Luther Davis
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Luther Davis (August 29, 1916 – July 29, 2008) was an American play- and screenwriter. He attended Culver Academies, received a BA from Yale and rose to the rank of major in the US Air Force. He was the father of two daughters and was married to soap opera actress Jennifer Bassey, his companion since 1978, from 2004 until his death.
In collaboration with Charles Lederer, Robert Wright, and George Forrest, Luther Davis wrote Kismet, Timbuktu!, and two different treatments of Vicki Baum’s novel Grand Hotel (At the Grand for the Los Angeles and San Francisco Light Opera Association and the Broadway musical version, Grand Hotel, The Musical).
He received two Tony Awards in 1954 (with Lederer) for Kismet as Best Author (Musical) and as co-author of the book contributed to the Best Musical win. He was nominated again in 1978, for Most Innovative Production of a Revival, as producer of Timbuktu!, and in 1990 as author of the Best Book (Musical) for Grand Hotel, The Musical.
He wrote fifteen movies, many television specials and co-produced Stephen MacDonald’s Off-Broadway play, Not About Heroes.
He won two Mystery Writers of America Edgar Awards and was nominated many times by the Writers Guild of America and the League of American Theatres and Producers.
Credits
Stage plays
- Kiss Them for Me (March 20, 1945 – June 23, 1945)
- New Faces of 1952 (May 16, 1952 – March 28, 1953)
- Kismet (December 3, 1953 – April 23, 1955)
- Timbuktu! (March 1, 1978 – September 10, 1978)
- Grand Hotel (November 12, 1989 – April 25, 1992)
Screenplays
- The Hucksters (1947)
- B.F.'s Daughter (1948)
- Black Hand (1950)
- A Lion Is in the Streets (1953)
- New Faces (1954)
- Kismet (1955)
- The Eternal Sea (1955)
- Kiss Them for Me (1957)
- The Gift of Love (1958)
- Holiday for Lovers (1959)
- Le Meraviglie Di Aladino (1961)
- Lady in a Cage (1964)
- Daughter of the Mind (1969)
- The Old Man Who Cried Wolf (1970)
- The Silent Force (TV series) (1970-1971)
- Across 110th Street (1972)
Creator
- The Silent Force (TV series) (1970-1971)
References
- Weber, Bruce (August 2, 2008). "Luther Davis, 91, Writer of Musicals and Movies, Dies". The New York Times.
External links
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- 1916 births
- 2008 deaths
- 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
- American male screenwriters
- Edgar Award winners
- Tony Award winners
- American male dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century American male writers
- Screenwriters from New York (state)
- Culver Academies alumni
- 20th-century American screenwriters
- American dramatist and playwright stubs