George S. Kaufman

Birthday: November 16, 1889 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Birth Name: George Simon Kaufman

American playwright of acerbic wit. Twice won the Pulitzer Prize, and is best known for his collaborative authorship of "Once in a Lifetime," with Moss Hart (1930); "Of Thee I Sing,&quo ...Show More

I like terra firma -- the more firma, the less terra. I like terra firma -- the more firma, the less terra.

Satire is what closes Saturday night. Satire is what closes Saturday night.

[to George Gershwin] If you play that score one more time before we open, people will think you're d Show more [to George Gershwin] If you play that score one more time before we open, people will think you're doing a revival. Hide

When a community theater group was caught performing one of Kaufman's plays without permission or pa Show more When a community theater group was caught performing one of Kaufman's plays without permission or payment of royalties, Kaufman threatened to send them to jail for theft. The theater director thought they didn't need to pay royalties because, as he put it, "It's just a small, insignificant, little theater in a small, insignificant, little town." Kaufman's reply: "Then we'll send you all to a small, insignificant, little jail." Hide

(Upon seeing so many billboard ads with an alluring Jane Russell in Le banni (1943)) They ought to c Show more (Upon seeing so many billboard ads with an alluring Jane Russell in Le banni (1943)) They ought to call it "A Sale of Two Titties". Hide

I'd bet on George [Gershwin] any time in a hundred yard dash to the piano. I'd bet on George [Gershwin] any time in a hundred yard dash to the piano.

[advice to a writer who had a spelling problem] I'm not very good at it myself, but the first rule a Show more [advice to a writer who had a spelling problem] I'm not very good at it myself, but the first rule about spelling is that there is only one 'z' in 'is'. Hide

[on writing for the Marx Brothers who were given to ad-libbing their dialogue] I may be wrong. But I Show more [on writing for the Marx Brothers who were given to ad-libbing their dialogue] I may be wrong. But I think I just heard one of the original lines. Hide

George S. Kaufman's FILMOGRAPHY

as Director (1) as Creator (2)

The Cocoanuts

You Can't Take It with You