Born in New Rochelle, NY. The noted Pulitzer Prize-winning (several times) dramatist was associated with the cinema in more ways than one. During his early career as editor and journalist, he was motion picture editor and critic for the old Life Magazine and the New York Herald. Many of his plays (e.g., The Private Life of Helen of Troy, The Petrified Forest, and Waterloo Bridge) were adapted to the screen by others, and he also wrote original stories, adaptations, and screenplays directly for films, alone and in collaboration (e.g., Idiot's Delight and Abe Lincoln in Illinois). He won an Academy Award for the screenplay of THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)  Nominated for Writing (Screenplay) 1940: REBECCA (w. Joan Harrison)  Writing (Screenplay) 1946: THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES 2 nominations, 1 Award