Born in Belfast, Ireland (now Northern Ireland); educated at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. A practicing attorney, he later became a journalist with the Philadelphia Press. He wrote several plays and stage adaptations before entering films in the early 1920s. He wrote screenplays for many notable silent and sound Hollywood productions, alone or in collaboration, occasionally also producing or directing. In the late 20s he served for a period of time as head of production at Pathé, and he was one of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). In the 1930s he worked mainly for Paramount, functioning mostly as a producer. Writing credits include THE MERRY WIDOW (1925), FLESH AND THE DEVIL (1926), THE LADY IN ERMINE and SEVENTH HEAVEN (both 1927), THE BARKER (1928), TOL'ABLE DAVID and LILIOM (both 1930), MATA HARI (1931), A FAREWELL TO ARMS and NO MAN OF HER OWN (both 1932), ARISE, MY LOVE (1940), PARIS CALLING (1941, also producer), TORTILLA FLATT (1942), SONG OF MY HEART (1948, also director) and CAROUSEL (1956). Producing credits include STREET OF SIN (1928, assoc. producer), STRANGE CARGO (1929, also director), IF I HAD A MILLION (1932, assoc. producer), ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1934, uncredited assoc. producer), LOVE IN BLOOM and THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1936 (both 1935), ANYTHING GOES and RHYTHM ON THE RANGE (both 1936), DOUBLE OR NOTHING (1937), FOUR DAUGHTERS (1938), THEY MADE ME A CRIMINAL and YES, MY DARLING DAUGHTER (uncredited assoc. producer) (both 1939) and ONE MORE TOMORROW (1946).  Adapted Story 1927-28: SEVENTH HEAVEN  Original Story 1940: ARISE, MY LOVE 2 nominations, 2 Awards