John Patrick
John Patrick (
May 17,
1905 -
November 7,
1995) was an
American playwright and
screenwriter.
Born John Patrick Goggan in
Louisville, Kentucky, his parents soon abandoned him and he spent a delinquent youth in foster homes and boarding schools. At age 19, he secured a job as an announcer at
KPO Radio in
San Francisco, California, marrying Mildred Legaye in
1925. He wrote over one thousand scripts for the
Cecil and Sally Show broadcast by
NBC between
1929 and
1933. In
1937, Patrick wrote adaptations for NBC's
Streamlined Shakespeare series, guest-starring
Helen Hayes.
Produced on a tight budget, his first play
Hell Freezes Over, directed by a tyro
Joshua Logan, had a brief run on
Broadway in
1935. However, the credit opened the door for him as a
Hollywood scriptwriter.
In
1942, a second play
The Willow and I was produced with
Martha Scott and
Gregory Peck in the starring roles. Before its first night, Patrick had volunteered for the
American Field Service providing medical services in support of the
British Army fighting
World War II. He served with
Montgomery's
Eighth Army in
Egypt and subsequently saw action in
India and
Burma where the ideas for his next play
The Hasty Heart were germinated. Patrick completed the play on the ship that returned him to the US after the war and it proved a great commercial success, being adapted for the screen in
1949, starring
Ronald Reagan, and for
TV in
1983.
His next two plays,
The Curious Savage (
1950) and
Lo and Behold (
1951) fared less well but it was his
1953 stage adaptation of
Vern J. Sneider's novel
The Teahouse of the August Moon that marked the height of his fame, winning both the
Pulitzer Prize and
Tony Award for drama. He adapted the play for the screen in
1956.
His next play,
Good as Gold (
1957), was less well received and most of the rest of his career was dedicated to a series of successful screenwriting assignments including:
Three Coins in the Fountain (
1954);
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (
1955);
High Society (
1956);
Les Girls (
1957), earning him an award from the
Writers Guild of America;
Some Came Running (
1958)
The World of Suzie Wong (
1960);
Lo and Behold!;
The Shoes of the Fisherman (
1968).
Following his success with
The Hasty Heart, Patrick bought a 65 acre (260,000 m²) estate called
Hasty Hill at
Suffern, New York, later moving to
Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands. His death was adjudged to have been an act of
suicide. Patrick is now best remembered for his screen work though his plays remain popular with community theatres.
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Teahouse of the August Moon tribute site embracing novel, play and film
