Leo Brady
Encyclopedia
Leo Brady was a multidimensional American writer and theater artist who also achieved great success as a teacher of young playwrights.
After writing some well-received plays as an undergrad at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., Brady published a play version of Richard Connell’s short story Brother Orchid, which became a staple of the Samuel French catalog and inspired Hollywood to adapt the story for a film starring Edward G. Robinson
. (Brady received no credit.) In collaboration with Walter Kerr
, he wrote Yankee Doodle Boy, a musical about the life of Broadway showman George M. Cohan
, which debuted to great success in Washington and received national media exposure along with the endorsement of Cohan himself. Again, Hollywood lifted this idea whole cloth without giving the authors credit, and subsequently released the film version, Yankee Doodle Dandy, starring James Cagney
. Brady received his first major New York credit as the coauthor (again with Kerr) of a 1942 Broadway musical revue called Count Me In. After serving in World War II, where he continued creating as a writer and radio producer for the Army Recruitment Service, Brady returned to civilian life as a drama teacher at his alma mater. For a brief time he wrote film criticism for the Washington Post, while teaching, doing some acting and also beginning his career as a stage director.
In 1949, Brady published his first novel, Edge of Doom
, which Samuel Goldwyn
produced as a feature film in 1950. Directed by Mark Robson
and with a screenplay by Philip Yordan, with post-primary scenes added by writers Ben Hecht
and Charles Brackett and directed by Charles Vidor, the film was a rather notorious failure, due in no small part to the creative team’s inability to realize the story’s thematic critique of organized religion and the way society fails to respond to the less-fortunate poor. The Hecht-Brackett rewrites, spurred on after the initial screening by the producer's fear that the movie was too bleak, attempted to turn a dark tale of a pathetic murder into some kind of hopeful Hollywood preach-fest. These changes—including a sappy narration and hackneyed prologue and epilogue—were designed to gain the film wider audience appeal but only helped to doom the project completely. The film still turns up now and then as an acknowledged curiosity piece in the film noir
genre.
Brady, a Roman Catholic with a social conscience, followed up Edge of Doom with Signs and Wonders in 1953, yet another novel that criticized the church, in particular what he saw as the phony piety and narrowmindedness of so-called “professional” Catholics of the Knights of Columbus variety. Signs and Wonders received better reviews than his first book but failed to garner the same sales or public attention. Brady didn’t write another novel for 20 years, then published The Quiet Gun, a literary western, and The Love Tap, a mystery, in the 1970s.
In the interim and beyond, Brady dedicated most of his energies to the theater while also turning out a few highly regarded scripts for socially and culturally relevant television programs such as Studio One (TV series)
and Omnibus (US TV series)
. He successfully adapted Greek tragedies for the modern stage, including a version of Oedipus Rex that received rave reviews during a New York engagement in the late ‘50s. Brady later wrote plays that were produced locally in the Washington, D.C., area, including a musical, The Coldest War of All, which received an off-Broadway mounting in 1969. For about five years, he was a major contributor of articles on regional theater to the industry standard Burns Mantle
annual Best Plays volumes. Another writing venture he took on successfully was crafting documentary filmscripts for Oscar-winning producer Charles Guggenheim
.
As a director, Brady tended toward classics and comedies, with a special affinity for the works of Shakespeare, Shaw, Molière, Chekhov, Ibsen, Anouilh, O’Casey, Synge and Arthur Miller. His lone New York directing credit was an off-Broadway production of the Hecht-MacArthur newspaper drama The Front Page, starring Robert Ryan
and Henry Fonda
. He also directed Helen Hayes
’ final stage appearance in a galvanizing Washington production of O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night.
Strangely enough, it is as a teacher that Brady has probably had the most influence on the American theater scene. Six of his former playwriting students—Mart Crowley
(The Boys in the Band), Joseph Walker
(The River Niger), Jason Miller
(That Championship Season), Michael Cristofer
(The Shadow Box), John Pielmeier (Agnes of God) and Paula Vogel
(How I Learned to Drive)—have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
After writing some well-received plays as an undergrad at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., Brady published a play version of Richard Connell’s short story Brother Orchid, which became a staple of the Samuel French catalog and inspired Hollywood to adapt the story for a film starring Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
. (Brady received no credit.) In collaboration with Walter Kerr
Walter Kerr
For the RN admiral see Lord Walter KerrWalter Francis Kerr was an American writer and Broadway theater critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or director of several Broadway plays and musicals.-Biography:...
, he wrote Yankee Doodle Boy, a musical about the life of Broadway showman George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
, which debuted to great success in Washington and received national media exposure along with the endorsement of Cohan himself. Again, Hollywood lifted this idea whole cloth without giving the authors credit, and subsequently released the film version, Yankee Doodle Dandy, starring James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
. Brady received his first major New York credit as the coauthor (again with Kerr) of a 1942 Broadway musical revue called Count Me In. After serving in World War II, where he continued creating as a writer and radio producer for the Army Recruitment Service, Brady returned to civilian life as a drama teacher at his alma mater. For a brief time he wrote film criticism for the Washington Post, while teaching, doing some acting and also beginning his career as a stage director.
