Patrick Kearney (playwright)

Patrick Kearney (October 9, 1893, Columbus, Ohio – March 28, 1933, New York City)[1] was an American playwright.

Kearney started in the theatre as an actor.[2] His first Broadway play as a playwright was the comedy A Man's Man which was moderately successful, opening on October 12, 1925 and running into January of the next year, with 120 performances. [3] It was made into a 1929 silent film of the same name, now lost.

Theodore Dreiser and Horace Liveright chose Kearney to write the stage adaption of Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy[2] and Kearney did so. The play (of the same title), featuring Morgan Farley and Miriam Hopkins, had a successful run on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre in the 1926–1927 season.[4] In 1927, the play initiated Los Angeles's legitimate theatre scene as the premier production of Wilkes' Vine Street Theatre (now the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre).[5] An American Tragedy had a Broadway revival in 1931 at the Waldorf Theatre.[6]

Kearney's play of An American Tragedy was adapted into the 1951 film A Place in the Sun[7][8] starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, according to a screen credit acknowledging the play as a source. Elizabeth Coons and Deirdre Kearney Rose, Patrick Kearney's widow and daughter, filed a 1959 lawsuit against Paramount Pictures requesting an injunction restraining the distribution of the film. Paramount countered that, the onscreen credit notwithstanding, the film was based solely on Dreiser's novel.[9] The film won the 1951 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Kearney's next Broadway play was also an adaption, Elmer Gantry. It opened at the Playhouse Theatre in 1928 starring Edward Pawley and was not a success.[10] His next Broadway production was the original comedy Old Man Murphy which he wrote with Harry Wagstaff Gribble. It played at the Royale, then the Fulton, then after a haitus at the Hudson; it ran for 112 performances [11][12] and was later adapted into the 1935 film His Family Tree.[13] Kearney's final Broadway play was also an original comedy, A Regular Guy, which opened off-season at the Hudson, and which he also directed. It flopped.[14]

Kearney also did some film screenwriting, working (with other writers) on the films Darkened Rooms (1929), Fast Company (also 1929), and Doomed Battalion (1932).[15]

Personal life

Kearney's father was Alfred Kearney.[16] With his wife, Elizabeth, Patrick Kearney had two daughters, Monica and Deirdre.. Despondent over the failure of his later plays and the consequent financial losses, Kearney killed himself in New York on March 28, 1933 at the age of 39.[17]

Kearny's sister, Elizabeth Kearney Coakley, met Theodore Drieser at Kearney's funeral and became his secretary, protégé, and friend, and worked with Drieser on adapting some of his short stories to the screen.[2]

References

  1. "Patrick Kearney". Playbill. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Newlin, Keith, ed. (2003). A Theodore Dreiser Encyclopedia. Greenwood. p. 66. ISBN 978-0313316807. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  3. A Man's Man at the Internet Broadway Database
  4. An American Tragedy at the Internet Broadway Database
  5. "History of our Theater". Ricardo Montalbán Theatre'. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  6. Hischak, Thomas. Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows Through 2007. McFarland. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7864-3448-0. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  7. "A Place in the Sun". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  8. New York Times (2007). The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge, Second Edition: A Desk Reference for the Curious Mind. St. Martin's Press. p. 214. ISBN 978-0312376598. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  9. "A Place in the Sun". TCM (Turner Classic Movies). Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  10. Elmer Gantry at the Internet Broadway Database
  11. Old Man Murphy at the Internet Broadway Database
  12. Old Man Murphy (revival) at the Internet Broadway Database
  13. "His Family Tree". AFA Catalog of Feature Fims. American Film Institute. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  14. A Regular Guy at the Internet Broadway Database
  15. "Patrick Kearney". AFA Catalog of Feature Fims. American Film Institute. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  16. "The Final Curtain". Billboard. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  17. United Press International (March 29, 1933). "Playwright Kills Self"Paid subscription required. Bakersfield Californian. p. 13. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.