Moss Hart

Moss Hart (October 24, 1904 - December 20, 1961) was a Jewish-American playwright and director of plays and musical theater. His youth and early career are detailed in his autobiography, Act One, a highly factual account of his breakthrough into fame. Hart was also a successful director. He directed the original Broadway productions of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's My Fair Lady, helping transform a young Julie Andrews into a powerful stage presence and keep the difficult star Rex Harrison under control. Hart also directed the original production of the musical Camelot, but died of a heart attack while the show was in out-of-town tryouts in Toronto. Moody, irritable, and often depressed, he was married to Kitty Carlisle, but the well-dressed and longtime bachelor was regarded as homosexual by many of his friends and reportedly spent much time in therapy regarding his attraction to men. (Carlisle did ask Hart if he was gay before they married and he responded that he was not.) Among his reported amours was the actor turned writer Gordon Merrick.

Related Topics:
October 24 - 1904 - December 20 - 1961 - Jewish-American - Playwright - Director - Musical theater - Act One - Alan Jay Lerner - Frederick Loewe - My Fair Lady - Julie Andrews - Rex Harrison - Camelot - Heart attack - Toronto - Kitty Carlisle - Gordon Merrick

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• George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart plays:
• 1930 Once in a Lifetime
• 1934 Merrily We Roll Along
• 1936 You Can't Take It With You (won a Pulitzer Prize)
• 1937 I'd Rather Be Right
• 1939 The Man Who Came to Dinner
• 1940 George Washington Slept Here
• Other plays by Hart:
• 1941 Lady in the Dark, with Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin
• 1943 Winged Victory