Born in Elgin, Illinois. A former playwright and managing editor of Collier's magazine, he entered films in 1919 with Cosmopolitan Productions in New York as a writer, eventually rising to the position of the company's general director. In 1924 he joined the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation as associate producer at the company's East Coast studios in Long Island City. Late in 1927 he moved over to FBO (Film Booking Office) as vice-president in charge of production and in 1929 assumed the same post with that company's successor, RKO. He returned to Paramount (formerly Famous Players-Lasky) in 1932 initially as an associate producer. He then became a producer and supervised among other films several Mae West and W.C. Fields vehicles. In 1936 he succeeded Ernst Lubitsch as Paramount's chief of production, a post he held through 1941, when he moved over to 20th Century-Fox as an independent producer, mainly of light musicals starring such personalities as Alice Faye, Betty Grable, and Carmen Miranda. He retired from films in the late 1940s.  Best Picture 1930-31: CIMARRON - Producer at RKO Radio  Nominated for Picture 1932-33: SHE DONE HIM WRONG - Producer at Paramount 2 nominations, 1 Award