BEHRMAN, SAMUEL NATHANIEL

BEHRMAN, SAMUEL NATHANIEL
BEHRMAN, SAMUEL NATHANIEL (1893–1973), U.S. playwright. Behrman was born in Worcester, Mass. His parents had emigrated from Lithuania, and his father often devoted himself to Hebrew Scripture. Behrman graduated from Harvard, where he joined G.P. Baker's Drama Workshop, and from Columbia University. It took him 11 years to sell his first play, The Second Man (1927). It was a great success and marked the beginning of a prolific and brilliant career. Intellect, technique, wit, and charm apparent in this early work marked his later writings. His plays, including End of Summer (1936), No Time for Comedy (1939), and Jacobowsky and the Colonel (in collaboration with Franz Werfel; 1943), are distinguished by warmth and respect for human values. Behrman was far ahead of his fellow playwrights in showing awareness of totalitarian evils, as in Rain from Heaven (1935) and Wine of Choice (1938). Behrman turned to biography with Duveen (1952), the career of the famous British art dealer. This was followed by the autobiographical Worcester Account (1954), a charming description of an American Jewish boyhood with an immigrant background. In Portrait of Max (1960), he recorded his conversations with Sir Max Beerbohm. Behrman returned to the theater in 1958 with a dramatization of his   autobiography under the title The Cold Wind and the Warm. He also adapted the Duveen biography as a play, Lord Pengo (1963). In 1964 he was one of three American authors whose new works were chosen for the opening season of the Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre in New York. Behrman's play was But For Whom Charlie (1964), a comedy about a conflict of temperaments. His novel The Burning Glass (1968) was set in pre-World War II Salzburg. Among other his works is People in a Diary; A Memoir (1972). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: S.J. Kunitz (ed.), Authors Today and Yesterday (19342), 56–57; B. Mantle, Contemporary American Playwrights (1941), 108–15; J. Mersand, Traditions in American Literature (1939), 51–67; O. Prescott, "Books of The Times" New York Times (November 5, 1954), p.19. (Bernard Grebanier)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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  • Samuel Nathaniel Behrman — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Samuel Nathaniel Behrman (9 de junio de 1893, Worcester, Massachusetts 9 de septiembre de 1973, New York) fue un dramaturgo estadounidense. Trabajó en periódicos y revistas de New York y estudió drama en la… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Samuel Nathaniel Behrman — (* 9. Juni 1893 in Worcester, Massachusetts; † 9. September 1973 in New York) war ein US amerikanischer Schriftsteller. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Werke 3 Filmographie …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Samuel Nathaniel Behrman — S.N. Behrman S.N. Behrman était un écrivain, dramaturge et scénariste américain, né Samuel Nathaniel Behrman à Worcester (Massachusetts) le 9 juin 1893, décédé à New York le 9 septembre 1973. Il est l auteur de pièces de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Behrman, S.N. (Samuel Nathaniel) — (1893–1973)    US playwright and author. Born in Worcester, Mass., of immigrant parents, Behrman became one of the most successful playwrights on the American stage. His plays included The Second Man (1927), End of Summer (1936), Jacobowsky and… …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Behrman — Samuel Nathaniel Behrman (* 9. Juni 1893 in Worcester, Massachusetts; † 9. September 1973 in New York) war ein US amerikanischer Schriftsteller. Leben Er verfasste Gesellschaftskomödien und Drehbücher. Sein bekanntestes Bühnenwerk ist das Musical …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Nathaniel — /neuh than yeuhl/, n. 1. Bartholomew (def. 1). 2. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning gift of God. * * * (as used in expressions) Bacon Nathaniel Behrman Samuel Nathaniel Bowditch Nathaniel James Nathaniel Brown Nathaniel Adams Coles… …   Universalium

  • Samuel — /sam yooh euhl/, n. 1. a judge and prophet of Israel. I Sam. 1 3; 8 15. 2. either of two books of the Bible bearing his name. Abbr.: I Sam., II Sam. 3. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning name of God. * * * I (с 11th century BC) Old… …   Universalium

  • S. N. Behrman — Samuel Nathaniel Behrman (* 9. Juni 1893 in Worcester, Massachusetts; † 9. September 1973 in New York) war ein US amerikanischer Schriftsteller. Leben Er verfasste Gesellschaftskomödien und Drehbücher. Sein bekanntestes Bühnenwerk ist das Musical …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Samuel N. Behrman — S.N. Behrman S.N. Behrman était un écrivain, dramaturge et scénariste américain, né Samuel Nathaniel Behrman à Worcester (Massachusetts) le 9 juin 1893, décédé à New York le 9 septembre 1973. Il est l auteur de pièces de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Behrman, S.N. — ▪ American author in full  Samuel Nathaniel Behrman  born June 9, 1893, Worcester, Mass., U.S. died Sept. 9, 1973, New York City       American short story writer and playwright best known for popular Broadway plays that commented on contemporary …   Universalium

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