The Resume

(December 15, 1888-February 28, 1959)
Born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania
Birth name was James Maxwell Anderson
Wrote the plays 'What Price Glory?' (1924), Elizabeth the Queen' (1930), 'Mary of Scotland' (1933), 'Both Your Houses' (1933), 'High Tor' (1937), 'Knickerbocker Holiday' (1938), 'Key Largo' (1939), 'Candle in the Wind' (1941), 'Joan of Lorraine' (1946), 'Anne of the Thousand Days' (1948), 'Lost in the Stars' (1949), 'Barefoot in Athens' (1951), and 'The Bad Seed' (1954)
Published the poetry collection 'You Who Have Dreams' (1925)
Lyricist for 'September Song' and 'Lost in the Stars' (both with music by Kurt Weill)

Why he might be annoying:

He wrote an autobiographical novel, 'Morning, Winter and Night,' using a pseudonym to avoid offending his family.
He fathered a daughter out of wedlock with actress Gertrude Higger (1934).
After star Ingrid Bergman demanded changes to the dialogue when 'Joan of Lorraine' was being adapted for the screen, he called her 'a big, dumb goddamn Swede.'

Why he might not be annoying:

He was an English major and principal at a North Dakota high school until he was fired for making pacifist statements to the students (1913).
Similarly, he was chair of the English Department at Whittier College until he was fired for publicly supporting a jailed student seeking conscientious objector status (1917).
He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for 'Both Your Houses.' (1933)

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 20th Century Poets
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 92]
• I am an Atheist
• I Attended Stanford
• I Attended University of North Dakota
• I Died in 1959 (Ranked: 70)
• I Fathered Children Out of Wedlock
• I Had a Stroke [Cerebral Vascular Accident]
• I Had Spanish Flu
• I was Cremated
• Known By a Middle Name
• My Significant Other Committed Suicide
• Newspaper Journalists/Editors/Publishers
• Playwrights
• Poets
• Profiles 57001-57250 (Ranked: 57120)
• Teachers

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying