Editing Moss Hart

{{Short description|American playwright, librettist and theater director}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Moss Hart
| image              = Moss Hart 1940.JPG
| caption            = Hart in 1940
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1904|10|24}}
| birth_place        = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1961|12|20|1904|10|24}}
| death_place        = [[Palm Springs, California]], U.S.
| resting_place      = [[Ferncliff Cemetery]]
| occupation         = {{hlist|Playwright|librettist|theater director}}
| years_active       = 
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Kitty Carlisle]]|1946}}
| children           = 2
| relatives          = 
}}

'''Moss Hart''' (October 24, 1904 – December 20, 1961) was an American playwright, librettist, and theater director.

==Early years==
Hart was born in [[New York City]], the son of Lillian (Solomon) and Barnett Hart, a cigar maker.<ref>1910 United States Federal Census</ref><ref>1920 United States Federal Census</ref> He had a younger brother, Bernard.<ref>1930 United States Federal Census</ref> He grew up in relative poverty with his English-born [[Jewish]] immigrant parents in [[the Bronx]] and in [[Sea Gate, Brooklyn]].<ref>[http://www.enotes.com/you-cant/author-biography Moss Hart profile: the early years]</ref>

In his youth, he had a formative relationship with his Aunt Kate, who piqued his interest in the theater, often taking him to see performances. Hart even went so far as to create an "alternate ending" to her life in his book ''[[Act One (book)|Act One]]''. He learned that the theater made possible "the art of being somebody else … not a scrawny boy with bad teeth, a funny name … and a mother who was a distant drudge."<ref name=bach>{{cite book|last1=Bach|first1=Steven|author-link1=Steven Bach|title=Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart|publisher=Random House Inc|pages=1, 13, 268|year=2001|isbn=0-679-44154-9|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/b/bach-01dazzler.html|access-date=May 28, 2008}}</ref>

Hart's first glimpse of Broadway came in 1918 when he was 14 years old. He later recounted exiting the subway at [[Times Square]] and standing agog at the urban tableau before him: "A swirling mob of shouting happy people... confetti and paper streamers... soldiers and sailors climbed happily onto the tops of taxis, grabbing girls up to dance with them. My first thought was 'Of course, that's just the way I thought it would be.'" Unbeknownst to Hart, his arrival had coincided with the signing of the [[Armistice_of_11_November_1918|armistice that ended World War One]].<ref>Stanley, Bob, Let's Do It: The Birth of Pop Music, Pegasus Books, 2022, pgs 69-70</ref>

==Career==
[[File:Kaufman-Hart-1937.jpg|thumb|left|[[George S. Kaufman]] and Moss Hart in 1937]]
After working several years as a director of amateur theatrical groups and an entertainment director at summer resorts, he scored his first Broadway hit with ''[[Once in a Lifetime (play)|Once in a Lifetime]]'' (1930), a farce about the arrival of the sound era in Hollywood. The play was written in collaboration with Broadway veteran [[George S. Kaufman]], who regularly wrote with others, notably [[Marc Connelly]] and [[Edna Ferber]]. (Kaufman also performed in the play's original Broadway cast in the role of a frustrated playwright hired by Hollywood) and produced by [[Sam H. Harris|Sam Harris]]. Hart's agent at this time was [[Frieda Fishbein]], who brought a lawsuit against Hart, contending she was entitled to a percentage of the royalties from plays produced by Harris. The matter was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 10, 1981 |work=The New York Times |title=Frieda Fishbein, Book Agent |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1981/09/10/issue.html |location= New York |page=D23 |access-date=March 26, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |date=2002 |last=Bach |first=Steven  |title=Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart |publisher=Da Capo |location=Cambridge, Mass. |page=78 |isbn=0306811359}}</ref>

During the next decade, Kaufman and Hart teamed on a string of successes, including ''[[You Can't Take It with You (play)|You Can't Take It with You]]'' (1936) and ''[[The Man Who Came to Dinner]]'' (1939). Though Kaufman had hits with others, Hart is generally conceded to be his most important collaborator.