In 1949, Brady published his first novel, Edge of Doom
Edge of Doom
Edge of Doom is a 1950 film noir shot in black and white. The film was directed by Mark Robson. The screenplay was written by Philip Yordan . The film is based on a novel by Leo Brady...
, which Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
produced as a feature film in 1950. Directed by Mark Robson
Mark Robson
Mark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...
and with a screenplay by Philip Yordan, with post-primary scenes added by writers Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, and novelist. Called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood", he received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some 70 films and as a prolific storyteller, authored 35 books and created some of...
and Charles Brackett and directed by Charles Vidor, the film was a rather notorious failure, due in no small part to the creative team’s inability to realize the story’s thematic critique of organized religion and the way society fails to respond to the less-fortunate poor. The Hecht-Brackett rewrites, spurred on after the initial screening by the producer's fear that the movie was too bleak, attempted to turn a dark tale of a pathetic murder into some kind of hopeful Hollywood preach-fest. These changes—including a sappy narration and hackneyed prologue and epilogue—were designed to gain the film wider audience appeal but only helped to doom the project completely. The film still turns up now and then as an acknowledged curiosity piece in the film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
genre.
Brady, a Roman Catholic with a social conscience, followed up Edge of Doom with Signs and Wonders in 1953, yet another novel that criticized the church, in particular what he saw as the phony piety and narrowmindedness of so-called “professional” Catholics of the Knights of Columbus variety. Signs and Wonders received better reviews than his first book but failed to garner the same sales or public attention. Brady didn’t write another novel for 20 years, then published The Quiet Gun, a literary western, and The Love Tap, a mystery, in the 1970s.
In the interim and beyond, Brady dedicated most of his energies to the theater while also turning out a few highly regarded scripts for socially and culturally relevant television programs such as Studio One (TV series)
Studio One (TV series)
Studio One is a long-running American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by the 26-year-old Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC.-Radio:...
and Omnibus (US TV series)
Omnibus (US TV series)
Omnibus is an American, commercially sponsored, educational television series.-History:Broadcast live primarily on Sunday afternoons at 4:00pm Eastern time, from November 9, 1952 until 1961. Omnibus originally aired on CBS, and later on Sunday evenings on ABC. The program finally moved to NBC in...
. He successfully adapted Greek tragedies for the modern stage, including a version of Oedipus Rex that received rave reviews during a New York engagement in the late ‘50s. Brady later wrote plays that were produced locally in the Washington, D.C., area, including a musical, The Coldest War of All, which received an off-Broadway mounting in 1969. For about five years, he was a major contributor of articles on regional theater to the industry standard Burns Mantle
Burns Mantle
Robert Burns Mantle was a well-known American drama critic. He founded the Best Plays annual publication in 1920.. , The New York Times...
annual Best Plays volumes. Another writing venture he took on successfully was crafting documentary filmscripts for Oscar-winning producer Charles Guggenheim
Charles Guggenheim
Charles Guggenheim was an American film director and producer.- Early life :Guggenheim was born into a prominent German Jewish family in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was a furniture salesman. While studying farming at Colorado A&M in 1943, Guggenheim was drafted into the United States Army...
.
As a director, Brady tended toward classics and comedies, with a special affinity for the works of Shakespeare, Shaw, Molière, Chekhov, Ibsen, Anouilh, O’Casey, Synge and Arthur Miller. His lone New York directing credit was an off-Broadway production of the Hecht-MacArthur newspaper drama The Front Page, starring Robert Ryan
Robert Ryan
Robert Bushnell Ryan was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains.-Early life and career:...
and Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
. He also directed Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
’ final stage appearance in a galvanizing Washington production of O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night.
Strangely enough, it is as a teacher that Brady has probably had the most influence on the American theater scene. Six of his former playwriting students—Mart Crowley
Mart Crowley
Mart Crowley is an American playwright.Crowley was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. After graduating from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. in 1957, Crowley headed west to Hollywood, where he worked for a number of television production companies before meeting Natalie Wood on...
(The Boys in the Band), Joseph Walker
Joseph A. Walker (playwright)
Joseph Alexander Walker was an African American playwright and screenwriter, theater director, actor and professor. He is best known for writing the play The River Niger, a three-act play that was originally produced Off-Broadway in 1972 by the Negro Ensemble Company before being transferred to...
(The River Niger), Jason Miller
Jason Miller (playwright)
Jason Miller was an American actor and playwright. He received the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play That Championship Season, and was widely recognized for his role as Father Damien Karras in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist...
(That Championship Season), Michael Cristofer
Michael Cristofer
Michael Ivan Cristofer is an American playwright, filmmaker and actor. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for The Shadow Box in 1977....
(The Shadow Box), John Pielmeier (Agnes of God) and Paula Vogel
Paula Vogel
Paula Vogel is an American playwright and university professor. She received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, How I Learned to Drive.-Early years:...
(How I Learned to Drive)—have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.