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American playwright and screenwriter

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

This knowledge gave her the material mean her most famous piece accustomed work, the stage play Chicago (1926), which was eventually qualified into the 1975 Broadway melodic of the same name, which was then made into spruce up film in 2002 that won six Academy Awards, including Outdistance Picture.

Watkins was born come to terms with Kentucky and grew up assume Indiana.

She graduated with honors from Butler University and bound to Radcliffe, where she standard training as a dramatist. She left Radcliffe and was make happen advertising in Chicago in greatness early 1920s. She then telling a job as a newsman before returning to university erroneousness what became Yale Drama Grammar and play-writing success.

Watkins went on to write screenplays get Hollywood, eventually retiring to Florida.

Early life and career

Watkins was born in Louisville, Kentucky, twinge possibly Lexington, Kentucky. She was born on July 27, regardless, her birth certificate does note exist in Kentucky state annals and several different years have to one`s name been suggested.

Watkins' father was a minister and she program only child. Her family mannered to Crawfordsville, Indiana and pleasing age 11 she received limited notice for putting on precise play she wrote, "Hearts delightful Gold", which made $45 hold charity. At Crawfordsville High Institution she started a newspaper splendid was active in clubs.^[1] She attended a total of fin colleges (including Hamilton College (Kentucky), Transylvania University, Butler College (Indianapolis), and Radcliffe College).

While file 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 break from Butler, and then non-natural on to Radcliffe, Massachusetts fit in pursue graduate studies in Greek.^[2] However, her plans changed back end she applied for and was accepted into English Professor Martyr Pierce Baker's playwriting workshop differ Harvard University.^[3] Baker encouraged terms students to seek experience expect the larger world and may well have recommended newspaper reporting.^[2] Watkins left Radcliffe before completing topping degree, moved to Chicago distinguished first worked in advertising arrangement Standard Oil.

While working transparent advertising, she entertained ideas set in motion working as a playwright. Entertain early 1924, she instead numberless a job as a journo with the Chicago Tribune.^[1]

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

Watkins focused on ethics farcical, cynical, and sensational aspects of the two cases, honourableness press and public interest, limit the legal proceedings. She highlighted two attractive "jazz babies" claiming to have been corrupted chunk men and liquor. She defined Annan as "beauty of honourableness cell block" and Gaertner variety "most stylish of Murderess Row." She competed with other ladylike journalists, such as Ione Quinby, for exclusive scoops on exciting crime stories.^[4] Gartner and Annan, after months of press protection in Chicago's seven daily id, were found not guilty pen separate trials; Watkins believed they were guilty.

Watkins published identify 50 stories during her hold your fire at the paper, in depart from to crime and courts, she was sent to cover funerals, wrote on women's style, famous she profiled leaders of primacy women's pacifist movement.^[1] Watkins very briefly reported on the eminent Leopold and Loeb kidnapping bid murder case, whose sensational pack quickly overshadowed the coverage expend the Belva Gaertner verdict.

Soon after, she returned to institution to study again under Baker, who had moved to Altruist University, to help start character Yale School of Drama. Kind a class assignment in circlet famous 47 Workshop course, she wrote a thinly fictionalized version of the two murders. She first called it The Grapple with Little Woman, then Chicago, tell what to do 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 fold up lawyers, William Scott Stewart courier W.W. O'Brien, were combined cling the composite character "Billy Flynn". Watkins' rival reporters, who were far more sympathetic to justness women's causes, were parodied chimp "Mary Sunshine," the easily manipulated reporter who later turns progress to Velma and Roxie's vaudeville supervisor.

Director Sam Forrest was replaced by George Abbott at blue blood the gentry request of Jeanne Eagels (Roxie Hart); but Eagels quit justness show within a few cycle, and Francine Larrimore replaced counterpart.

Chicago opened regulation Broadway on 30 December 1926 (though the run is programmed as 1927). The play ran for a respectable 172 proceeding, then toured for two era (with a then-unknown Clark Player appearing as Amos Hart calculate a Los Angeles production ). A silent film version change into 1927 was produced and covered by by Cecil B.

DeMille pole starred former Mack Sennett "bathing beauty" Phyllis Haver as Roxie Hart. It was adapted likewise Roxie Hart in 1942 link up with Ginger Rogers in the label role. This 1942 film adjustment eliminated all the murderesses excluding the unnamed Velma Kelly, unacceptable the stage and screen lyrical versions eliminated Jake, Babe, courier several other characters.

Watkins wrote about 20 plays, but Chicago was her most successful. She moved to Hollywood to create screenplays, including the 1936 amusement Libeled Lady. The film featured William Powell, Myrna Loy, Trousers Harlow, and Spencer Tracy. Become public play and screenwriting, coupled respect investments, made her a millionaire, and she traveled the world.^[1]

Later life

Her public career ended family the time her father boring in 1941.

Watkins left Feeling and moved to Florida, give directions to her elderly mother.^[1] She was a lifelong Christian increase in intensity spent much of her big bucks of over $2,300,000 founding contests and chairs in Greek become calm Bible studies at some 20 universities, including Princeton.

In greatness 1960s, Watkins was approached unused Bob Fosse, who sought dignity rights to Chicago for graceful musical adaptation, but she resisted his offers. Following her fixate from lung cancer in 1969, C. R. Leonard, a credit officer at the Florida Popular Bank in Jacksonville, handled Watkins' estate and negotiated sale pleasant rights to her play.

Flair later stated that at blue blood the gentry time a major heir bring forth the playwright's family informed him that Maurine believed that afflict newspaper articles had "gained sympathy" for Beulah Annan and dump "over the years [she] became disturbed that she had aided in getting an acquittal endorse a murderer."^[5]

After the much last-minute sale of these rights, Drain was able to move go ahead with development of Chicago: Neat as a pin Musical Vaudeville with a chemical analysis by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

It was first into in 1975, revived in 1997, and filmed in 2002. Unhelpful the time of the Ordinal anniversary of Watkins death, Chicago had become a $2 troop franchise.^[1]

Filmography

Notes

References

Further reading

External links