Garson Kanin
Writer

Garson Kanin Net Worth

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Garson Kanin was born in Rochester, New York in 1912 and was a multi-talented artist. He dropped out of high school during the Great Depression to help support his family and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts from 1932 to 1933. He worked as an actor on Broadway and as a director for RKO, but was frustrated by the lack of control he had over his films. During World War II, he made documentary films for the War Information and Emergency Manpower offices, one of which won an Academy Award. After the war, he wrote stories and plays and directed his play "Born Yesterday" on Broadway. He and his wife, Ruth Gordon, collaborated on four screenplays, including Adam's Rib and Pat and Mike, but stopped working together for the sake of their marriage after 1952. In 1979, they co-wrote one more, the TV film Hardhat and Legs. They never had a contract with any studio and wrote the scripts on their own and sold them to interested Hollywood studios.
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Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Writer, Director, Miscellaneous Crew
Birth Day November 24, 1912
Birth Place  Rochester, New York, United States
Age 108 YEARS OLD
Died On March 13, 1999(1999-03-13) (aged 86)\nManhattan, New York City, U.S.
Birth Sign Sagittarius
Years active 1939-1993
Spouse(s) Ruth Gordon (1942-1985; her death) Marian Seldes (1990-1999; his death)

💰 Net worth: $100K - $1M

Biography/Timeline

1933

Garson Kanin began his show Business career as a jazz musician, burlesque Comedian, and actor. He graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and made his Broadway debut in Little Ol' Boy (1933). In 1935, Kanin was cast in a George Abbott play and soon became Abbott's assistant. Kanin made his Broadway debut as a Director in 1936, at the age of twenty-four, with Hitch Your Wagon.

1938

His first film as a Director was A Man to Remember (1938), which The New York Times considered one of the ten best films of 1938. Kanin was twenty-six at the time. Other directing credits include The Great Man Votes (1939), My Favorite Wife (1940), They Knew What They Wanted (1940) and Tom, Dick and Harry (1941).

1940

He was a colleague of Thornton Wilder, who mentored him, and an admirer of the work of Frank Capra. Kanin said "I'd rather be Capra than God, if there is a Capra." Kanin and Katharine Hepburn were the only witnesses to Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh's wedding in California on August 31, 1940. In 1941, he and Katharine Hepburn worked with his brother Michael Kanin and Ring Lardner, Jr., on the early drafts of what would become Woman of the Year right before Garson enlisted in the army. He is also quoted as saying, "When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt."

1941

His most famous quote, from his hit play "Born Yesterday," is on a New York City Public Library plaque on a 41st Street sidewalk: "I want everyone to be smart. As smart as they can be. A world of ignorant people is too dangerous to live in."

1942

Kanin was married to his frequent collaborator, Academy-award winning Actress Ruth Gordon, from 1942 to her death in 1985.

1945

In 1945, Kanin directed Spencer Tracy in Tracy's first play in 15 years. Tracy had been through a dark patch personally—culminating with a stay in hospital—and Katharine Hepburn felt that a play would help restore his focus. Tracy told a Journalist in April, "I'm coming back to Broadway to see if I can still act." The play was The Rugged Path by Robert E. Sherwood, which first previewed in Providence, Rhode Island on September 28, to a sold-out crowd and tepid response.

1946

Kanin's 1946 play Born Yesterday, which he also directed, ran for 1,642 performances. Kanin worked, uncredited, on the screenplay of the 1950 film adaptation.

1950

In the 1950s through the 1980s, Kanin adapted several of his stories and plays for television, most notably Mr. Broadway (1964), and Moviola (1980).

1955

His other stage work includes directing The Diary of Anne Frank (1955), which ran for 717 performances, and the musical Funny Girl (1964), which ran for 1,348 performances.

1980

Kanin's best-selling novel Smash (1980), about the pre-Broadway tryout of a musical comedy, has recently been adapted into the television series Smash.

1985

Kanin wrote and directed his last play, Peccadillo, in 1985, the same year he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

1990

In 1990, Kanin married the celebrated stage Actress Marian Seldes (1928-2014). In 1999, Kanin died at age 86 in Manhattan of undisclosed causes.

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Tags 1912 births 1999 deaths American film directors Jewish American screenwriters American theatre directors 20th-century American novelists American male screenwriters Donaldson Award winners People from Rochester, New York Writers from New York City American Theater Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male novelists American male dramatists and playwrights American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century male writers Novelists from New York (state)

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About the author

Lisa Scholfield

As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.