Born in New York City. Poverty forced him to leave school and go to work at age 10. At 17 he wrote his first play, which closed out of town. Discouraged, he became a floorwalker for Macy's but the following year returned to the stage as an actor. He spent his summers as a social director in the Catskills. He eventually became a highly successful playwright, often in collaboration with George S. Kaufman. Among his plays that were made into films are ONCE IN A LIFETIME (1932), YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1938), THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1941), GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE (1942), LADY IN THE DARK (1944), and THE DECISION OF CHRISTOPHER BLAKE (1948). He also wrote several stories and screenplays directly for films: FRANKIE AND JOHNNIE (1936), HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN (1952), A STAR IS BORN (1954) and PRINCE OF PLAYERS (1955). His autobiography, Act One was made into a film in 1963. George Hamilton impersonated Hart. Hart, who was married to actress-singer Kitty Carlisle from 1946 until his death in 1961, won a Tony Award in 1957 for directing My Fair Lady on Broadway.  Nominated for Writing (Original Story) 1935: BROADWAY MELODY OF 1936  Nominated for Writing (Screenplay) 1947: GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT 2 nominations