Moss Hart

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Moss Hart (1904-1961) was a playwright and director of plays and musical theater. His youth and early career are detailed in his autobiography, Act One, a highly fictious 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. He was married to Kitty Carlisle, but the well-dressed and longtime bachelor (prior to marriage) fought rumors of homosexuality throughout his career.

• George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart plays:
  • 1930 Once in a Lifetime (won a Pulitzer Prize)
  • 1934 Merrily We Roll Along
  • 1936 You Can't Take It With You
  • 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

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