Born in Evansville, IN. A graduate of the University of Michigan, he taught English there for a while, then studied playwrighting at Yale. Many of his plays -- several of them dramatizations of novels -- were produced on Broadway from 1928 (Hotbed, A Ledge, Oliver Oliver, Morning's at Seven, The Innocent Voyage, A Bell for Adano) and a few were adapted to film by others, including SHOULD LADIES BEHAVE (1933, from his play The Vinegar Tree), ON BORROWED TIME (1939) and THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG (1960). In addition, he wrote screenplays alone or in collaboration which include THE YOUNG IN HEART (1938), CRY 'HAVOC' and MADAME CURIE (both 1943), THE YEARLING (1947), HOMECOMING (1948), PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (1949), INVITATION (1952), EAST OF EDEN (1955), SAYONARA (1957), SOUTH PACIFIC (1958), and WILD RIVER (1960).  Nominated for Writing (Best Screenplay) 1955: EAST OF EDEN  Nominated for Writing (Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium) 1957: SAYONARA 2 nominations