Arthur Hopkins
Encyclopedia
Arthur Hopkins was a Broadway theater director and producer in the early twentieth century.
Hopkins was born in Cleveland. He was the youngest of ten children born to a Welsh couple, David and Mary Jane Hopkins. His autobiography is titled "To a Lonely Boy."
After leaving high school, he began life as a reporter and then worked for a while as a theater press agent. This led to his writing a play, The Fatted Calf (1912) and to producing a show, Poor Little Rich Girl, in 1913; it was a hit and launched his Broadway
career. During the following 34 years he produced or directed 80 plays. He was one of Broadway's most admired producers with credits for "What Price Glory", "Anna Christie," and others. He directed plays by playwrights in American Expressionist theater, including Elmer Rice
, Sophie Treadwell
, and Eugene O'Neill
. He also co-wrote Burlesque (1927), which he staged again twenty years later, and it ran from Christmas 1946 to January 1948. He directed Philip Barry
's 1928 play Holiday
at the Plymouth Theatre, where it ran for 229 performances. His last production – The Magnificent Yankee, based on the life of the Supreme Court
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr, in 1946 – was another hit.
He married the Australian actress Eva MacDonald in August 1915. At the time she declared that she had retired from the stage, but in 1919 she appeared as Natasha in Night Lodging, produced by Hopkins. She died in 1938.
Hopkins was born in Cleveland. He was the youngest of ten children born to a Welsh couple, David and Mary Jane Hopkins. His autobiography is titled "To a Lonely Boy."
After leaving high school, he began life as a reporter and then worked for a while as a theater press agent. This led to his writing a play, The Fatted Calf (1912) and to producing a show, Poor Little Rich Girl, in 1913; it was a hit and launched his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
career. During the following 34 years he produced or directed 80 plays. He was one of Broadway's most admired producers with credits for "What Price Glory", "Anna Christie," and others. He directed plays by playwrights in American Expressionist theater, including Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice
Elmer Rice was an American playwright. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1929 play, Street Scene.-Early years:...
, Sophie Treadwell
Sophie Treadwell
Sophie Treadwell , was a leading American playwright and journalist of the first half of the 20th century. Among her prominent works are Machinal and Intimations For Saxophone...
, and Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
. He also co-wrote Burlesque (1927), which he staged again twenty years later, and it ran from Christmas 1946 to January 1948. He directed Philip Barry
Philip Barry
Philip James Quinn Barry was an American playwright born in Rochester, New York.-Early life:Philip Barry was born on June 18, 1896 in Rochester, New York to James Corbett Barry and Mary Agnes Quinn Barry. James would die from appendicitis a year after Philip's birth, and his father's marble and...
's 1928 play Holiday
Holiday (play)
Holiday is a 1928 play by Philip Barry. It was adapted for film twice. First in 1930, directed by Edward H. Griffith with Ann Harding, Mary Astor, Edward Everett Horton, Robert Ames and Hedda Hopper...
at the Plymouth Theatre, where it ran for 229 performances. His last production – The Magnificent Yankee, based on the life of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr, in 1946 – was another hit.
He married the Australian actress Eva MacDonald in August 1915. At the time she declared that she had retired from the stage, but in 1919 she appeared as Natasha in Night Lodging, produced by Hopkins. She died in 1938.