Garson Kanin
Encyclopedia
Garson Kanin was a prolific American writer and director of plays and films.
(1938), which The New York Times
considered one of the ten best films of 1938. Kanin is best remembered, however, for his collaborations with his wife, actress Ruth Gordon
, whom he married in 1942. Together, they wrote the Spencer Tracy
/Katharine Hepburn
film comedies Adam's Rib
(1949) and Pat and Mike
(1952), both directed by George Cukor
.
His 1946 play Born Yesterday
, which he also directed, ran for 1,642 performances. Kanin worked, uncredited, on the screenplay of the 1950 film adaptation.
His other stage work includes directing The Diary of Anne Frank
(1955), which ran for 717 performances, and the musical Funny Girl (1964), which ran for 1,348 performances.
In 1990, Kanin, a widower since 1985, married the actress Marian Seldes
, who survives him. In 1999, Kanin died at age 86 in New York City of undisclosed causes.
, who mentored him, and an admirer of the work of Frank Capra
. Kanin said "I'd rather be Capra than God, if there is a Capra." Kanin and Katharine Hepburn
were the only witnesses to Laurence Olivier
and Vivien Leigh
's wedding in California
on August 31, 1940. In 1941, he and Katharine Hepburn
worked with his brother Michael Kanin
and Ring Lardner, Jr., on the early drafts of what would become Woman of the Year
, right before Garson enlisted in the Army. He is also quoted as saying, "When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt."
Novels
Plays
Musicals
Film and stage career
His first film as a director was A Man to RememberA Man to Remember
A Man to Remember is a American drama film directed by Garson Kanin, his first film credit as a director. The picture was based on the novel The Failure, written by Katharine Haviland-Taylor, and the screenplay was penned by Dalton Trumbo. The story tells of a saintly small town doctor working...
(1938), which The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
considered one of the ten best films of 1938. Kanin is best remembered, however, for his collaborations with his wife, actress Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon Jones , better known as Ruth Gordon, was an American actress and writer. She was perhaps best known for her film roles such as Minnie Castevet, Rosemary's overly solicitous neighbor in Rosemary's Baby, as the eccentric Maude in Harold and Maude and as the mother of Orville Boggs in the...
, whom he married in 1942. Together, they wrote the Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
/Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
film comedies Adam's Rib
Adam's Rib
Adam's Rib is a 1949 American film written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin and directed by George Cukor. It stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as married lawyers who come to oppose each other in court. Judy Holliday co-stars in her first substantial film role...
(1949) and Pat and Mike
Pat and Mike
Pat and Mike is a 1952 comedy starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The movie was directed by George Cukor, who also directed The Philadelphia Story and Adam's Rib.- Plot :...
(1952), both directed by George Cukor
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
.
His 1946 play Born Yesterday
Born Yesterday
Born Yesterday is a play written by Garson Kanin which premiered on Broadway in 1946, starring Judy Holliday as Billie Dawn. The play was adapted intoa successful 1950 film of the same name.- Plot :...
, which he also directed, ran for 1,642 performances. Kanin worked, uncredited, on the screenplay of the 1950 film adaptation.
His other stage work includes directing The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank (play)
The Diary of Anne Frank is a stage adaptation of the book The Diary of a Young Girl. The play is a dramatization by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. It opened at the Cort Theatre, Broadway, on October 5, 1955, in a production by Kermit Bloomgarden, directed by Garson Kanin and designed by Boris...
(1955), which ran for 717 performances, and the musical Funny Girl (1964), which ran for 1,348 performances.
In 1990, Kanin, a widower since 1985, married the actress Marian Seldes
Marian Seldes
Marian Hall Seldes is an American stage, film, radio, and television actress whose career has spanned six decades and who was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame.-Life and career:...
, who survives him. In 1999, Kanin died at age 86 in New York City of undisclosed causes.
Acquaintances and memorable sayings
He was a colleague of Thornton WilderThornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.-Early years:Wilder was born in Madison,...
, who mentored him, and an admirer of the work of Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
. Kanin said "I'd rather be Capra than God, if there is a Capra." Kanin and Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
were the only witnesses to Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
's wedding in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on August 31, 1940. In 1941, he and Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
worked with his brother Michael Kanin
Michael Kanin
Michael Kanin was an American director, producer, playwright and screenwriter who shared an Academy Award with Ring Lardner Jr. in 1942 for writing the Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy film comedy Woman of the Year....
and Ring Lardner, Jr., on the early drafts of what would become Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year is a romantic comedy film. The movie is about an emancipated woman, chosen "Woman of the Year", and her colleague-turned-husband and their efforts to negotiate a path to marital bliss....
, right before Garson enlisted in the Army. He is also quoted as saying, "When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt."
Selected publications
- Remembering Mr. Maugham; with an introduction by Noel CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, 1966 - Hollywood..Stars and Starlets, Tycoons, Moviemakers, Frauds, Hopefuls, Great Lovers; New York, Viking Press, 1967
- Movieola, New York, Simon & Shuster, 1979
- Smash. New York: Viking, 1980
- Tracy and Hepburn - an intimate memoir, Viking Press, New York, 1971
Novels
- Blow Up a Storm
- Do Re Mi
- The Rat Race
- Where It's At
Plays
- Born YesterdayBorn YesterdayBorn Yesterday is a play written by Garson Kanin which premiered on Broadway in 1946, starring Judy Holliday as Billie Dawn. The play was adapted intoa successful 1950 film of the same name.- Plot :...
