John Patrick (Author)

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John Patrick , born as John Patrick Goggan , (born May 17, 1905 in Louisville , Kentucky , † November 7, 1995 in Florida ) was an American playwright and screenwriter who was nominated for an Oscar in 1947 and in 1954 for his stage adaptation The Teahouse of the August Moon was awarded the Pulitzer Prize .

Life

John Patrick Goggan, his name after the birth, had to do without his parents John Francis and Myrtle (née Osborn) at an early age. He spent part of his youth in homes and boarding schools. He attended Holy Cross High School, St. Edwards College, St. Marys Seminary and University, and Harvard University and Columbia University . When he was 19, he got a job as an announcer at a radio station in San Francisco .

In 1925, Patrick married Mildred Legaye. Between 1928 and 1933 he wrote more than a thousand manuscripts for the radio program. In 1937 he wrote adaptations for a series for NBC based on Shakespeare . Helen Hayes had a guest role.

Patrick only had a tight budget for his first own piece, Hell Freezes Over . Joshua Logan directed it, but the work only had a short run time on Broadway in 1935, but opened the door to Patrick as a screenwriter. His next play, The Willow and I , was produced with Martha Scott and Gregory Peck in the lead roles.

In 1947 the author was nominated for an Oscar in the category "Best Original Story " for his original Love Lies Bleeding for the film noir The Strange Love of Martha Ivers by Lewis Milestone with Barbara Stanwyck , Van Heflin and Lizabeth Scott in the leading roles. The trophy, however, went to Clemence Dane and her story Perfect Strangers .

Patrick volunteered as an ambulance driver with the American Field Service association , which supported the British Army with medical services during World War II . He was part of Montgomery's 8th Army in Egypt and was then stationed in India and Burma , where he came up with the idea for the play Counted Hours , which was filmed in 1949 by Vincent Sherman with Richard Todd , Ronald Reagan and Patricia Neal in the leading roles . Then in 1983 it hit the screen.

His next pieces The Curious Savage and Lo and Behold , written in 1950 and 1951, were less successful. His 1953 stage adaptation of Vern J. Sneider's novel The Teahouse of the August Moon (German title "Die Geisha des Captain Fisby"), however, marked a high point in Patrick's career, it was awarded both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Drama, and also received the New York Film Critics Circle Award . A film was made in 1956 and an adaptation for the theater in 1970 under the title Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen . Han Suyin's autobiographical novel A Many-splendoured Thing (German title Splendored Thing ), was founded in 1955 based on a screenplay by Patrick of Henry King with William Holden and Jennifer Jones filmed with three Oscars awarded, together with four other Oscar nominations. Patrick wrote the screenplay for the film musical The Top Ten Thousands from 1956 with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly . The film received two Academy Award nominations.

Patrick's 1957 piece Good as Gold was not so successful . For James Jones' novel Some Came Running , he and the author wrote the script for Vincente Minnelli 's film adaptation of the same name, German title Damn are they all . But then he mainly devoted himself to writing screenplays, with which he continued to be successful. Patrick used his fee for one of his most successful pieces, The Hasty Heart , to buy a property in Suffern (New York), named “Hasty Hill”. He later moved to Saint Thomas , located in the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean .

On November 7, 1995, the 90-year-old playwright was found dead in his room with a plastic bag over his head. One assumed suicide. His dramas, other books, letters and manuscripts are in the Rare Books Department at Boston University .

Filmography (selection)

