Lillian Hellman

@Dramatist, Birthday and Childhood ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Lillian Hellman was an American playwright and screen play writer Louisiana American Columbia University New York University Writers Playwrights Gemini Celebrities Lillian Hellman is regarded as one of the most important American playwrights. She also penned screenplays of many films. Her career began when she became a reader with MGM. Writer Dashiell Hammet became her companion and critic, and encouraged her writings. While on a visit to Germany, she got her first taste of the anti-Semitic policy of the Nazi party. Some of her works, the plays, ‘Watch on the Rhine’ and ‘The Searching Wind’, and her screen play for ‘The North Star’, reflected her anti-Fascist stance. In her country, she was viewed with suspicion for her admiration for Communist causes. Post WWII, America was gripped by an anti-communist hysteria. She had been a member of the Communist Party, but had become disillusioned by its functioning. Despite being boycotted by the film industry, she never divulged the names of fellow Communists, and found it hard to meet financial commitments. Her successful plays include ‘The Children's Hour’, ‘The Little Foxes’, ‘The Autumn Garden’, ‘The Lark’, and ‘Toys in the Attic’. She wrote about lesbianism when it was still taboo, and did not believe in the institution of marriage. The three volumes of her memoirs that she published were well-received. She is remembered as someone who was much ahead of her times.

Personal Details

Birthday: June 20, 1905 Died on: June 30, 1984 Nationality: American Famous: Dramatist, Screenwriter, Columbia University, New York University, Writers, Playwrights City/State: Louisiana Spouses: Arthur Kober (m.1925 -1932) Universities: Columbia University,New York University New York University Columbia University Information Detail Birthday June 20, 1905 Died on June 30, 1984 Nationality American Famous Dramatist, Screenwriter, Columbia University, New York University, Writers, Playwrights City/State Louisiana Spouses Arthur Kober (m.1925 -1932) Universities Columbia University,New York University New York University Columbia University Notable Alumnis Columbia University New York University Birth Place New Orleans, Louisiana Religion Jewish Gender Female Father Max Hellman Mother Julia Newhouse Sun Sign Gemini Born in New Orleans, Louisiana Famous as Dramatist and Screenwriter Died at Age 79

New Orleans, Louisiana

Lillian Hellman born at Unsplash Birth Place

Lillian Hellman divorced Arthur Kober in 1932. Meanwhile, the mystery author Dashiell Hammet became her companion and critic. She also had affairs with the diplomat, John Melby, and publisher, Ralph Ingersoll. Unsplash Personal Life

She died on June 30, 1984, at the age of 79, from a heart attack at her home on Martha's Vineyard. Unsplash Personal Life

Lillian Hellman was born on June 20, 1905, in New Orleans, to Jewish parents, Julia Newhouse and Max Hellman. Her father was a shoe salesman. The family shifted to New York City when she was five. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

As a child, she would spend half the year with her parents and the other half with her aunts in Louisiana. She attended New York and Columbia Universities, but obtained degrees from neither. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1925, she married Arthur Kober, a press agent, but they often lived away from each other. Travelling to Europe, she resumed her studies in Bonn. The growing anti-Semitism made her return to America. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

Lillian Hellman accompanied her husband to Hollywood in 1930. She became a reader with MGM and was paid $50 weekly. The job involved writing summaries of novels that could be used as screenplays. Unsplash Career

Encouraged by novelist Dashiell Hammet, she produced the play, ‘The Children's Hour’ in 1933. For its controversial theme of Lesbianism, it was banned in Chicago, Boston and London. It brought her fame and financial success. Unsplash Career

She was hired by Goldwyn Pictures to write the screen play for ‘The Dark Angel’. The 1935 film told the story of two men competing for a woman’s love. Unsplash Career

She joined the Screen Writers Guild in 1935. The guild was a union formed by screen writers. She took up the issue of crediting screenwriters, which some producers were averse to acknowledge. Unsplash Career

Goldwyn Pictures paid her $35,000 for the rights of her play, ‘The Children's Hour’. She reworked the play, removing the lesbian angle. The film released in 1936 as ‘The Three’; her screenplay was hailed. Unsplash Career

In 1939, Lillian Hellman’s highly successful play, ‘The Little Foxes’, was staged on Broadway 410 times. The conflict between her maternal grandmother’ Sophie Marx and the Hellman family inspired the story of the play. Unsplash Major Works

The 1951 play, ‘The Autumn Garden’, which critics consider her best, discusses the disillusionment that people feel as middle age sets in. The play was nominated for the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	June 20, 1905
Died on	June 30, 1984
Nationality	American
Famous	Dramatist, Screenwriter, Columbia University, New York University, Writers, Playwrights
City/State	Louisiana
Spouses	Arthur Kober (m.1925 -1932)
Universities	Columbia University,New York University New York University Columbia University
Notable Alumnis	Columbia University New York University
Birth Place	New Orleans, Louisiana
Religion	Jewish
Gender	Female
Father	Max Hellman
Mother	Julia Newhouse
Sun Sign	Gemini
Born in	New Orleans, Louisiana
Famous as	Dramatist and Screenwriter
Died at Age	79

Lillian Hellman

American

Jun 20, 1905

Biography

Personal Details

New Orleans, Louisiana