- The Smile of the World
- The Rat Race
- The Live Wire
- Come on Strong
Musicals
- Fledermaus
- Do Re MiDo Re MiDo Re Mi may refer to:* Solfège, a system of learning musical scales* "Do-Re-Mi", a 1959 song by Rodgers and Hammerstein from the musical and film The Sound of Music* Do Re Mi , a 1960 musical by Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Jule Styne...
Filmography
- A Man to RememberA Man to RememberA Man to Remember is a American drama film directed by Garson Kanin, his first film credit as a director. The picture was based on the novel The Failure, written by Katharine Haviland-Taylor, and the screenplay was penned by Dalton Trumbo. The story tells of a saintly small town doctor working...
(1938) - director - Next Time I Marry (1938) - director
- The Great Man VotesThe Great Man VotesThe Great Man Votes is a 1939 American drama film starring John Barrymore as a widowed professor turned drunkard who has the deciding vote in an election for mayor. It was based on the short story of the same name by Gordon Malherbe Hillman in American Magazine...
(1939) - director - Bachelor MotherBachelor MotherBachelor Mother is an American comedy film directed by Garson Kanin, and starring Ginger Rogers , David Niven, and Charles Coburn. The screenplay was written by Norman Krasna based on a Academy Award nominated story by Felix Jackson...
(1939) - director - They Knew What They Wanted (1940) - director
- My Favorite WifeMy Favorite WifeMy Favorite Wife is a 1940 screwball comedy produced and co-written by Leo McCarey and directed by Garson Kanin. The movie stars Irene Dunne as a woman who returns to her husband and children after being shipwrecked on a tropical island for several years, and Cary Grant as her husband...
(1940) - director - Tom, Dick and HarryTom, Dick and Harry (1941 film)Tom, Dick and Harry is a comedy film directed by Garson Kanin, written by Paul Jarrico, and starring Ginger Rogers, George Murphy, Alan Marshal, and Burgess Meredith. The film was released by RKO Radio Pictures....
(1941) - director - The More the MerrierThe More the MerrierThe More the Merrier is a 1943 American comedy film made by Columbia Pictures which makes fun of the housing shortage during World War II, especially in Washington, D.C.. The picture stars Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn, Stanley Clements and Richard Gaines. The movie was directed by...
(1942) - writer - The True GloryThe True GloryThe True Glory was a 1945 co-production of the US Office of War Information and the British Ministry of Information, documenting the victory on the Western Front, from Normandy to the collapse of the Third Reich. Although many individuals contributed to the film, British director Carol Reed is...
(1945) - director - A Double LifeA Double LifeA Double Life is a 1947 film noir which tells the story of an actor whose mind becomes affected by the character he portrays. The movie starred Ronald Colman and Signe Hasso...
(1947) - writer - Adam's RibAdam's RibAdam's Rib is a 1949 American film written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin and directed by George Cukor. It stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as married lawyers who come to oppose each other in court. Judy Holliday co-stars in her first substantial film role...
(1949) - writer - Pat and MikePat and MikePat and Mike is a 1952 comedy starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The movie was directed by George Cukor, who also directed The Philadelphia Story and Adam's Rib.- Plot :...
(1952) - writer - The Marrying KindThe Marrying KindThe Marrying Kind is a film directed by George Cukor, starring Aldo Ray and Judy Holliday. Other cast members include John Alexander, Charles Bronson, Peggy Cass, Barry Curtis, Tom Farrell, Frank Ferguson, Ruth Gordon , Gordon Jones, Madge Kennedy, Nancy Kulp, Mickey Shaughnessy, and Joan...
(1952) - writer - It Should Happen to YouIt Should Happen to YouIt Should Happen to You is a romantic comedy film starring Judy Holliday, notable as the first screen appearance of Jack Lemmon, who was then an aspiring young actor. The film was directed by George Cukor and filmed on location in New York City...
(1954) - writer - The Girl Can't Help ItThe Girl Can't Help ItThe Girl Can't Help It is a 1956 comedy musical film starring Jayne Mansfield, Tom Ewell, and Edmond O'Brien. It was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenplay adapted by Tashlin and Herbert Baker from an uncredited novel Do Re Me by Garson Kanin...
(1956) - original story - High TimeHigh Time (film)High Time is a 1960 collegiate comedic film, directed by Blake Edwards and starring Bing Crosby. The film is told from the perspective of a middle-aged man who enters the world of a new generation of postwar youth...
(1960) - original story - The Rat RaceThe Rat RaceThe Rat Race is a 1960 American drama film directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Tony Curtis and Debbie Reynolds as struggling young entertainment professionals in New York City. Filming took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.- Plot :...
(1960) - writer - Some Kind of Nut (1968) - writer, director
- Where It's At (1969) - writer, director