George Abbott

George Abbott
Abbott in 1928
Abbott in 1928
BornGeorge Francis Abbott
(1887-06-25)June 25, 1887
Forestville, New York, U.S.
DiedJanuary 31, 1995(1995-01-31) (aged 107)
Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
Occupation
  • Theatre producer
  • theatre director
  • playwright
  • screenwriter
  • film producer
  • film director
EducationUniversity of Rochester (BA)
Harvard University
Period1913–1995
Notable awards
Spouse
  • Edna Levis
    (m. 1914; died 1930)
  • (m. 1946; div. 1951)
  • Joy Valderrama
    (m. 1983)

George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades.[1] He received numerous honors including six Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1982.[2][3][4] the National Medal of Arts in 1990.[5] and was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

Starting as an actor he later became known for producing numerous Broadway productions such as Pal Joey (1940), On the Town (1944), Call Me Madam (1950), Wonderful Town (1953), The Pajama Game (1954), Damn Yankees (1955), New Girl in Town (1957), Once Upon a Mattress (1959), Fiorello! (book, 1959), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Broadway (1987), Damn Yankees (1994).

Abbot also acted in numerous films in the 1920s and 1930s. He received an Academy Award for Best Writing nomination for All Quiet on the Western Front (1930). He later directed the movie musicals adaptations of The Pajama Game (1957), and Damn Yankees (1958).

  1. ^ "Abbott, George". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I: A– Ak–Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2010. pp. 13. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
  2. ^ "George Abbott Biography" kennedy-center.org, accessed August 6, 2019
  3. ^ "History, 1982" kennedy-center.org, accessed August 6, 2019
  4. ^ Hall, Carla; McCombs, Phil. "Doing the Honours" Washington Post December 6, 1982
  5. ^ "National Medal of Arts". National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved October 20, 2013.