Preston Sturges

Preston Sturges (August 29, 1898-August 6, 1959), originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a screenwriter and director born in Chicago. Known for his comedic contribution to American film, he was one of Hollywood's great filmmakers. His mother was Mary Desti, a socialite famous for her friendship with Isadora Duncan.

Related Topics:
August 29 - 1898 - August 6 - 1959 - Screenwriter - Director - Chicago - Comedic - Hollywood - Mary Desti - Isadora Duncan

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Sturges took the screwball comedy format of the 1930s to another level, writing dialogue that, heard today, is often surprisingly naturalistic, mature, and ahead of its time, despite the farcical situations. It is not uncommon for one of Sturges' actors to deliver an exquisitely turned phrase and take an elaborate pratfall within the same scene. A love scene between Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck in "The Lady Eve" was enlivened by a horse, who repeatedly poked his nose into Fonda's head.

Related Topics:
Screwball comedy - 1930s - Henry Fonda - Barbara Stanwyck - The Lady Eve

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He is often credited as the first writer to direct his own script, but this is untrue. Many major directors such as Frank Capra and Howard Hawks preceded Sturges in making the leap from writing to directing. However, Sturges may have been the first to be promoted as such by the studios for publicity. Famously, he supposedly sold his screenplay for "The Great McGinty" to Paramount Pictures for $1, in exchange for the director's job.

Related Topics:
Frank Capra - Howard Hawks - The Great McGinty

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He won the first Academy Award ever given for Writing Original Screenplay for the "McGinty" script. Perhaps more impressively, Sturges received two screenwriting Oscar nominations in the same year, for 1944's "Hail the Conquering Hero" and "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek."

Related Topics:
Academy Award - Writing Original Screenplay - Hail the Conquering Hero - The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

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Though he enjoyed a 30-year Hollywood career, the greatest of Sturges' comedies were filmed in a furious 5-year burst of activity. Half a century later, four of these were chosen among the American Film Institute's 100 funniest movies: "Morgan's Creek, "The Lady Eve," "Sullivan's Travels" and "The Palm Beach Story." Their combination of sentiment and cynicism has kept them fresh for today's audiences.

Related Topics:
American Film Institute - Sullivan's Travels - The Palm Beach Story

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Sturges liked to reuse many of the same character actors, such as William Demarest, Byron Foulger, Victor Potel, Robert Grieg, Charles R. Moore, Robert Warwick, or Franklin Pangborn, giving him what amounted to a regular troupe even within the studio system.

Related Topics:
William Demarest - Byron Foulger - Victor Potel - Robert Grieg - Charles R. Moore - Robert Warwick - Franklin Pangborn

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Among his wives was Eleanor Close, a daughter of Post Cereals' heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and a great-aunt of film star Glenn Close.

Related Topics:
Eleanor Close - Marjorie Merriweather Post - Glenn Close

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He died in New York.

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