| John Colton | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 31, 1887 Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Died | December 26, 1946 Gainesville, Texas |
| Occupation | playwright screenwriter |
John Colton (December 31, 1887 - December 26, 1946) was a prolific American playwright and screenwriter. He spent the first 14 years of his life in Japan where his English father was a diplomat. After returning to the US he soon worked for a Minneapolis newspaper. He is best remembered for adapting Somerset Maughan's novel Rain into a 1922 smash hit play starring Jeanne Eagels. He also made a play out Shanghai Gesture in 1926 as well as the spinoff from Rain called Sadie Thompson.The majority of the types of stories he excelled at were plays dealing with Americans in far lands just like young Colton spent his early youth in Japan. With these huge successes Colton was lured to Hollywood, primarily MGM, where he wrote intertitles for some silent films and scenarios for others. In the talking film era he wrote numerous screenplays.
Colton was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1887. Suffered a stroke in 1945. He died of a second stroke in Gainesville, Texas in 1946. Colton was allegedly homosexual.[1] [2] [3]