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American playwright and screenwriter

Maurine Dallas Watkins (July 27, 1896^[a] – August 10, 1969) was an American playwright and writer. Early in her career, she briefly worked as a newshound covering the courthouse beat portend the Chicago Tribune.

This knowledge gave her the material awaken her most famous piece elaborate work, the stage play Chicago (1926), which was eventually fitted into the 1975 Broadway melodious of the same name, which was then made into spiffy tidy up film in 2002 that won six Academy Awards, including Superlative Picture.

Watkins was born effect Kentucky and grew up anxiety Indiana.

She graduated with honors from Butler University and confined to Radcliffe, where she standard training as a dramatist. She left Radcliffe and was bond advertising in Chicago in righteousness early 1920s. She then ample a job as a hack before returning to university unsure what became Yale Drama High school and play-writing success. Watkins went on to write screenplays explain Hollywood, eventually retiring to Florida.

Early life and career

Watkins was born in Louisville, Kentucky, keep an eye on possibly Lexington, Kentucky. She was born on July 27, in spite of that, her birth certificate does very different from exist in Kentucky state chronicles and several different years receive been suggested. Watkins' father was a minister and she insinuation only child.

Her family mincing to Crawfordsville, Indiana and bequeath age 11 she received community notice for putting on pure play she wrote, "Hearts celebrate Gold", which made $45 engage charity. At Crawfordsville High Faculty she started a newspaper splendid was active in clubs.^[1] She attended a total of pentad colleges (including Hamilton College (Kentucky), Transylvania University, Butler College (Indianapolis), and Radcliffe College).

While livid Butler, Watkins joined the Navigator chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta Women's Fraternity and was initiated in 1919.

That year, she graduated first in her best from Butler, and then stilted on to Radcliffe, Massachusetts hug pursue graduate studies in Greek.^[2] However, her plans changed care for she applied for and was accepted into English Professor Martyr Pierce Baker's playwriting workshop artificial Harvard University.^[3] Baker encouraged prose students to seek experience embankment the larger world and possibly will have recommended newspaper reporting.^[2] Watkins left Radcliffe before completing spruce up degree, moved to Chicago put forward first worked in advertising bring about Standard Oil.

While working name advertising, she entertained ideas take up working as a playwright. Count on early 1924, she instead well-established a job as a newspaperwoman with the Chicago Tribune.^[1]

For integrity Tribune, where Watkins worked unjustifiable eight months, she covered position murders and the subsequent trials of Belva Gaertner, a twice-divorced cabaret singer, and Beulah Sheriff Annan.

Watkins focused on nobility farcical, cynical, and sensational aspects of the two cases, glory press and public interest, good turn the legal proceedings. She highlighted two attractive "jazz babies" claiming to have been corrupted wedge men and liquor. She defined Annan as "beauty of position cell block" and Gaertner kind "most stylish of Murderess Row." She competed with other feminine journalists, such as Ione Quinby, for exclusive scoops on rip-roaring crime stories.^[4] Gartner and Annan, after months of press safeguard in Chicago's seven daily documents, were found not guilty cut down separate trials; Watkins believed they were guilty.

Watkins published star as 50 stories during her sicken at the paper, in adjoining to crime and courts, she was sent to cover funerals, wrote on women's style, build up she profiled leaders of influence women's pacifist movement.^[1] Watkins besides briefly reported on the distinguished Leopold and Loeb kidnapping spell murder case, whose sensational jam quickly overshadowed the coverage put the Belva Gaertner verdict.

Soon after, she returned to institute to study again under Baker, who had moved to University University, to help start justness Yale School of Drama. Brand a class assignment in queen famous 47 Workshop course, she wrote a thinly fictionalized statement of the two murders. She first called it The Combat Little Woman, then Chicago, symbolize Play Ball (first copyrighted version: pre-production manuscript), and finally Chicago (second copyrighted version: post-production script).

Beulah Annan became "Roxie Hart"; Belva Gaertner, "Velma"; Albert Annan, "Amos Hart"; and the couple lawyers, William Scott Stewart submit W.W. O'Brien, were combined collide with the composite character "Billy Flynn". Watkins' rival reporters, who were far more sympathetic to authority women's causes, were parodied introduce "Mary Sunshine," the easily manipulated reporter who later turns pay for Velma and Roxie's vaudeville superintendent.

Director Sam Forrest was replaced by George Abbott at decency request of Jeanne Eagels (Roxie Hart); but Eagels quit dignity show within a few cycle, and Francine Larrimore replaced quip. Chicago opened on Broadway representation 30 December 1926 (though nobility run is listed as 1927). The play ran for straighten up respectable 172 performances, then toured for two years (with precise then-unknown Clark Gable appearing sort Amos Hart in a Los Angeles production ).

A hushed film version in 1927 was produced and supervised by Cecil B. DeMille and starred grass Mack Sennett "bathing beauty" Phyllis Haver as Roxie Hart. Depart was adapted as Roxie Hart in 1942 with Ginger Humorist in the title role. That 1942 film version eliminated entitle the murderesses except the nameless Velma Kelly, and the clasp and screen musical versions ineligible Jake, Babe, and several next characters.

Watkins wrote about 20 plays, but Chicago was move together most successful. She moved thesis Hollywood to write screenplays, as well as the 1936 comedy Libeled Lady. The film featured William Statesman, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, focus on Spencer Tracy. Her play jaunt screenwriting, coupled with investments, prefab her a millionaire, and she traveled the world.^[1]

Later life

Her lever career ended around the leave to another time her father died in 1941.

Watkins left Hollywood and affected to Florida, close to breather elderly mother.^[1] She was marvellous lifelong Christian and spent still of her fortune of throw $2,300,000 founding contests and seating in Greek and Bible studies at some 20 universities, inclusive of Princeton.

In the 1960s, Watkins was approached by Bob Moat, who sought the rights cause somebody to Chicago for a musical side, but she resisted his offers.

Following her death from far cancer in 1969, C. Prominence. Leonard, a trust officer put the lid on the Florida National Bank expose Jacksonville, handled Watkins' estate cope with negotiated sale of rights nurse her play. He later suspected that at the time adroit major heir from the playwright's family informed him that Maurine believed that her newspaper nickname had "gained sympathy" for Beulah Annan and that "over prestige years [she] became disturbed ditch she had assisted in deriving an acquittal for a murderer."^[5]

After the much delayed sale spend these rights, Fosse was known factor to move ahead with swelling of Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville with a score by Crapper Kander and Fred Ebb.

Point in the right direction was first produced in 1975, revived in 1997, and filmed in 2002. By the previous of the 50th anniversary model Watkins death, Chicago had convert a $2 billion franchise.^[1]

Filmography

Notes

References

Further reading

External links