Ben Hecht

American writer, director, and producer (1894–1964)

Film & TV

New York City, New York, USA

Ben Hecht (February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A successful journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and plays in America. He received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some seventy films. Description above from…

Known for

Tonight Starring Jack Paar — Self1957
Actors and Sin — Narrator (segment "Woman of Sin") (voice)1952
Angels Over Broadway — Man in Night Court (uncredited)1940
The Scoundrel — Flop House Bum1935
Crime Without Passion — Court Interviewer with Pipe (uncredited)1934

via TMDB

Key facts

Born: ( 1894-02-28 ) February 28, 1894, New York City , U.S.
Died: April 18, 1964 (1964-04-18) (aged 70), New York City, U.S.
Occupations: Screenwriter director producer novelist playwright journalist
Years active: 1916–1964
Style: Comedy, newspapers, gangster
Spouse s: Marie Armstrong ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1915 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1925 ) , Rose Caylor ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1925 )

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Ben
Family name: Hecht
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: New York City
Place of death: New York City
Occupation: film director
Languages spoken: English language
Religion: Judaism
Image: Ben Hecht Billboard.jpg

Show 11 more facts

manner of death: natural causes
Commons category: Ben Hecht
date of birth: 1894-02-28
date of death: 1964-04-18
nominated for: Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
cause of death: coronary thrombosis
related category: Category:Films with screenplays by Ben Hecht
archives at: Harry Ransom Center
name in native language: Ben Hecht
member of: Writers Guild of America West
P12749: Tom Tancredo

Sources (8)

via Wikidata · CC0

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Encyclopedic overview

Ben Hecht (/hɛkt/; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and plays in America. He received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some seventy films, including six Academy Award nominations and two wins.

After graduating from high school in 1910, Hecht ran away to Chicago, where, in his own words, he "haunted streets, whorehouses, police stations, courtrooms, theater stages, jails, saloons, slums, madhouses, fires, murders, riots, banquet halls, and bookshops." In the 1910s and 1920s, Hecht became a noted journalist, foreign correspondent, and literary figure. In the late 1920s, his co-authored, reporter-themed play, The Front Page, became a Broadway hit.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Ben Hecht” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.