Ward Morehouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ward Morehouse
|
|
|---|---|
| Born | November 24, 1895 Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
|
| Died | December 7, 1966 (aged 71) New York City, U.S.
|
| Occupation | Writer, theater critic, playwright, columnist, author |
Ward Morehouse (November 24, 1895 – December 7, 1966) was an American writer who loved the theater. He was a famous newspaper columnist, a theater critic, and even wrote plays and books. He was known for his exciting interviews with famous actors and writers.
Contents
A Life in Journalism
Ward Morehouse was born in Savannah, Georgia. He started his career as a reporter. He worked for newspapers like The Savannah Press and The Atlanta Journal. In 1919, he moved to New York City. There, he wrote for big newspapers such as The New York Tribune and The Herald Tribune.
Broadway After Dark
In 1926, Ward Morehouse began writing a popular column called Broadway After Dark. This column appeared in The New York Sun. He worked at the Sun for 25 years. During this time, he was also a drama critic. This meant he reviewed plays and wrote about the theater. He also traveled around, writing stories from different places.
When The New York Sun stopped publishing in 1950, Morehouse kept writing his famous column. He wrote it for other newspapers and a news service until he passed away.
His Plays and Movies
Ward Morehouse loved the theater so much that he started his own theater company when he was a teenager. As an adult, he wrote three plays:
- Miss Quis (1937)
- Gentlemen of the Press (1928) – This play was very popular and was even made into a movie in 1929.
- U.S. 90 (1941)
In the early 1930s, Morehouse also worked in Hollywood. He helped write screenplays for movies. Some of these films included Central Park (1932), Big City Blues (1932), and It Happened in New York (1935). Both Central Park and Big City Blues starred the famous actress Joan Blondell.
Traveling the World
Ward Morehouse was a big traveler. He drove across the United States more than 23 times! He also visited 80 different countries. He traveled to find interesting stories and interview famous people. Some of the people he interviewed included war hero Sergeant Alvin York and famous writer Eugene O'Neill. He stayed in so many hotels that he joked his gravestone should say "room service, please."
During World War II, Morehouse even traveled on a US Navy ship. He went to London and Paris to write special columns. These columns were called "Atlantic After Dark," "London After Dark," and "Paris After Dark." In 1946, his stories called "Report on America" won an award from a respected journalism group.
Personal Life and Friends
Ward Morehouse enjoyed good food and drinks. He often interviewed people at the 21 Club in New York. He was part of a group of newspaper writers who regularly had lunch at Sardi's, another famous New York restaurant. This group called themselves "The Cheese Club." One of his friends in the group was Walter Winchell, another well-known columnist.
Morehouse married a few times and had two children, a daughter and a son, with actress Joan Marlowe. His son, Ward Morehouse III, also became a drama critic and writer, just like his father.
Ward Morehouse passed away in New York City when he was 71 years old. He is buried in Statesboro, Georgia.
Books by Ward Morehouse
Ward Morehouse wrote several books during his career:
- ... Forty-five Minutes Past Eight (The Dial Press, 1939)
- American Reveille: The United States at War (Putnam, 1942)
- George M. Cohan, Prince of the American Theater (J. B. Lippincott Company, 1943)
- Matinee Tomorrow: Fifty Years of Our Theater (Whittlesey House, 1949)
- Just the Other Day: From Yellow Pines to Broadway (McGraw-Hill, 1953)
