Myles Connolly

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Myles Connolly October 7 1897 July 15 1964 was an author and a Hollywood screenwriterproducer Myles Connolly was born in Roxbury Massachusetts After graduating from Boston College in 1918 and serving one year in the US Navy during World War I Connolly worked as a newspaper reporter with The Boston Post As a reporter he was able to lay claim to being one of the few journalists ever granted the opportunity to interview President Calvin Coolidge Both he and his Nashville socialite wife Agnes née Bevington were devout Roman Catholics and each had a sister who was a nun Joseph P Kennedy convinced Connolly to leave Boston to work at the Hollywood movie studio that Kennedy financed Film Booking Office FBO which eventually became RKO At RKO Connolly served as associate producer for that studios earliest Wheeler Woolsey vehicles In 1933 his work as a screenwriterproducer of dramatic films was introduced with The Right to Romance Connolly eventually befriended director Frank Capra at a cast and crew party for Ladies of Leisure 1930 after actor Alan Roscoe invited Connolly to tag along with him to the event Though Connolly chided Capra for turning out frivolities when he thought Capra could produce thought provoking pieces Connolly did not necessarily follow his own advice He produced numerous pieces of escapist entertainment such as the Tarzan pictures of the 1940s Myles Connolly helped write and produce over forty films Screenwriting credits include The Right to Romance 1933 Palm Springs 1936 Youth Takes a Fling 1938 and the Charles Vidor film Hans Christian Andersen 1952 Connolly cowrote the Ann SothernLew Ayres film Maisie Was a Lady 1941 with Elizabeth Reinhardt In addition he worked with Sam Fuller to create It Happened in Hollywood While Myles Connolly collaborated with Frank Capra on State of the Union 1948 and Here Comes the Groom 1951 he was also an uncredited contributor to the Capra films Mr Smith Goes to Washington and Its a Wonderful Life His last screenwriting credit was MGMs musical biography of Hans Christian Andersen with Danny Kaye 1952 Myles Connolly was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay for Music for Millions 1944 1n 1951 he shared the nomination for a Hugo award Best Dramatic Presentation for the screenplay of Harvey In 1952 he was nominated for the Best Written American Musical award by the Writers Guild of America WGA for Here Comes the Groom