Peter Stone
Encyclopedia
Peter Hess Stone was an American writer for theater, television and movies.
. His mother, Hilda (née Hess), was a film writer, and his father, John Stone
(born Saul Strumwasser) was the writer and producer of many silent films, including Shirley Temple
and Charlie Chan
movies. He graduated from University High School, attended Bard College
starting in 1947, and received a Master's degree from Yale University
in 1953. In 1964, Stone won an Edgar Award
from the Mystery Writers of America
for his screenplay for Charade.
Stone is among that rarefied group of writers who have conquered stage, screen, and television by winning an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy. In 1965, he won an Oscar for his work as a screenwriter on Father Goose. He won Tony Award
s for his books for the Broadway musicals Titanic
, Woman of the Year
and 1776
. He won an Emmy for a 1962 episode of The Defenders.
Shortly after Stone's death, in a memorial ceremony held June 30, 2003, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
, it was observed that the two most famous ships of all time were Noah's Ark
and the Titanic, and that Stone had written Broadway musicals about both of them (Noah's Ark being the topic of Two by Two
).
Stone is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the screenplays he wrote or co-wrote in the mid 1960s, Charade (1963), Father Goose (1964) and Mirage (1965). He won the Oscar for best screenplay in 1965 for his work on Father Goose. Father Goose is a fairly conventional comedy, but the remaining three films all share a common theme and a style of screenwriting. Primarily, they attempt a blend of comedy, suspense, and romance. A decade before Brian De Palma
earned a reputation exploiting Hitchcockian motifs, Stone's work in the 1960s employed Hitchcock
-like narratives, even while the great director was still an active film maker. Hitchcock's influence is especially evident in Edward Dmytryk
's Mirage, a suspense-mystery that Stone adapted from the Howard Fast novel Fallen Angel. The narrative has Gregory Peck
suffering from "unconscious amnesia" while dodging bullets in downtown New York. Although shot in black-and-white, many of its themes and images are reminiscent of Vertigo
. However, it is the Cary Grant
and Audrey Hepburn
vehicle Charade that is probably Stone's best-remembered film. Michael Caine
lists Charade as his 4th favorite film of all time, behind only Casablanca
, The Third Man
, and On the Waterfront
.
Stone used several fairly transparent pseudonyms in his career. As 'Pierre Marton' (literally 'Peter Stone' in French) he wrote, or co-wrote, Arabesque
, Skin Game
and the 1976 TV film 'One of My Wives is Missing'. When Charade was remade as The Truth About Charlie
, Stone was credited on-screen as 'Peter Joshua', one of the names used by Cary Grant in the original film.
In 2011, one of his projects was completed with Thomas Meehan (writer)
, and Death Takes a Holiday (musical)
was produced off-Broadway with a score by Maury Yeston
.
Life and career
Stone was born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. His mother, Hilda (née Hess), was a film writer, and his father, John Stone
John Stone (producer)
John Stone was an American film producer and screenwriter. He produced seventy-seven films between 1930 and 1946. He also wrote for sixty-five films between 1921 and 1948.-Personal life:...
(born Saul Strumwasser) was the writer and producer of many silent films, including Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
and Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu...
movies. He graduated from University High School, attended Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
starting in 1947, and received a Master's degree from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1953. In 1964, Stone won an Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
from the Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
for his screenplay for Charade.
Stone is among that rarefied group of writers who have conquered stage, screen, and television by winning an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy. In 1965, he won an Oscar for his work as a screenwriter on Father Goose. He won Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
s for his books for the Broadway musicals Titanic
Titanic (musical)
Titanic is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone that opened on Broadway in 1997. It won five Tony Awards including the award for Best Musical...
, Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year (musical)
Woman of the Year is a musical with a book by Peter Stone and score by John Kander and Fred Ebb.Based on the Ring Lardner Jr.-Michael Kanin screenplay for the 1942 Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy film of the same name, the musical changes the newspaper reporters of the original to television...
and 1776
1776 (musical)
1776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The story is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence...
. He won an Emmy for a 1962 episode of The Defenders.
