Elliott Nugent

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Elliott Nugent (September 20, 1896, Dover, Ohio - August 9, 1980, New York City) was an American actor, writer, and film director. He successfully transitioned from silent film to sound. He directed The Cat and the Canary (1939), starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. He also directed the Hope vehicles Never Say Die (1939) and My Favorite Brunette (1947).

Nugent was a college classmate (and lifelong friend) of fellow Ohioan James Thurber. Together, they wrote the Broadway play The Male Animal (1940) in which Nugent starred with Gene Tierney. He also directed the 1942 Warner Bros. film version, starring Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland.

Nugent's autobiography Events Leading Up to the Comedy (1965) skips over large portions of Nugent's life and work, but deals honestly with the alcoholism that largely ended his career.