Connelly, Marc

Connelly, Marc (Marcus Cook Connelly) (kŏn`əlē), 1890–1981, American dramatist, b. McKeesport, Pa. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning play The Green Pastures (1930), a fantasy of biblical history presented in terms of the religious life of Southern blacks; it was based on Roark Bradford's book Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun (1928). Connelly also collaborated with George S. Kaufman on the plays Dulcy (1921), To the Ladies (1922), Merton of the Movies (1922), and Beggar on Horseback (1924). He published his first novel, A Souvenir from Quam in 1965; it satirizes spy stories.

Bibliography

See his memoirs (1968).

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Connelly, Marc(us Cook)

(born Dec. 13, 1890, McKeesport, Pa., U.S.—died Dec. 21, 1980, New York, N.Y.) U.S. playwright, screenwriter, and director. He covered theatrical news as a journalist in Pittsburgh and New York City. He collaborated with George S. Kaufman on the play Dulcy (1921), which they followed with the comedies To the Ladies (1922) and Beggar on Horseback (1924) and the librettos for the musicals Helen of Troy, New York (1923) and Be Yourself (1924). Connelly went on to write Green Pastures (1930, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1936), his best-known work, and The Farmer Takes a Wife (1934; film, 1935).

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Connelly, (Marcus Cook) Marc (1890–1980) writer; born in McKeesport, Pa. A transplanted Pittsburgh drama critic, he was prominent in New York's literary and theatrical world in the 1920s as a founder of the New Yorker (1925) and member of the Algonquin Round Table. He collaborated with George S. Kaufman on half a dozen hit plays and musicals (1921–24) and wrote radio scripts, screenplays, and drama (including Green Pastures (1930, Pulitzer Prize)). He wrote his last play for Helen Hayes in 1977.