Moss Hart was born in New York City on October 24, 1904. His parents, Barnett and Lillian (née Cohen) Hart, were Jewish immigrants from Russia. His father was a tailor, and his mother was a seamstress. He had two younger brothers, Bernard and Sidney. Hart was educated in the New York City public school system.
He began his career as a journalist, writing for newspapers and magazines such as The New Yorker and Vanity Fair. He also wrote several plays, including You Can’t Take It with You (1936), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In addition to his work as a playwright, Hart also directed several films, including A Star Is Born (1937) and Gentleman’s Agreement (1947).
Hart was married twice. His first wife was Kitty Carlisle, with whom he had two children: Christopher and Catherine. His second wife was actress Ruth Gordon. Hart died of a heart attack on December 20, 1961, at the age of 57.
Hart’s net worth at the time of his death was estimated to be $1 million.
General Info
Full Name
Moss Hart
Died
December 20, 1961, Palm Springs, California, United States
Profession
Playwright, Screenwriter, Theatre Director
Nationality
American
Family
Spouse
Kitty Carlisle
Children
Catherine Hart, Christopher Hart
Siblings
Bernard Hart
Accomplishments
Awards
Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Tony Award for Best Director, Drama League Award for Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, Academy Award for Best Story, Mastercard Best New Musical, National Book Award for Nonfiction, Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Musical
Movies
A Star Is Born, Gentleman's Agreement, You Can't Take It with You, Hans Christian Andersen, George Washington Slept Here, Winged Victory, Broadway Melody of 1936, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Lady in the Dark, Prince of Players, Nothing Sacred, That Lucky Touch, Make Me a Star, The Masquerader, Once ...
[on Julie Andrews] She has that wonderful British strength that makes you wonder why they lost India.
2
[on writing the screenplay for A Star Is Born (1954)] It was a difficult story to do because the original was so famous, and when you tamper with the original you're inviting all sorts of unfavorable criticism. It had to be changed because I had to say new things about Hollywood--which is quite a feat in itself, as the subject had been worn pretty thin. Add to that the necessity of making this a musical drama, and you'll understand the immediate problems.
3
[on what later became "Lady in the Dark"] Kurt Weill and I sat at a table in a little midtown [Manhattan] restaurant and told each other vehemently why we should not write a musical comedy. We were both completely uninterested in doing a show for the sake of doing a show, in Broadway parlance, and the tight little formula of the musical comedy stage held no interest for either of us . . . We discovered the kind of show we both definitely DID want to do, a show in which the music carried forward the essential story and was not imposed upon the architecture of the play.
4
[on Beverly Hills] The most beautiful slave quarters in the world.
5
So far as I know, anything worth hearing is not usually uttered at seven o'clock in the morning; and if it is, it will generally be repeated at a more reasonable hour for a larger and more wakeful audience.
Facts
#
Fact
1
Had suffered at least one heart attack prior to his fatal one. This was on October 14, 1960, while in his hotel room in Toronto, where he was holding an out-of-town audition and generally working on revisions for the soon-to-open Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe Broadway musical "Camelot," which he was to direct.
2
In his 20s Hart served as entertainment director for the famous Flagler resort hotel in New York's Catskill Mountains, where he was assisted by Dore Schary, who would go on to head MGM. The hotel's main competitor was the legendary Grossinger's resort, where entertainment was headed by Don Hartman, who would continue the competition when he went on to head Paramount Pictures.
3
Won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the play "You Can't Take it with You" collaborating with George S. Kaufman.
4
He suffered his fatal heart attack outside his house as his wife was backing the car out of the garage to take him to the dentist.
5
Throughout much of his adult life, he suffered from severe depression, mood swings, and other emotional problems that were intensified, and possibly caused, by intense anxiety stemming from his sexual orientation. Nevertheless, the long-time bachelor married singer/actress Kitty Carlisle at age 40+ and had two children. After his death, Ms. Carlisle spent much of her widowhood (she never remarried) actively squelching such rumors.
Died a year after the opening of the original Broadway production of "Camelot" by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, the last show that he directed.
8
Won Broadway's 1957 Tony Award as Best Director for "My Fair Lady."
9
Pictured on a 37¢ USA commemorative postage stamp issued 25 October 2004, one day following the centenary of his birth.
10
His musical "Lady in the Dark" was awarded the 1997 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical.
11
He was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for "Lady in the Dark" performed at the Royal National Theatre: Lyttelton, as Best New Musical of the 1997 season.
12
His play, "Merrily We Roll Along", co-written with George S. Kaufman, was adapted into a 1982 Broadway play by Stephen Sondheim. A subsequent London production was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2001 (2000 season) for Best Musical.
