Robert E. Sherwood
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Robert E. Sherwood | |
|---|---|
 Sherwood in early 1950s |
|
| Born | April 4, 1896 New Rochelle, New York, United States |
| Died | November 4, 1955 (aged 59) New York, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Author, Playwright, Screenwriter |
Robert Emmet Sherwood (4 April 1896–14 November 1955) American playwright, editor, and screenwriter.
Born in New Rochelle, New York, he was the son of the prominent American portrait artist Rosina Emmet Sherwood. He was the great-great-grandson of the former New York State Attorney General Thomas Addis Emmet and the great-great-nephew of the notable Irish nationalist Robert Emmet who was executed for high treason in an abortive rebellion attempt against the British. His aunts included the notable American portrait artists Lydia Field Emmet, Jane Emmet de Glehn and his second cousin was artist Ellen Emmet Rand.
Robert Emmet Sherwood was educated at Harvard University, Sherwood fought with the Canadian Black Watch in Europe during World War I and was wounded. After his return to the U.S., he began working as a movie critic for such magazines as Life and Vanity Fair.
Sherwood was one of the original members of the Algonquin Round Table. He was close friends with Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley, who were on the staff of Vanity Fair with Sherwood when the Round Table began meeting in 1919. Author Edna Ferber was also a good friend.
At six-feet six-inches, Sherwood was a giant for a man of his day. Dorothy Parker, who was five-feet four-inches, once commented that when she, Sherwood, and Robert Benchley (who was six feet tall) would walk down the street together, they looked like "a walking pipe organ." When asked at a party how long he had known Sherwood, Robert Benchley stood on a chair, raised his hand to the ceiling, and said, "I knew Bob Sherwood back when he was only this tall."
Sherwood's first play, The Road to Rome in 1927 was greeted with success. The play is a comedy concerning Hannibal's botched invasion of Rome. One of the underlying themes of this work is the stupidity of war. This is a recurrent motif in many of his dramatic works including his Idiot's Delight of 1936 which won the first of his four Pulitzer Prizes.
In addition to his work for the stage, Sherwood also was in demand in Hollywood. He began writing for the silver screen in 1926. While some of his work is uncredited, his films include many adaptations of his plays.
Robert E. Sherwood worked with Alfred Hitchcock and Hitchcock's assistant Joan Harrison in Rebecca (1940). Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison wrote the screenplay for Rebecca. Robert E. Sherwood's close friends Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker also worked with Alfred Hitchcock. Robert Benchley played Stebbins in Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940). Alfred Hitchcock allowed Benchley to write his own lines for his character Stebbins. And Dorothy Parker worked with Alfred Hitchcock as screenwriter in Saboteur (1942).
With Europe in the midst of World War II, Sherwood changed his anti-war stance and supported American involvement against the Third Reich. His 1940 play, There Shall Be No Night told the story of the Russian invasion of Finland. His patriotism led him to work as a speechwriter for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He recounted this period with his book Roosevelt and Hopkins which won a Pulitzer Prize and a Bancroft Prize in 1949.
Sherwood is credited with originating the phrase which came to be shortened as the 'arsenal of democracy' and later used by Franklin Roosevelt in his speeches. Sherwood had been quoted on May 12, 1940 by the New York Times, "this country is already, in effect, an arsenal for the democratic Allies."[1] Although the French economist, Jean Monnet had allegedly used the phrase later in 1940, "arsenal of democracy," he was urged not to use it again so Franklin Roosevelt could make use of it in his speeches.[2]
Sherwood also served for a time as Director of the Office of War Information. He returned to playwrighting after the war and produced his memorable script for the film The Best Years of Our Lives which was directed by William Wyler. The 1946 film explores how the lives of three servicemen have been changed after they return home from war. For this film, Sherwood was given an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.
Sherwood died of a heart attack in New York City in 1955.
Contents |
[edit] Plays
- The Road to Rome (1927) - adapted into the 1927 film The Private Life of Helen of Troy
- The Love Nest (1927)
- The Queen's Husband (1928) - adapted into the 1931 film The Royal Bed.
- Waterloo Bridge (1930) - adapted into a 1931 film and two soap-operas in Brazil.
- This is New York (1930) - adapted into the 1932 film Two Kinds of Women.
- Reunion in Vienna (1931) - adapted into a 1933 film.
- Acropolis (1933)
- The Petrified Forest (1935) - adapted into 1936 film with Leslie Howard and Bette Davis.
- Tovarich (1935) - adapted into a 1937 film.
- Idiot's Delight (1936) Pulitzer Prize for Drama - adapted into 1939 film
- Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1938) Pulitzer Prize for Drama - adapted into 1940 film. See Abe Lincoln in Illinois (film).
- There Shall Be No Night (1940) Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
- The Rugged Path (1945)
- "Small War on Murray Hill"
[edit] Nonfiction
- Roosevelt and Hopkins (1948) Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. Reprinted on the sixtieth anniversary of Pearl Harbor by Enigma Books, 2001 (ISBN 1-929631-04-9).
[edit] Notes
- ^ Gould, Jack (May 12, 1940). The Broadway Stage Has Its First War Play. The New York Times. Quoting Robert Emmet Sherwood, "this country is already, in effect, an arsenal for the democratic Allies."
- ^ Robinson, Charles K. (October 13, 1961) Time Magazine. Retrieved on June 6, 2008.
