, is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B...
offering him a screenwriting assignment. The blacklist had ended.
Memoirs
In 2000, Laurents published
Original Story By Arthur Laurents: A Memoir of Broadway and Hollywood. In it, he discusses his lengthy career and his many gay affairs and long-term relationships, including those with Farley Granger and Tom Hatcher, an aspiring actor whom
Gore VidalGore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter and political activist...
suggested Laurents seek out at the men's clothing store in Beverly Hills Hatcher was managing at the time. The couple remained together for 52 years until Hatcher's death on October 26, 2006.
In 2009, Laurents published
Mainly on Directing: Gypsy, West Side Story and Other Musicals, in which he discusses musicals he directed and the works of other directors he admires.
Additional credits
- Anna Lucasta (screenwriter)
- A Clearing in the Woods (playwright)
- Invitation to a March (playwright, director)
- The Madwoman of Central Park West
The Madwoman of Central Park West is a semi-autobiographical one-woman musical with a book by Arthur Laurents and Phyllis Newman and songs by various composers and lyricists...
(playwright, director)
- My Good Name (playwright)
- Jolson Sings Again (playwright)
- The Enclave (playwright, director)
- Radical Mystique (playwright, director)
- Big Potato (playwright)
- Two Lives (playwright)
- My Good Name (playwright)
- Claudia Lazlo (playwright)
- Attacks on the Heart (playwright)
- 2 Lives (playwright)
- New Year's Eve (playwright)
Theatre awards and nominations
- 1958 Tony Award for Best Musical
This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack -1950s:* 1950: South Pacific – Music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by...
(West Side Story, nominee)
- 1960 Tony Award for Best Musical (Gypsy, nominee)
- 1968 Tony Award for Best Musical (Hallelujah, Baby!, winner)
- 1975 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since...
(Gypsy, winner)
- 1975 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Prior to 1960, category for direction included plays and musicals.-1950s:Note: this category was for both dramatic and musical productions...
(Gypsy, nominee)
- 1984 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (La Cage aux Folles, winner)
- 2008 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Gypsy, nominee)
Film awards and nominations
- Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible...
(The Turning Point, nominee)
- Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (The Turning Point, nominee)
- Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
(Rope, nominee)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
The Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture is one of the annual awards given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:1965: Doctor Zhivago – Robert Bolt*The Agony and the Ecstasy – Philip Dunne...
(The Turning Point, nominee)
- Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay
The Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay is one of the three film writing awards given by the Writers Guild of America Award....
(The Way We Were, nominee; The Turning Point, winner)
- National Board of Review Award for Career Achievement
The 71st National Board of Review Awards, honoring the best in filmmaking in 1999, were announced on 7 December, 1999 and given on 18 January, 2000.-Top 10 Films:#American Beauty *Academy Award for Best Picture*#The Talented Mr...
(winner)
Further Reading
- Laurents, Arthur, Original Story by Arthur Laurents: A Memoir of Broadway and Hollywood. New York: Knopf 2000. ISBN 0-375-40055-9
- Laurents, Arthur, Mainly on Directing: Gypsy, West Side Story, and Other Musicals. New York: Knopf 2009. ISBN 0-307-27088-2
External links