Original story / script
  • 1936: Educating Father
  • 1936: high tension
  • 1936: 36 Hours to Kill
  • 1937: Midnight Taxi
  • 1937: Born Reckless
  • 1938: Battle of Broadway
  • 1938: Mr. Moto and the Jungle Prince (Mr. Moto Takes a Chance)
  • 1946: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (The Strange Love of Martha Ivers)
  • 1947: Game (framed)
  • 1948: Youth Deceived (Enchantment)
  • 1949: The Philco Television Playhouse (TV series, episode The Story of Mary Surratt )
  • 1949: Counted Hours (The Hasty Heart)
  • 1952/1953: Crown Theater with Gloria Swanson (TV series, 2 episodes)
  • 1953: The President's Lady
  • 1953: Broadway Television Theater (TV series, episode The Hasty Heart )
  • 1954: Three Coins in the Fountain (Three Coins in the Fountain)
  • 1955: Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (TV series, episode Who's the Blonde? )
  • 1955: The Hot Heart (TV film based on Patrick's The Hasty Heart )
  • 1955: Many-Splendored Thing (Love is a Many Splendored Thing)
  • 1956: The Top Ten Thousand (High Society)
  • 1956: Warner Brothers Presents (TV series 2 episodes)
  • 1956: The small tea house (The Teahouse of the August Moon)
  • 1957: The Hasty Heart (TV movie)
  • 1957: The Girls (Les Girls)
  • 1958: You have to be an adult (Leave It To Beaver , TV series, episode Music Lesson)
  • 1958: Damn they are all (Some Came Running)
  • 1960: The World of Suzie Wong (The World of Suzie Wong)
  • 1962: Gigot, the mute from Montmartre (Gigot)
  • 1962: The Nights with Nancy (The Main Attraction)
  • 1968: A Somewhat Strange Lady (TV movie
  • 1968: The Shoes of the Fisherman (The Shoes of the Fisherman)
  • 1975: Strannaya missis Sevidzh
  • 1996: Bohatství slecny Kronkiové (TV film, based on Everybody Loves Opal ))
  • 1997: Záhadná paní Savageová (TV film based on The Curious Savagel )

Publications (selection)

  • Hell Freezes Over , New York, 1935
  • The Willow and I , New York 1943
  • The Hasty Heart , New York 1945
  • The Story of Mary Surratt , New York 1947
  • The Curious Savage , New York 1951
  • Lo and Behold! , a new comedy in three acts, New York 1952
  • The Teahouse of the August Moon , New York, 1957
  • Everybody Loves Opal , New York 1962
  • It's Been Wonderful , New York 1966
  • Everbody's Girl , a three-act comedy, New York 1968
  • Scandal Point , a game in three acts, New York 1969
  • Love Is a Time of Day , New York 1970
  • A Barrel Ful of Pennies: A Comedy in Two Acts , New York 1971
  • Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen , New York 1971
  • Anybody Out There , New York 1972
  • A Bad Year For Tomatoes , New York 1975
  • Divorce - Anyone ?: A Musical One Act Plays , New York 1976
  • Noah's Animals: A Musical Allegory in Three Acts , New York 1976
  • Suicide - Anyone ?: Three One Act Plays , New York 1976
  • The Girls of the Garden Club: A Comedy in Three Acts , New York 1980
  • Opal's Million Dollar Duck , New York 1980
  • People !: Three One Act Plays , New York 1980
  • That's Not My Mother: Three One Act Plays , New York 1980
  • The Magenta Moth: A Play in Three Acts , New York 1983
  • The Reluctant Rogue, or, Mother's Day: A Play , New York 1984
  • Cheating Cheaters: A Comedy , New York 1985
  • The Gay Deceiver: A Play in Three Acts , New York 1988
  • The Doctor Will See You Now: Four One-Act Plays , New York 1991
  • Dirty Ditties , New York 1996

Awards (selection)

literature

  • Biography / Bibliography in: Contemporary Authors . New Revision Series, Vol. 131, pages 360-366. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Patrick, John (1905-1995) at trove.nla.gov (English)
  2. ↑ John Patrick Education at TCM (English)
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Patrick, John 1905-1995 at encyclopedia.com (English)
  4. ↑ a b John Patrick at dtver.de
  5. ↑ Colin Dolley, Rex Walford: The One-Act Play Companion: A Guide to plays, playwrights and performance , (English), Verlag methuen | drama
  6. ↑ Pilar Baumeister: We write suicide - writer's suicides in four centuries , Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main ff., P. 37
personal data
SURNAME Patrick, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Patrick Goggan, John (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American playwright and screenwriter
DATE OF BIRTH May 17, 1905
PLACE OF BIRTH Louisville , Kentucky , United States
DATE OF DEATH November 7, 1995
Place of death Florida , United States