Moss Hart was one of the major playwrights of the American stage during the twentieth century. Best known for his collaborations with George S. Kaufman, Hart was also one of the most flamboyant theatrical personalities of his era.
Born in the Bronx in 1904, Hart began his writing career with The Beloved Bandit in 1925 under the pseudonym of Robert Arnold Conrad, but his first great success came with Once in a Lifetime (1930) written with George S. Kaufman. Other successes with Kaufman include Merrily We Roll Along (1934), You Can't Take It With You (Pulitzer Prize, 1937), The Fabulous Invalid (1938), The American Way (1939), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939), and George Washington Slept Here (1940).
His books for musical shows include Face the Music (1932) and As Thousands Cheer (1933), both with Irving Berlin; Jubilee (1935) with Cole Porter; I'd Rather Be Right (1937) with Kaufman, Lorenz Hart, and Richard Rodgers; and Lady in the Dark (1941) with Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin. Plays written by Hart alone are Winged Victory (1943), Christopher Blake (1946), Light Up the Sky (1948), and The Climate of Eden (1952); while Gentleman's Agreement (1947), Hans Christian Anderson (1951), The Eddie Duchin Story (1954), A Star Is Born (1954), and Prince of Players (1955) indicate his talents as a screenwriter.
Also distinguishing himself as a director, Moss Hart was noted for his direction of such productions as Dear Ruth (1944) and Anniversary Waltz (1954). In 1956 he won the Antoinette Perry Award for his direction of Lerner and Loewe's record-breaking hit, My Fair Lady (1956), after which he also staged their musical, Camelot (1960).
In 1959 Hart published an autobiography of his early life and career, Act One, which was on the best seller list for almost two years and which remains one of the most important works of its kind in the history of the American theater. In addition to his writing activities, Moss Hart served as president of the Dramatists Guild of the Authors League of America.
In August 1946, Moss Hart married actress Kitty Carlisle. During her career Miss Carlisle has distinguished herself in films, night club entertaining, and on the stage (Rio Rita, Three Waltzes, and The Merry Widow). She co-starred with Bing Crosby in several films and appeared with the Marx brothers in A Night at the Opera. In 1948 she won acclaim for her portrayal of Lucretia in Benjamin Britten's opera, The Rape of Lucretia. In 1954 she played a non-singing role in Anniversary Waltz by Chodorov and Fields, directed by Moss Hart. Later she became well known for her regular appearances on the popular television quiz show, To Tell the Truth. Moss Hart and Kitty Carlisle had two children, Christopher and Cathy.
Hart died of a heart attack on December 20, 1961. Carlisle died on April 17, 2007.
