American playwright George Kelly was BOTD in 1887. Born in Philadelphia, he began his career as a vaudeville actor and sketch writer. After serving in World War One, he returned to New York and began writing plays. He scored a success with The Show Off, writing the screenplay for a successful film adaptation starring Louise Brooks. 20 years later, his niece Grace Kelly appeared in a community theatre production of the play, launching her acting career. His next play Craig’s Wife, a stinging satire about a woman who forsakes her marriage for money but loses both, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1926. His work fell out of fashion in the 1930s, and his persistently unflattering characterisations of women earned him a reputation as a misogynist. His penultimate play, Reflected Glory, became a starring role for the young Tallulah Bankhead, but failed to find an audience. By the end of the 1940s, he abandoned New York for Hollywood, developing adaptations of his plays. Craig’s Wife eventually became the 1950 film Harriet Craig, starring Joan Crawford. Kelly lived with his partner William Weagley for over 50 years. He died in 1974, aged 87.