Special Sub-Topic: Ben Hecht Click Here To Play: Ben Hecht

What was Hecht's lifespan?

1893-1964. Hecht's life spanned from the birth of the movies he would one day write for to the Space Age.

He was born in New York, lived for a time in Chicago, but what Midwestern city did he grow up in?

Racine, Wisconsin. Hecht's father Joseph, a designer of women's clothes, worked first in New York, then Chicago, then finally settled in Racine, where Ben grew to adolescence.

How many siblings did Hecht have?

one brother. Little brother Peter was Hecht's only sibling.

What did he do as a boy that inspired some of his later writings?

circus acrobatics. With little brother Pete, Hecht did an acrobatic act in a traveling circus, that would later inspire the musical he wrote with Charles MacArthur, "Jumbo" (he also scripted the movie "Circus World"). Also, Hecht studied violin as a boy and was a high school cheerleader.

On what newspaper did he begin his journalistic career?

Chicago Daily Journal. Hecht eventually rose from reporter to columnist; his columns were collected in "1001 Afernoons in Chicago," and two other volumes.

How many years was he a newsman?

ten. For a full decade Hecht reported Chicago news...and often faked items when real news didn't happen!

What is the name of the poet Hecht collaborated with on a play and novel, and later had a famed "feud" with?

Maxwell Bodenheim. Besides poetry, Bodenheim wrote such novels as "Naked on Roller Skates." He and Hect co-wrote the play "Master Poisoner" and the novel "Cutie." Later Hecht wrote a roman a clef about Bodenheim, "Count Bruga," that so riled the poet that he began the long feud between them. Bodenheim later drifted into alcolholism and oblivion and was murdered along with his wife in Greenwich Village in 1954. Hecht spoke kindly of Bodenheim from then on.

How many novels did Hecht write?

14. They are: "Eric Dorn" (1921), "Fantazius Mallare" (1922, an attempt at an 1890s style Decadent fantasy), "Gargoyles" and "The Florentine Dagger" (both 1923), "Cutie" (1924, written with Bodenheim), "Humpty Dumpty," Kingdom of Evil" (sequel to "Mallare") and "Broken Necks" (all 1926), "Count Bruga" and "A Jew In Love" (both 1931), "Miracle in the Rain" (1943), "I Hate Actors" (1944), "The Sensualists" (1959) and "In The Midst Of Death" (posthumous, 1964).

How many stage plays did he pen?

18. Hecht's plays are: "Wonder Hat" (1916), "Hero of Santa Maria" (1917), "Master Poisoner" (with Bodenheim, 1918), "The Egoist" and "Hand of Shiva" (both 1920), "The Stork" (1925), "Man-eating Tiger" (1927), "Christmas Eve" (1928, debuted 1939), "The Front Page" (with MacArthur, 1928), "The Great Magoo" (1932), "Jumbo" (with MacArthur, 1935), "To Quito and Back" (1937), "Ladies and Gentlemen" (1939), "Lily of The Valley" (1942), "Tribute to Allantry" (1943), "The Common Man" (1944), "Winkleberg" (1958) and "Simon" (1962).

Hecht based his most famous play, "The Front Page" on his days as a journalist (along with partner MacArthur). When did it debut and how many times has it been filmed?

1928, 4. The film versions are: Lewis Milestone's 1930 film, Howard Hawks' 1940 classic "His Girl Friday'" Billy Wilder's 1974 version ith Lemmon and Matthau, and the 80's version "Switching Channels." Hawks' film, switching the gender of reporter Johnson to a woman, is the real gem.

Name the number of screenplays Hecht wrote or "doctored" in his lifetime.

140. Among the classics Hecht worked on were "Scarface" (1930), "Nothing Sacred" (1937), "Wuthering Heights" (with MacArthur,1939) and "Gunga Din" (also 1939).

Hecht directed or co-directed some of his scripts.

True. Hecht's directorial efforts are: "Crime Without Passion" form his own story, 1933, with Claude Rains (his follow-up to his "Invisible Man" debut), "Once in a Blue Moon," "The Scoundrel" with Noel Coward as a heartless publisher barred from Heaven unless someone mourns him, and "Soak the Rich" spoofing college radicalism (1934-35), "Angels Over Broadway" a Runyonesque tale of Broadway gamblers from 1943, "Specter of the Rose" a 1947 ballet picture and "Actors and Sin," his 1952 directorial swan song.

What name did Hecht take from one of his novels to use in one of his scripts?

Mallare. Hecht gave the name Mallare, from the main character in his "Fantazius Mallare" to the heartless publisher played by Noel Coward in "The Scoundrel." Bolshere is from "A Jew In Love", Egelhofer and Burns from "Front Page." Hecht based Anthony Mallare on Horace Liveright.

Which one of his co-writers on "Scarface" would Hecht later re-team with?

Seton I. Miller. Miller was the only one Hecht teamed again with, on the 1942 pirate film "The Black Swan" with Tyrone Power. The last name is an in-joke: Oliver Stone lensed the 80's remake, but in "Nothing Sacred", scripted by Hecht, the editor played by Walter Connolly is...Oliver Stone!

How many times was he married and how many children did he have?

twice; two girls. Once to Marie Armstrong, which gave him daughter Edwina, then to Rose Caylor, wich gave him daughter Jenny. Both girls acted in his films: Edwina in "Once in a Blue Moon," and Jenny in "Actors and Sin."

What did he title his autobiography?

A Child of the Century. Published in 1954, "A Child of the Century" is a big, discursive account of Hecht's experiences, opinions, and philosophy.

Later in his life, Hecht hosted a short-lived TV show.

True. For one season, 1958-59, Hecht hosted his own talk show on national TV.

What celebrity was Hecht going to ghostwrite an autobiography for?

Marilyn Monroe. Unfortunately, the deal with the Monroe book fell through, and it was not until the 80's that the book was published.

What other screenwriting feat could Hecht boast of?

He won the first screenwriting Oscar. Hecht won the firt screenwriting Oscar for "Two Arabian Knights" in 1928.

A lagniappe: what the heck does "Hecht" mean in German?

pike. "Hecht" is German for pikefish; many Yiddish families had the name. Hope you enjoyed the quiz!