The son of Jewish immigrants from South Russia, he was raised in Racine, Wis., where he began showing promise as a concert violinist at age 10. At 12 he was a circus acrobat for a brief spell and at 16 he ran away to Chicago, where he began his writing career as a reporter. By the early 20s he was embroiled in the Chicago literary scene, much respected for his youthful achievements as a daring WWI correspondent, columnist, short-story writer, and budding novelist (his fictionalized reminiscences of the Chicago period provided the basis for Norman Jewison's 1969 film GAILY, GAILY). The Chicago Literary Times, which he began publishing in 1923, brought him more prestige than monetary rewards, and in 1925 he arrived in New York penniless. A telegram from writer Herman Mankiewicz, an old friend, offering Hecht a Paramount contract, ("Your only competition is idiots.") brought him to Hollywood that same year. A facile and prolific storyteller, Hecht turned out some of Hollywood's most entertaining screenplays with amazing ease. According to his own account, in the 1954 autobiography A Child of the Century, he completed most of his scripts in a matter of two weeks, never more than eight, and received from $50,000 to $125,000 for each. He never liked Hollywood and saw in films only a reliable source of quick money, accepting movie assignments only when he ran out of funds, which was quite often. Over a period of nearly 40 years Hecht received screen credit, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of some 70 films, but he was also known to have collaborated on many more productions credited to other writers. Some of the films that Hecht contributed to without credit include BACK STREET (1932), QUEEN CHRISTING (1933), THE HURRICANE (1937), FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT and THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (both 1940), ROXIE HART (1942), THE OUTLAW (1943), LIFEBOAT (1944), GILDA (1946), ROPE (1948) and ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953). His favorite collaborator was Charles MacArthur, with whom he also co-authored several stage plays, including The Front Page and Twentieth Century, and co-directed several films in the 30s. Hecht later directed a number of films alone or with other collaborators, but his contribution to American cinema as a director was hardly comparable to the influence he exerted as a screenwriter. In the late 40s Hecht was boycotted by British exhibitors for his outspoken criticism of British policies in Palestine and his active support of the Jewish resistance movement. For five years his credits were removed from all films shown in England. He had his own TV talk show aired to the New York metropolitan area in the 1950s and early 1960s. He continued writing for the screen until his last day. He died in 1964 while working on the script of CASINO ROYALE (1967), another collaboration for which he received no screen credit.  Original Story 1927-8: UNDERWORLD  Nominated for Adapted Screenplay 1934: VIVA VILLA!  Original Story 1935: THE SCOUNDREL w. Charles MacArthur  Nominated for Screenplay 1939: WUTHERING HEIGHTS w. Charles MacArthur  Nominated for Original Screenplay 1940: ANGELS OVER BROADWAY  Nominated for Original Screenplay 1946: NOTORIOUS 6 nominations, 2 Awards