- Laurence Stallings
Laurence Stallings (
November 25 ,1894 -February 28 ,1968 ) was an Americanplaywright ,screenwriter ,lyricist ,literary critic ,journalist ,novelist , andphotographer . TheWorld War I veteran was noted for his anti-war book "The First World War: A Photographic History".Stallings was born Laurence Tucker Stallings in
Macon, Georgia . He graduated fromWake Forest College prior to his war service. In 1917, he joined the United States Marine Reserve. He was assigned to active duty and arrived in France in time to participate in the fighting atChateau-Thierry , where he was wounded in the leg. (He further damaged it with a fall on the ice, and it was amputated in 1922. Many years later he had to have his remaining leg amputated as well.)Stallings received a
Master of Science degree fromGeorgetown University , after which he worked as a reporter, critic, and entertainment editor at the "New York World ". He was impressed byMaxwell Anderson 's first play, "White Desert", and the two joined forces to collaborate on "What Price Glory ", which opened at thePlymouth Theatre inNew York City in 1924. The critically acclaimed play ran for 433 performances and spawned two film adaptations. The two went on to co-write the plays "The First Flight" and "The Buccaneer", both in 1925. Stallings continued his theatre career with the book and lyrics for the musical "Deep River" (1926), adapted "A Farewell to Arms " for the stage in 1930, co-wrote the book for the musicals "Rainbow" (1928) withOscar Hammerstein II and "Virginia" (1937) withOwen Davis , and penned the play "The Streets Are Guarded" in 1944.Stallings was called back to service with the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II as a Lieutenant Colonel but did not serve overseas.
Stallings first (and only) novel, the autobiographical "Plumes", was published in 1924 and was a huge success, with nine printings in that year alone. It was adapted into
King Vidor 's "The Big Parade ", which was quite successful and remainedMGM 's largest grossing film until "Gone with the Wind" in 1939. He was regarded as a key influence on three ofJohn Ford 's greatest films, serving as writer or co-writer for "3 Godfathers ", "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon ", and "The Sun Shines Bright ". Additional screenwriting credits included "Northwest Passage", "The Man from Dakota ", and "On Our Merry Way ".Stalling's last book, "The Doughboys: The Story of the AEF, 1917-1918", was published in 1963. The
non-fiction account of World War I partly explores the racism and discrimination faced by the black troops during the war.On March 8, 1919, Stallings married Helen Purefoy Poteat, the daughter of Dr. William Louis Poteat, who was president of Wake Forest College. The couple had two daughters, Sylvia (born 1926) and Diana (born 1931), before divorcing in 1936. The following year he married Louise St. Leger Vance, his secretary at Fox Studios. They had two children, Laurence, Jr. (born 1939) and Sally (born 1941).
Stallings died of a heart attack in
Pacific Palisades, California . He was buried with full military honors atFort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma nearSan Diego .ee also
References
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncccha/biographies/stallings/laurencestallings.html Laurence Stallings at Rootsweb.com]
* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,768999,00.html "Time", September 1, 1924]External links
* [http://ibdb.com/person.asp?id=7167 Laurence Stallings at the Internet Broadway Database]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821716/ Laurence Stallings at the Internet Movie Database]
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