George Simon Kaufman, 1889–1961

Born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania, Kaufman added the middle initial to his name to lend it balance and rhythm. He graduated from high school in 1907 and pursued legal studies, but grew disenchanted and took on a series of odd jobs. Kaufman then began his career as a journalist and drama critic

Kaufman was a key member of the celebrated Algonquin Round Table  a circle of witty writers and show business people. From the 1920s through the 1950s, Kaufman was as well known for his personality as he was for his writing. The Moss Hart autobiography Act One certainly popularized Kaufman as a character. Moss Hart portrayed Kaufman as a morose and intimidating figure, uncomfortable with any expressions of affection between human beings -- in life or on the page. This perspective, along with a number of taciturn observations made by Kaufman himself, led to a simplistic but commonly held belief that Hart was the emotional soul of the creative team while Kaufman was a misanthropic writer of punchlines.

Despite the fact that Kaufman lived in the public eye alongside celebrities and journalists, he was a tireless worker, dedicated to the writing and rehearsal processes. He was particularly revered within the business as a "play doctor." Late in his life he managed to trade upon his long-developed persona by appearing as a television wag.

Of one unsuccessful comedy he wrote, "There was laughter at the back of the theatre, leading to the belief that someone was telling jokes back there." Even though he was a sometime satirist, he remarked that "Satire is what closes on Saturday night." Much of Kaufman's fame occurred due to his mastery of sharp lines such as these, generally referred to in the press as "wise cracks." However, Kaufman was more than a writer of gags. He created scripts that revealed a mastery of dramatic structure; his characters were likable and theatrically credible.

His collaboration with Marc Connelly produced such plays as Merton of the Movies (1922) and Beggar on Horseback (1924) and was followed by collaborations with Ring Lardner —June Moon (1929)—and Edna Ferber —The Royal Family (1927), Dinner at Eight (1932), and Stage Door (1936). In 1932, he won the Pulitzer Prize for the musical Of Thee I Sing (1931), written with Morrie Ryskind, to a score by George Gershwin.

Some of his most famous plays, containing some of his best wisecracking wit, were done in collaboration with Moss Hart, notably Once in a Lifetime (1930), Merrily We Roll Along (1934), You Can't Take It with You (1936; Pulitzer Prize), and The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939). Among his later works are The Late George Apley (with J. P. Marquand, 1944) and The Solid Gold Cadillac (with Howard Teichmann, 1954).

Kaufman directed several successful plays including The Front Page (1928), My Sister Eileen (1940), and Guys and Dolls (1950).

Information provided by http://www.theatrehistory.com & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_S._Kaufman