Moss Hart Biography

American playwright and director, born in New York, where he was educated in public schools; he began his theatrical career working for the celebrated agent Augustus Pitou. With George S. Kaufman he collaborated in Once in a Lifetime (1930), and many other successful theatrical comedies including The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939) which was also filmed. Hart collaborated with many of the major popular American composers of his day: with Irving Berlin (Face the Music, 1932; As Thousands Cheer, 1933); with Cole Porter (Jubilee, 1935); with Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart (I'd Rather Be Right, 1937); with Ira Gershwin and Kurt Weill (Lady in the Dark, 1941). He also directed the Lerner and Loewe musicals My Fair Lady (1956) and Camelot (1960). His other works include the plays Winged Victory (1943) and Light Up The Sky (1947). Hart also served the interests of American theatre as president of the Dramatists' Guild (1947–55), and of the Authors' League (1955–61). Act One (1959) is his autobiography.