English playwright John van Druten was BOTD in 1901. Born in London to Dutch immigrant parents, he was educated at University College School and studied law at the University of London. After working as a lawyer and a lecturer in Wales, he returned to London to pursue a career as a playwright. His 1925 debut play Young Woodley, a comedy about a schoolboy falling in love with his headmaster’s wife, was banned by British government censors. After a successful New York production, the ban was eventually lifted and became a West End hit, making a star of its lead Frank Lawton, and was filmed in 1930. He became one of the most successful playwrights of the pre-war era, with works produced in the West End and on Broadway, attracting celebrity stars including John Mills, Edith Evans and Gertrude Lawrence. As Europe moved closer to war, Van Druten emigrated to the United States, settling in Los Angeles near his friend Christopher Isherwood. He continued his literary success with the plays Leave Her to Heaven, Old Acquaintance and I Remember Mama. He is best known for his 1951 play I Am a Camera, an adaptation of Isherwood’s stories about Weimar-era Berlin. Though famously trashed by New York Times theatre critic Walter Kerr in a three-word review (“Me no Leica”) the play was a huge success, winning Julie Harris a Tony Award for her portrayal of Sally Bowles, and was adapted by John Kander and Fred Ebb into the phenomenally successful musical Cabaret. Van Druten was in a long-term relationship with Carter Lodge, with whom he bought a ranch in Coachella Valley, California. When their relationship ended, they continued to live together, later moving in Lodge’s new boyfriend Dick Foote. Van Druten died in 1957, aged 56.