Editing Charles MacArthur

{{short description|American writer}}
{{for|the Canadian politician|Charles MacArthur (politician)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Charles MacArthur
|image = File:Charles MacArthur (American screenwriter) 2.jpg
|caption = MacArthur aboard [[SS Bremen (1928)|SS ''Bremen'']], March 1933
|birth_name = Charles Gordon MacArthur
|birth_date = {{birth date|1895|11|05}}
|birth_place = [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1956|04|21|1895|11|05}}
|death_place = [[New York City]], U.S.
|occupation = Screenwriter, playwright
|spouse = {{marriage|Carol Frink|1920|1926|end=divorce}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=People, Jul. 13, 1936 |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,756416,00.html |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 13, 1936}}</ref>
{{marriage|[[Helen Hayes]]|1928}}
|children = 2, including [[James MacArthur]]
|relatives = [[John D. MacArthur]] (brother)<br/>[[J. Roderick MacArthur]] (nephew)
}}

'''Charles Gordon MacArthur''' (November 5, 1895 – April 21, 1956) was an American [[playwright]], [[screenwriter]], and 1935 winner of the [[Academy Award for Best Story]].

==Life and career==
{{Moresources|section|date=August 2022}}
MacArthur was born in [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]], the sixth of seven children of stern [[Evangelism|evangelist]] William Telfer MacArthur and Georgiana Welsted MacArthur.<ref name=jamesmacarthur.com>{{cite web| title=A Salute to Charles Gordon MacArthur| year=2004| publisher=James Macarthur Official Website| url=http://www.jamesmacarthur.com/CharlesMacArthur/CharlesMacArthur.shtml}}</ref> Early in life, MacArthur developed a passion for reading. Declining to follow his father into ministry, he moved to the [[Midwest]] and soon became a successful reporter in [[Chicago]], working for the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' and ''[[Chicago Daily News]]''. MacArthur joined the [[United States Army]] for [[World War I]], and served in France as a private assigned to Battery F, 149th Field Artillery, a unit of the [[42nd Infantry Division (United States)|42nd Division]], The Rainbow Division.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 20, 1919 |title=Reporter Writes View of the War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XzZJAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA24-PA25 |work=The Fourth Estate |location=New York, NY |page=25}}</ref> He recounted his wartime experience in 1919's ''A Bug's-Eye View of the War''.<ref>{{cite book |last=MacArthur |first=Charles G. |date=1919 |title=A Bug's-Eye View of the War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y5fvAAAAMAAJ |location=New York, NY |publisher=149th Field Artillery Regiment |page=title}}</ref> After the war, he wrote several short stories, two of which, "Hang It All" (1921) and "Rope" (1923), were published in [[H. L. Mencken]]'s ''[[The Smart Set]]'' magazine.<ref name=jamesmacarthur.com /> Eventually he settled in [[New York City]], where he turned to [[playwriting]].

MacArthur is best known for his plays in collaboration with [[Ben Hecht]], ''[[Ladies and Gentlemen (play)|Ladies and Gentlemen]]'' (filmed as ''[[Perfect Strangers (1950 film)|Perfect Strangers]]''), ''[[Twentieth Century (play)|Twentieth Century]]'' and the frequently filmed ''[[The Front Page]]'', which was based in part on MacArthur's experiences at the [[City News Bureau of Chicago]]. MacArthur also co-wrote, with [[Edward Sheldon]], the play ''Lulu Belle'', which was staged in 1926 by [[David Belasco]]. MacArthur was friends with members of the [[Algonquin Round Table]], shared an apartment with [[Robert Benchley]] and had an affair with [[Dorothy Parker]].

His second marriage was to the stage and screen actress [[Helen Hayes]], from 1928 until his death. They lived in [[Nyack, New York|Nyack]], [[New York (state)|New York]]. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Mary, who died of polio in 1949 at age 19. The shock of her death hastened MacArthur's own, according to those who knew him. Their adopted son, [[James MacArthur]], was also an actor, best known for playing Danny "Danno" Williams on the American [[television]] series ''[[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]]''.  His brother, [[John D. MacArthur]], was an insurance-company owner and executive, and founded the [[MacArthur Foundation|John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation]], the benefactor of the [[MacArthur Fellowships]].

