Born in Rochester, NY. Brother of Michael Kanin. He dropped out of high school after the 1929 Wall Street crash to help the family finances at first as a jazz clarinetist and saxophonist, then as a vaudeville and burlesque comedian. After studies at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he turned to the legitimate stage, making his Broadway debut as an actor in 1933. He directed his first play in 1937 and the following year went to Hollywood, where he piloted a succession of entertaining films, such as THE GREAT MAN VOTES (1939), MY FAVORITE WIFE and THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WANTED (both 1940). Kanin's career was interrupted by WW II, during which he produced and directed documentaries for the Office of Emergency Management and collaborated with Carol Reed on the Oscar-winning THE TRUE GLORY (1945), a film record of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy (D-Day). After the war he returned to Broadway as a playwright and director and scored a big hit with the comedy Born Yesterday (1946), which was later adapted to the screen. In between theatrical engagements he worked in Hollywood, writing several hilarious screenplays for George Cukor, usually in collaboration with his wife, Ruth Gordon, whom he had married in 1942. He returned briefly to film directing in the late 1960s. His many books include Tracy and Hepburn (1971), an intimate memoir of his relationship with the famed screen stars. Five years after the death of Ruth Gordon, he married again to stage (and occasional movie) actress Marian Seldes and remained married to her until his death in 1999.  Nominated for Writing (Original Screenplay) 1947: A DOUBLE LIFE (w. Ruth Gordon)  Nominated for Writing (Story and Screenplay) 1950: ADAM'S RIB (w. Ruth Gordon)  Nominated for Writing (Story and Screenplay) 1952: PAT AND MIKE (w. Ruth Gordon) 3 nominations