Shortly after Stone's death, in a memorial ceremony held June 30, 2003, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
Richard Rodgers Theatre
The Richard Rodgers Theatre, is a Broadway theater in New York City, built by Irwin Chanin in 1925. When it was first opened, it was called Chanin's 46th Street Theatre. Chanin almost immediately leased it to the Shuberts, who bought the building outright in 1931 and renamed it the 46th Street...
, it was observed that the two most famous ships of all time were Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
and the Titanic, and that Stone had written Broadway musicals about both of them (Noah's Ark being the topic of Two by Two
Two by Two
Two by Two, two by two or the abbreviated 2×2 or 2by2 may refer to:* Dimensional lumber, specifically a timber measuring 2 by 2 inches of any given length* Two-wheel drive, a designation of motor vehicle...
).
Stone is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the screenplays he wrote or co-wrote in the mid 1960s, Charade (1963), Father Goose (1964) and Mirage (1965). He won the Oscar for best screenplay in 1965 for his work on Father Goose. Father Goose is a fairly conventional comedy, but the remaining three films all share a common theme and a style of screenwriting. Primarily, they attempt a blend of comedy, suspense, and romance. A decade before Brian De Palma
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
earned a reputation exploiting Hitchcockian motifs, Stone's work in the 1960s employed Hitchcock
Hitchcock
Hitchcock may refer to people with the surname Hitchcock:* Alfred Hitchcock , film director* A. S. Hitchcock , American botanist and agrostologist* Billy Hitchcock , American baseball player...
-like narratives, even while the great director was still an active film maker. Hitchcock's influence is especially evident in Edward Dmytryk
Edward Dmytryk
Edward Dmytryk was an American film director who was amongst the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who served time in prison for being in contempt of Congress during the McCarthy-era 'red scare'.-Early life:Dmytryk was born in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada,...
's Mirage, a suspense-mystery that Stone adapted from the Howard Fast novel Fallen Angel. The narrative has Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
suffering from "unconscious amnesia" while dodging bullets in downtown New York. Although shot in black-and-white, many of its themes and images are reminiscent of Vertigo
Vertigo (film)
Vertigo is a 1958 psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes. The screenplay was written by Alec Coppel and Samuel A...
. However, it is the Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
and Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
vehicle Charade that is probably Stone's best-remembered film. Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
lists Charade as his 4th favorite film of all time, behind only Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
, The Third Man
The Third Man
The Third Man is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Many critics rank it as a masterpiece, particularly remembered for its atmospheric cinematography, performances, and unique musical score...
, and On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard...
.
Stone used several fairly transparent pseudonyms in his career. As 'Pierre Marton' (literally 'Peter Stone' in French) he wrote, or co-wrote, Arabesque
Arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements...
, Skin Game
Skin Game
Skin Game is a 1971 movie comedy western starring James Garner and Louis Gossett, Jr.- Plot :Quincy Drew and Jason O'Rourke travel from town to town in the south of the United States during the slavery era. Drew claims to be a down-on-his-luck slave owner who is selling O'Rourke as a slave...
and the 1976 TV film 'One of My Wives is Missing'. When Charade was remade as The Truth About Charlie
The Truth About Charlie
The Truth About Charlie is a 2002 remake of the 1963 film Charade. It is also an homage to François Truffaut's 1960 film Shoot the Piano Player complete with that film's star, Charles Aznavour, making two surreal appearances singing his song "Quand tu m'aimes" .The Truth About Charlie was produced,...
, Stone was credited on-screen as 'Peter Joshua', one of the names used by Cary Grant in the original film.
In 2011, one of his projects was completed with Thomas Meehan (writer)
Thomas Meehan (writer)
Thomas Meehan is an American writer, best known for Annie, The Producers and Hairspray.-Life and career:Meehan grew up in Suffern, New York, and graduated from Hamilton College...
, and Death Takes a Holiday (musical)
Death Takes a Holiday (musical)
Death Takes a Holiday is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone and Thomas Meehan. The story is adapted from the 1924 Italian play La Morte in Vacanza by Alberto Casella...
was produced off-Broadway with a score by Maury Yeston
Maury Yeston
Maury Yeston is an American composer, lyricist, educator and musicologist.He is known for writing the music and lyrics to Broadway musicals, including Nine in 1982, and Titanic in 1997, both of which won Tony Awards for best musical and best score. He also won a Drama Desk Award for Nine...
.