''You Can't Take It With You'', the story of an eccentric family and how they live during the [[Great Depression|Depression]], won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for drama. It is Hart's most-revived play. When director [[Frank Capra]] and writer [[Robert Riskin]] adapted it for the screen in 1938, the film won the Best Picture Oscar and Capra won for Best Director.

''The Man Who Came To Dinner'' is about the caustic Sheridan Whiteside who, after injuring himself slipping on ice, must stay in a [[Midwest]]ern family's house. The character was based on Kaufman and Hart's friend, critic [[Alexander Woollcott]]. Other characters in the play are based on [[Noël Coward]], [[Harpo Marx]] and [[Gertrude Lawrence]].

Throughout the 1930s, Hart worked both with and without Kaufman on several musicals and revues, including ''[[Face the Music (musical)|Face the Music]]'' (1932); ''[[As Thousands Cheer]]'' (1933), with songs by [[Irving Berlin]]; ''[[Jubilee (musical)]]'' (1935), with songs by [[Cole Porter]]; and ''[[I'd Rather Be Right]]'' (1937), with songs by [[Richard Rodgers]] and [[Lorenz Hart]]. (Lorenz Hart and Moss Hart were not related.) 
After ''[[George Washington Slept Here]]'' (1940), Kaufman and Hart called it quits. Hart continued to write plays after parting with Kaufman, such as ''Christopher Blake'' (1946) and ''Light Up the Sky'' (1948), as well as the book for the musical ''[[Lady In The Dark]]'' (1941), with songs by [[Kurt Weill]] and [[Ira Gershwin]]. However, he became best known during this period as a director. Among the Broadway hits he staged were ''[[Junior Miss]]'' (1941), ''[[Dear Ruth]]'' (1944) and ''[[Anniversary Waltz (play)|Anniversary Waltz]]'' (1954).  By far his biggest hit was the musical ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' (1956), adapted from [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s ''[[Pygmalion (play)|Pygmalion]]'', with book and lyrics by [[Alan Jay Lerner]] and music by [[Frederick Loewe]]. The show ran over six years and won a Tony Award for Best Musical. Hart picked up the Tony for Best Director.<ref>{{cite news |title=Internet Broadway Database|work=IBDB|author= IBDB.com|access-date=October 5, 2020| url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/my-fair-lady-2407}}</ref>

[[File:Moss Hart Arlene Francis Answer Yes or No 1950.JPG|thumb|Hart was the host of an early television game show, ''Answer Yes or No'', in 1950. [[Arlene Francis]] was one of the panelists.]]

In 1950 Hart was host of the game show ''[[Answer Yes or No]]'' on NBC television.<ref name="brooks">{{cite book|last1=Brooks|first1=Tim|last2=Marsh|first2=Earle|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present|date=1999|publisher=The Ballentine Publishing Group|location=New York|isbn=0-345-42923-0|page=50|edition=7th}}</ref>

Hart also wrote some screenplays, including ''[[Gentleman's Agreement]]'' (1947) (for which he received an Oscar nomination), ''[[Hans Christian Andersen (film)|Hans Christian Andersen]]'' (1952) and ''[[A Star Is Born (1954 film)|A Star Is Born]]'' (1954). His memoir ''[[Act One (book)|Act One: An Autobiography]]'' (1950) was [[Act One (film)|adapted for film]] in 1963, with [[George Hamilton (actor)|George Hamilton]] portraying Hart. 

The last show Hart directed was the [[Lerner and Loewe]] musical ''[[Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]'' (1960). During a troubled out-of-town tryout, Hart had a heart attack. The show opened before he fully recovered, but he and Lerner reworked it after the opening. That, along with huge pre-sales and a cast performance on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'', helped ensure the expensive production was a hit. {{Citation needed|date=February 2012}}

==Guild presidency==
Hart was the tenth president of the [[Dramatists Guild of America]], from 1947 until 1956, when [[Oscar Hammerstein II]] became his successor.

