Hart, Moss, 1904–61, American dramatist, b. New York City, studied at Columbia. His first important play, Once in a Lifetime (1930), marked the beginning of a long collaboration with George S. Kaufman Kaufman, George S. (George Simon Kaufman) (kôf`mən), 1889–1961, American dramatist and journalist, b. Pittsburgh.
..... Click the link for more information. . Among their other successful comedies are Merrily We Roll Along (1934), You Can't Take It with You (1936; Pulitzer Prize), I'd Rather Be Right (1937, written with George M. Cohan Cohan, George Michael (kōhăn`, kō`hăn, kō`ən), 1878–1942, American showman, b. Providence, R.I.
..... Click the link for more information. ), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939), and George Washington Slept Here (1940). Hart also collaborated on musicals with Irving Berlin Berlin, Irving (bərlĭn`), 1888–1989, American songwriter, b. Russia. Berlin's surname was originally Baline.
..... Click the link for more information. and Cole Porter Porter, Cole, 1891–1964, American composer and lyricist, b. Peru, Ind., grad. Yale, 1913. Porter's witty, sophisticated lyrics and his affecting melodies place him high in the ranks of American composers of popular music.
..... Click the link for more information. , and his most successful musical, Lady in the Dark (1941), was written with Kurt Weill Weill, Kurt (k

rt` vīl), 1900–1950, German-American composer, b.
..... Click the link for more information. and Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin, 1896–1983, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., wrote beautifully crafted lyrics for many Gershwin songs. The "rhymed conversation" that he wrote to his brother's music includes the words for "But Not for Me," "Fascinating Rhythm," "I've Got a Crush on You," and "'S Wonderful.
..... Click the link for more information. . Among his plays, produced between 1941 and 1952, are Winged Victory, Christopher Blake, Light Up the Sky, and The Climate of Eden. Hart also directed several 1940s film comedies and wrote the 1952 screen hit Hans Christian Andersen. In 1956 he returned to Broadway as director of the long-running musical hit My Fair Lady.

Bibliography

See his autobiographical Act One (1959); biography by S. Bach (2001).

Hart, Moss

(born Oct. 24, 1904, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Dec. 20, 1961, Palm Springs, Calif.) U.S. playwright and director. He wrote his first play at age 18 and achieved recognition when he collaborated with George S. Kaufman on Once in a Lifetime (1930). That success led to their popular comedies You Can't Take It with You (1936, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1938) and The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939; film, 1942). Hart wrote books for musicals for Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, wrote and directed plays such as Lady in the Dark (1941; film, 1944) and Winged Victory (1943; film, 1944), and directed the long-running musicals My Fair Lady (1956, Tony Award) and Camelot (1960).