==Awards and nominations==
[[Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Story|Best Writing, Original Story]] - ''[[The Scoundrel (1935 film)|The Scoundrel]]'' (shared with [[Ben Hecht]]) (1936)
* Nominations:
**[[Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)|Best Writing, Screenplay]] - ''[[Wuthering Heights (1939 film)|Wuthering Heights]]'' (shared with [[Ben Hecht]]) in 1940
**[[Academy Award for Best Story|Best Writing, Original Story]] - ''[[Rasputin and the Empress]]'' in 1934

In 1983, MacArthur was posthumously inducted into the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/10/theater/theater-hall-of-fame-gets-10-new-members.html| title=Theater Hall of Fame Gets 10 New Members| work=[[The New York Times]]| date=May 10, 1983}}</ref>

==Film portrayal==
MacArthur was portrayed by [[Matthew Broderick]] in the 1994 film ''[[Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110588/fullcredits|title=Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) - IMDb|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>

==Selected works==

===Plays===
* ''Swan Song'' (1946), (with [[Ben Hecht]])
* ''[[Ladies and Gentlemen (play)|Ladies and Gentlemen]]'' (1939), (with [[Ben Hecht]]), made into the 1950 film ''[[Perfect Strangers (1950 film)|Perfect Strangers]]''
* ''Johnny on a Spot''
* ''Jumbo'', (with [[Ben Hecht]]), made into the 1935 musical play ''[[Jumbo (musical)|Jumbo]]'' and the 1962 film musical ''[[Billy Rose's Jumbo (film)|Billy Rose's Jumbo]]''
* ''[[Twentieth Century (play)|Twentieth Century]]'' (with [[Ben Hecht]]), made into the 1934 film ''[[Twentieth Century (film)|Twentieth Century]]''
* ''The Front Page'' (1928), with [[Ben Hecht]], made into the 1931, 1945, and 1974 motion pictures of the same name, the 1940 film ''[[His Girl Friday]]'', and the 1988 movie ''[[Switching Channels]]''
* ''[[Lulu Belle (film)|Lulu Belle]]'' (1926), (with [[Edward Sheldon]])

===Screenplays===
* ''[[Wuthering Heights (1939 film)|Wuthering Heights]]'' (1939)
* ''[[Gunga Din (film)|Gunga Din]]'' (1939)
* ''[[Angels with Dirty Faces]]'' (1938) (uncredited)
* ''King of Gamblers'' (1937), aka ''Czar of the Slot Machines'' (uncredited)
* ''[[Soak the Rich]]'' (1936)
* ''[[The Scoundrel (1935 film)|The Scoundrel]]'' (1935)
* ''[[Barbary Coast (film)|Barbary Coast]]'' (1935)
* ''[[Once in a Blue Moon (1935 film)|Once in a Blue Moon]]'' (1935)
* ''[[Crime Without Passion]]'' (1934) (also directed by him and [[Ben Hecht]])
*''[[Topaze (1933 American film)|Topaze]]'' (1933)
* ''[[Freaks (1932 film)|Freaks]]'' (1932) (uncredited)
* ''[[Rasputin and the Empress]]'' (1932)
* ''[[The Unholy Garden (1931 film)|The Unholy Garden]]'' (1931)
* ''[[Quick Millions (1931 film)|Quick Millions]]'' (1931) (uncredited)
* ''[[Hell Divers]]'' (1931)
* ''[[New Adventures of Get Rich Quick Wallingford]]'' (1931)
* ''[[The Sin of Madelon Claudet]]'' (1931)
* ''[[Paid (1930 film)|Paid]]'' (1930)
* ''[[Way for a Sailor]]'' (1930)
* ''[[King of Jazz]]'' (1930) (uncredited)
* ''[[Billy the Kid (1930 film)|Billy the Kid]]'' (1930)
* ''[[The Girl Said No (1930 film)|The Girl Said No]]'' (1930)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Charles MacArthur}}
* {{IMDb name|0531269}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{iobdb name|33277}}
* {{Find a Grave|6774}}

{{Charles MacArthur}}
{{The Front Page}}
{{AcademyAwardBestStory 1928–1939}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macarthur, Charles}}
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:MacArthur family (Chicago, Illinois)|Charles]]
[[Category:Writers from Chicago]]
[[Category:Writers from New York City]]
[[Category:Writers from Scranton, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Best Story Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:People from Nyack, New York]]
[[Category:American male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Illinois]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Baptists from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Baptists from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Chicago Tribune people]]
[[Category:20th-century American journalists]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century American screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century Baptists]]
[[Category:Algonquin Round Table]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]