==Personal life==
Hart married [[Kitty Carlisle]] on August 10, 1946; they had two children.<ref>{{cite book| last1=Brenner| first1=Marie| author-link1=Marie Brenner| title=Great Dames: What I Learned From Older Women| url=https://archive.org/details/greatdameswhatil00bren| url-access=registration| year=2000| publisher=Crown| location=New York| isbn=978-0609807095| pages=[https://archive.org/details/greatdameswhatil00bren/page/12 12–34]| chapter=Kitty Carlisle Hart}}</ref>

==Death==

Moss Hart died of a heart attack at the age of 57 on December 20, 1961, at his winter home in [[Palm Springs, California]].<ref>{{cite news| title=Moss Hart Dies at 57; Celebrated Playwright| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-SxAAAAAIBAJ&dq=palm-springs&pg=1802%2C1631321| access-date=September 30, 2012| newspaper=[[The Vindicator (Ohio newspaper)|Youngstown Vindicator]]| date=December 20, 1961| agency=Associated Press| page=1}}</ref> He was entombed in a crypt at [[Ferncliff Cemetery]] in [[Hartsdale, New York]].<ref>Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 20166). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.</ref>

==Legacy==

In 1972, 11 years after his death, Moss Hart was inducted into the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]], one of 23 people to be selected into the Hall of Fame's first induction class that year.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1972/10/27/91353154.pdf| title=Uris Hall of Fame Names First Group| newspaper=The New York Times| date=October 27, 1972}}</ref> [[Alan Jay Lerner]] paid tribute to Hart in his memoir, ''[[The Street Where I Live]]''.

===Moss Hart Awards===
The New England Theatre Conference offers the Moss Hart Memorial Award at their annual convention to theater groups in New England that put forth imaginative productions of exemplary scripts. These awards are designed to honor Moss Hart as well as the award recipients.<ref name="BWW">{{citation|title='Intervention' Now Playing NYMF 9/23, Wins Moss Hart Award|date=September 19, 2007|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Intervention_Now_Playing_NYMF_923_Wins_Moss_Hart_Award_20070919|journal=Broadway World}}.</ref> Past winners include Wellesley Repertory Theatre, Staples Players, and Suffield Academy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.netconline.org/moss-hart-award-honorees|title=Moss Hart Award Honorees {{!}} NETC Online|website=www.netconline.org|access-date=November 8, 2019}}</ref>

===Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle Hart New Play Initiative===

Developed as an offshoot of the very successful New Play Initiative of [[Burbank, California]]'s Grove Theater Center, the Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle Hart New Play Initiative (Hart NPI) expands the program to one of the few programs of its kind where a playwright will be guaranteed a production of his/her play in Los Angeles (Burbank), as well as an Off-Broadway Premiere at 59E59 Theaters in New York City.  The GTC New Play Initiative is the brainchild of producers Charles Johanson and Kevin Cochran (founders of Grove Theater Center) and its expansion to a truly bi-coastal program with the focus on the author and their vision for their work. The Hart NPI is under the leadership of Moss Hart's son Christopher Hart (artistic director), Kevin Cochran (producing artistic director) and Charles Johanson (executive director). In the first Hart NPI play cycle (2017-2018) there were 1,243 submissions from 44 states and 6 countries!.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.hartnpi.org/| title=home| website=The Hart NPI| access-date=June 6, 2018| language=en-US}}</ref> The Hart NPI will select 16-21 semifinalists, which will then be narrowed down to eight finalists and the eight will be narrowed down to the winners: Four Bronze Hart NPI winners will have a reading of their play at 59E59 Theaters, two Silver Hart NPI winners will have a production of their play in Los Angeles (Burbank), CA at the GTC Burbank and the Gold Hart NPI winner will have an Off-Broadway premiere at 59E59 Theaters. Dr. Catherine Hart (Moss and Kitty's daughter, who also serves on the board of trustees of the Hart NPI) said that "Having a program like this in Moss & Kitty's name would have made them proud."