Film
- Charade
- Father GooseFather Goose (film)Father Goose is a 1964 romantic comedy film set in World War II, starring Cary Grant, Leslie Caron and Trevor Howard. The title derives from "Mother Goose", the codename assigned to Grant's character...
- Mirage
- ArabesqueArabesque (film)Arabesque is a 1966 thriller starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. The movie is based on Gordon Cotler's novel The Cypher and directed by Stanley Donen.-Plot:Professor David Pollock is an expert in ancient hieroglyphics at Oxford University...
- 17761776 (film)1776 is a 1972 American musical film directed by Peter H. Hunt. The screenplay by Peter Stone was based on the 1969 stage musical of the same name. Portions of the dialogue and some of the song lyrics were taken directly from the letters and memoirs of the actual participants of the Second...
- The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
- Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? is a 1978 comedy mystery film starring George Segal, Jacqueline Bisset, and Robert Morley. It was based on a novel entitled Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe by Nan and Ivan Lyons...
- Just CauseJust Cause (film)Just Cause is a 1995 film directed by Arne Glimcher and starring Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne. It is based on John Katzenbach's novel of the same name.-Plot:...
Theater
- KeanKean (musical)Kean is a musical with a book by Peter Stone and music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest.Using material by Jean-Paul Sartre and Alexandre Dumas, père as its source, it centers on the adventures of Edmund Kean, considered the greatest Shakespearean actor of the 18th century, focusing...
- 1961 - SkyscraperSkyscraper (musical)Skyscraper is a musical with a book by Peter Stone, lyrics by Sammy Cahn, and music by Jimmy Van Heusen.Based on the 1945 Elmer Rice play Dream Girl, it focuses on an antiques dealer who is determined to save her midtown Manhattan brownstone from the bulldozer. The girders of a new skyscraper are...
- 1965 - 17761776 (musical)1776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The story is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence...
- 1969 - Two by TwoTwo by Two (musical)Two By Two is a Broadway musical with a book by Peter Stone, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and music by Richard Rodgers.Based on Clifford Odets's play The Flowering Peach, it tells the story of Noah's preparations for the Great Flood and its aftermath....
- 1970 - SugarSugar (musical)Sugar is a musical with a book by Peter Stone, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Bob Merrill. It is based on the film Some Like It Hot, which was adapted by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond from a story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan...
- 1972 - Full Circle - 1973
- Woman of the YearWoman of the Year (musical)Woman of the Year is a musical with a book by Peter Stone and score by John Kander and Fred Ebb.Based on the Ring Lardner Jr.-Michael Kanin screenplay for the 1942 Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy film of the same name, the musical changes the newspaper reporters of the original to television...
- 1981 - My One and OnlyMy One and OnlyMy One and Only is a musical with a book by Peter Stone and Timothy S. Mayer and music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin.Written to incorporate classic Gershwin tunes from Funny Face and other popular shows into one evening of entertainment, the plot, set in 1927 America, revolves around Capt...
- 1983 - The Will Rogers Follies - 1991
- TitanicTitanic (musical)Titanic is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone that opened on Broadway in 1997. It won five Tony Awards including the award for Best Musical...
- 1997 - Annie Get Your GunAnnie Get Your Gun (musical)Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley , who was a sharpshooter from Ohio, and her husband, Frank Butler.The 1946 Broadway production...
(revised book) - 1999 - CurtainsCurtains (musical)Curtains is a musical with a book by Rupert Holmes, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, with additional lyrics by Kander and Holmes....
(original book and concept) - 2006 - Death Takes a HolidayDeath Takes a Holiday (musical)Death Takes a Holiday is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone and Thomas Meehan. The story is adapted from the 1924 Italian play La Morte in Vacanza by Alberto Casella...
(original book, with Thomas Meehan (writer)Thomas Meehan (writer)Thomas Meehan is an American writer, best known for Annie, The Producers and Hairspray.-Life and career:Meehan grew up in Suffern, New York, and graduated from Hamilton College...
) - 2011
External links
- Peter Stone Papers, 1757-2003 Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing ArtsNew York Public Library for the Performing ArtsThe New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center houses one of the world's largest collections of materials relating to the performing arts. It is one of the four research centers of the New York Public Library's Research library system, and it is also one...