John Colton (December 31, 1887 – December 26, 1946) was an American playwright and screenwriter born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He spent the first 14 years of his life in Japan where his English father was a diplomat. After returning to the US he soon worked for a Minneapolis newspaper.
He is best remembered for adapting, with Clemence Randolph, Somerset Maugham's novella Rain into a 1922 smash hit play starring Jeanne Eagels. He wrote the original play, The Shanghai Gesture, produced on Broadway in 1926. He excelled at writing plays dealing with Americans in far-off lands, an experience Colton knew firsthand from his early youth in Japan. With these huge successes Colton was lured to Hollywood, primarily MGM, where he wrote intertitles for some silent films and scenarios for others. In the talking film era he wrote numerous screenplays. Three of his stage plays found motion picture production: Rain (1932); The Shanghai Gesture (1941); and, posthumously, Under Capricorn (1949).
His 1933 play Nine Pine Street, written with Carleton Miles, was based around the Lizzie Borden story. Lizzie Borden's character was changed to "Effie Holden", played by Lillian Gish. It ran for only 28 performances.[1]
Colton suffered a stroke in 1945. He died of a second stroke in Gainesville, Texas in 1946. Colton, a gay man, never married.[2][3][4]
References
^Lachman, Marvin (2014). The villainous stage : crime plays on Broadway and in the West End. McFarland. ISBN978-0-7864-9534-4. OCLC 903807427.
The Shanghai Gesture printed programme, the West Coast production (additional notes on Broadway production), Biltmore Theatre, Los Angeles, June 1927
isolated headshot image of Colton from 1935 group photo
May 23, 2023
john, colton, screenwriter, john, colton, december, 1887, december, 1946, american, playwright, screenwriter, born, minneapolis, minnesota, spent, first, years, life, japan, where, english, father, diplomat, after, returning, soon, worked, minneapolis, newspap. John Colton December 31 1887 December 26 1946 was an American playwright and screenwriter born in Minneapolis Minnesota He spent the first 14 years of his life in Japan where his English father was a diplomat After returning to the US he soon worked for a Minneapolis newspaper John ColtonBornDecember 31 1887Minneapolis MinnesotaDiedDecember 26 1946 aged 58 Gainesville TexasOccupation s PlaywrightScreenwriterHe is best remembered for adapting with Clemence Randolph Somerset Maugham s novella Rain into a 1922 smash hit play starring Jeanne Eagels He wrote the original play The Shanghai Gesture produced on Broadway in 1926 He excelled at writing plays dealing with Americans in far off lands an experience Colton knew firsthand from his early youth in Japan With these huge successes Colton was lured to Hollywood primarily MGM where he wrote intertitles for some silent films and scenarios for others In the talking film era he wrote numerous screenplays Three of his stage plays found motion picture production Rain 1932 The Shanghai Gesture 1941 and posthumously Under Capricorn 1949 His 1933 play Nine Pine Street written with Carleton Miles was based around the Lizzie Borden story Lizzie Borden s character was changed to Effie Holden played by Lillian Gish It ran for only 28 performances 1 Colton suffered a stroke in 1945 He died of a second stroke in Gainesville Texas in 1946 Colton a gay man never married 2 3 4 References Edit Lachman Marvin 2014 The villainous stage crime plays on Broadway and in the West End McFarland ISBN 978 0 7864 9534 4 OCLC 903807427 John Colton biography amp credits IMDb com database John Colton at IBDb Internet Broadway Database The Fixers Eddie Mannix Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine by E J Fleming c 2005 McFarland amp Company publishersExternal links EditJohn Colton at IMDb John Colton in 1935 back row in specs amp tie standing with several literary friends i e Blanche Oelrichs Dorothy Parker Peggy Wood Howard Greer Dudley Murphy The Shanghai Gesture printed programme the West Coast production additional notes on Broadway production Biltmore Theatre Los Angeles June 1927 isolated headshot image of Colton from 1935 group photo Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Colton screenwriter amp oldid 1145091980, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