==Work==
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}
; Plays
* 1930 ''[[Once in a Lifetime (play)|Once In A Lifetime]]'' (Kaufman and Hart)
* 1934 ''[[Merrily We Roll Along (play)|Merrily We Roll Along]]'' (Kaufman and Hart)
* 1936 ''[[You Can't Take It with You (play)|You Can't Take It with You]]'' (Kaufman and Hart; [[Pulitzer Prize]] winner)
* 1937 ''[[I'd Rather Be Right]]'' (Kaufman and Hart)
* 1938 ''[[The Fabulous Invalid]]'' (Kaufman and Hart)
* 1939 ''[[The American Way (play)|The American Way]]'' (Kaufman and Hart)
* 1939 ''[[The Man Who Came to Dinner]]'' (Kaufman and Hart)
* 1940 ''[[George Washington Slept Here]]'' (Kaufman and Hart)
* 1941 ''[[Lady in the Dark]]'', with [[Kurt Weill]] and [[Ira Gershwin]]
* 1943 ''[[Winged Victory (play)|Winged Victory]]''
* 1946 ''Christopher Blake'' 
* 1948 ''[[Light Up the Sky (play)|Light Up the Sky]]''
{{Col-break}}
; Screenplays
* 1944 ''[[Winged Victory (film)|Winged Victory]]''
* 1947 ''[[Gentleman's Agreement]]''
* 1952 ''[[Hans Christian Andersen (film)|Hans Christian Andersen]]''
* 1954 ''[[A Star Is Born (1954 film)|A Star Is Born]]''
{{Col-break}}
; Director
* 1941 ''[[Lady in the Dark]]''
* 1941 ''Junior Miss''
* 1943 ''[[Winged Victory (play)|Winged Victory]]''
* 1944 ''[[Dear Ruth]]''
* 1945 ''The Secret Room''
* 1946 ''Christopher Blake''
* 1948 ''[[Light Up the Sky (play)|Light Up the Sky]]''
* 1949 ''[[Miss Liberty]]''
* 1952 ''The Climate of Eden''
* 1954 ''[[Anniversary Waltz (play)|Anniversary Waltz]]''
* 1956 ''[[My Fair Lady (musical)|My Fair Lady]]''
* 1960 ''[[Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]''

; Autobiography
* 1959 (1989) {{cite book|title=[[Act One (book)|Act One]]: An Autobiography|year=1989|orig-year=1959|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=0-312-03272-2 }}
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Further reading===
*{{cite book| publisher=Back Stage; Windsor [distributor]| isbn=978-0-8230-7890-5| last=Brown| first=Jared| title=Moss Hart: a prince of the theatre: a biography in three acts| location=New York| access-date=May 28, 2019| date=2006| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CMhYuJ7WdiAC&q=moss+hart%3A+prince+of+the+theatre}}
*{{cite book| last=Bach| first=Steven| title=Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart| publisher=Knopf| location=New York| date=2001}}
*{{cite book| last=Kennedy| first=Harold J.| title=No Pickle, No Performance. An Irreverent Theatrical Excursion from Tallulah to Travolta| publisher=Doubleday| location=New York| date=1978}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Moss Hart}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{FadedPage|id=Hart, Moss|name=Moss Hart|author=yes}}
* [https://archive.today/20131210033826/http://arcat.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=523/ Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle Hart Papers] at the [[Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research]].
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{iobdb name|3394}}
* {{IMDb name|366454}}

{{TonyAward Director}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Moss}}
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1961 deaths]]
[[Category:American theatre directors]]
[[Category:Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery]]
[[Category:Donaldson Award winners]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]
[[Category:Jewish theatre directors]]
[[Category:Jewish American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Writers from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:Writers from Palm Springs, California]]
[[Category:American people of English-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:People with bipolar disorder]]
[[Category:American male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:People from Sea Gate, Brooklyn]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]