# Lawrence Riley > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lawrence_Riley > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lawrence_Riley.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Riley > Source revision: 1327596689 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{other people}} {{short description|American dramatist and playwright}} '''Lawrence Riley''' (1896–1974) was a successful [American](/source/United_States) [playwright](/source/playwright) and [screenwriter](/source/screenwriter). He gained fame in [1934](/source/1934_in_literature) as the author of the [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) hit ''[Personal Appearance](/source/Personal_Appearance_(play))'', which was turned by [Mae West](/source/Mae_West) into the [film](/source/film) ''[Go West, Young Man](/source/Go_West%2C_Young_Man_(1936_film))'' ([1936](/source/1936_in_film)). ==Biography== Riley was born on November 1, 1896. He was a [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) alumnus and a [World War I](/source/World_War_I) veteran, who served in the [US Army](/source/United_States_Army). He started as a journalist on the East Coast. Subsequently, Riley achieved success as a playwright, which led to his becoming a sought-after [Hollywood](/source/Cinema_of_the_United_States) screenwriter. His wife, née Virginia Sweeney, was also a writer. Riley was a member of the Authors League and of Dramatists, Inc. Originally from [Warren, Pennsylvania](/source/Warren%2C_Pennsylvania), Riley also lived in [Bradford](/source/Bradford%2C_Pennsylvania), and located the action of his breakthrough play, ''Personal Appearance'', in Pennsylvania. This play earned him a fortune. During his career as a screenwriter, he owned homes in both [New York City](/source/New_York_City) and Hollywood. Until his demise, the Rileys had been long-time residents of [Riverside](/source/Riverside_(Greenwich)), a section of the town of [Greenwich, Connecticut](/source/Greenwich%2C_Connecticut), the well-known community of the "rich and famous." Lawrence Riley died on November 29, 1974, at Stamford Hospital, in Stamford, Connecticut, at the age of 78. ==Plays== Riley's first and most famous play is ''[Personal Appearance](/source/Personal_Appearance_(play))'', a three-act [comedy](/source/comedy) produced by the legendary [Brock Pemberton](/source/Brock_Pemberton) of [Tony Awards](/source/Tony_Awards) fame. It opened in [1934](/source/1934_in_literature) at New York's Henry Miller Theatre and was a huge [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre) success, lasting for 501 performances. It starred [Gladys George](/source/Gladys_George) as a movie star and [diva](/source/diva) who encounters a young and handsome mechanic while on a tour making personal appearances to promote her latest film. Their ill-fated romance provides a biting satire of [Hollywood](/source/Cinema_of_the_United_States). In 1935, [Samuel French](/source/Samuel_French) published ''Personal Appearance: a New Comedy in Three Acts'' in Los Angeles and New York. This play launched Riley's career as a [playwright](/source/playwright). After a hiatus of more than five years, Riley returned to Broadway with ''Return Engagement'', another three-act comedy, which opened at New York's [John Golden Theatre](/source/John_Golden_Theatre) in [1940](/source/1940_in_literature). It was produced by the team of W. Horace Schmidlapp, Joseph M. Gaites and [Lee Shubert](/source/Lee_Shubert). ''Return Engagement'' is a satire of the [summer stock theatre](/source/summer_stock_theatre) and its plot concerns a pair of actors, previously married to each other but now divorced, whose acting parts mirror their real life. The play, starring [Evelyn Varden](/source/Evelyn_Varden) and William Leicester, is set on the terrace of a playhouse near Stockton, Connecticut. After being panned in ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'' by [Brooks Atkinson](/source/Brooks_Atkinson), the most influential theater critic of his time, it closed after only eight performances. In 1942, [Walter H. Baker Co.](/source/Walter_H._Baker_Co.) published ''Return Engagement: a Comedy in Three Acts'' in Boston and Los Angeles. In [1944](/source/1944_in_literature), Riley tested his next play, ''Time to Kill'', at the Players Club of Warren, Pennsylvania, before submitting it to Pemberton. The same club had tested Riley's previous two plays but this time he also acted as director. For a change, Riley tackled the theme of murder in this melodramatic play: He declared that any humour in ''Time to Kill'' was unintentional. Although he threw barbs at the summer stock theatres in ''Return Engagement'', Riley had to keep trying out his plays in them. For example, his comedy ''Kin Hubbard'' was first performed in the summer of [1951](/source/1951_in_literature) at the Westport County Playhouse in [Westport, Connecticut](/source/Westport%2C_Connecticut). This biographical play co-starred [June Lockhart](/source/June_Lockhart) (who had won a Tony three years before and is now remembered for her roles in [TV](/source/Television)'s cult series ''[Lassie](/source/Lassie_(1954_TV_series))'' and ''[Lost in Space](/source/Lost_in_Space)'') and [Tom Ewell](/source/Tom_Ewell) (who was to star memorably in both the stage and screen versions of ''[The Seven Year Itch](/source/The_Seven_Year_Itch)'', opposite [Marilyn Monroe](/source/Marilyn_Monroe) in the latter). Ewell made his debut as a producer with this play. ''Kin Hubbard'' is based on Fred C. Kelly's ''The Life and Times of [Kin Hubbard](/source/Kin_Hubbard)''. Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard (1868–1930) was one of America's most influential humorists and cartoonists, in addition to being a journalist, as Riley once was. Hubbard's cartoon "Abe Martin of [Brown County](/source/Brown_County%2C_Indiana)" appeared in the ''[Indianapolis News](/source/Indianapolis_News)'' and countless other newspapers for three decades. ==Films== ''[Personal Appearance](/source/Personal_Appearance_(play))'' was adapted for the screen by [Mae West](/source/Mae_West): It became ''[Go West, Young Man](/source/Go_West%2C_Young_Man_(1936_film))'', which was directed by [Henry Hathaway](/source/Henry_Hathaway). The film stars West in a rare instance of a role not originally conceived for her. The supporting cast includes [Randolph Scott](/source/Randolph_Scott). The film was released in [1936](/source/1936_in_film) by [Paramount](/source/Paramount_Pictures) and following its success, Riley was launched on a second career as a [screenwriter](/source/screenwriter)—a somewhat ironical development in view of Riley's satire of [Hollywood](/source/Cinema_of_the_United_States) in ''Personal Appearance''. Riley's obituary in ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'', mentions the 1937 version of ''[Kid Galahad](/source/Kid_Galahad_(1937_film))'' (directed by [Michael Curtiz](/source/Michael_Curtiz) and starring [Bette Davis](/source/Bette_Davis) and [Edward G. Robinson](/source/Edward_G._Robinson)) among his screenplays, although his contribution to that script is not officially credited. However, Riley is duly credited in the other film of Curtiz (co-directed by its producer, Herbert B. Leonard) released that same year: ''The Perfect Specimen''. On that screenplay, Riley collaborated with Albert Beich, Fritz Falkenstein, N. Brewster Morse and Norman Reilly Raine. This Warner Bros. comedy is based on a story by Samuel Hopkins Adams. In this film, [Errol Flynn](/source/Errol_Flynn) plays a reclusive millionaire who gets to see how less-fortunate people live thanks to the efforts of an enterprising journalist played by [Joan Blondell](/source/Joan_Blondell). ''Ever Since Eve'' is another [1937](/source/1937_in_film) [Warner Bros.](/source/Warner_Bros.) comedy on which Riley worked. It was directed by [Lloyd Bacon](/source/Lloyd_Bacon) and derived from a short story by Gene Baker and Margaret Lee. Riley shared screenwriting credits with Earl W. Baldwin and Lillie Hayward (the dialogue by [Brown Holmes](/source/Brown_Holmes) was uncredited). The plot concerns an attractive office girl, played by [Marion Davies](/source/Marion_Davies), who masks her sex-appeal by wearing horn-rimmed glasses and dressing conservatively in order to discourage men's attentions. Her ploy fails when her boss, played by [Robert Montgomery](/source/Robert_Montgomery_(actor)), catches her in her casual attire. In [1939](/source/1939_in_film), Warner Bros. released ''[On Your Toes](/source/On_Your_Toes)'', a [musical](/source/musical_film) directed by Ray Enright. The stage production of the same name had been a smash on [Broadway](/source/Broadway_theatre), with the book by [George Abbott](/source/George_Abbott), [Lorenz Hart](/source/Lorenz_Hart) and [Richard Rodgers](/source/Richard_Rodgers); the music by Rodgers and the lyrics by Hart. Riley, Richard Macaulay, [Jerry Wald](/source/Jerry_Wald) and Sig Herzig wrote its screen adaptation. Choreographed by [Balanchine](/source/Balanchine), ''On your Toes'' tells the story of a vaudeville composer, played by [Eddie Albert](/source/Eddie_Albert), with lofty aspirations, which he hopes to fulfill through his girlfriend, played by [Vera Zorina](/source/Vera_Zorina), who is a member of a Russian dance troupe. Four years later, Riley collaborated with Ben Barzman and Louis Lantz on the script of another musical, [Universal](/source/Universal_Pictures)'s ''You're a Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith'' ([1943](/source/1943_in_film)). It was directed by Felix E. Feist and is based on a story by [Oscar Brodney](/source/Oscar_Brodney). In it, a matchmaker, played by [Patsy O'Connor](/source/Patsy_O'Connor), intervenes in a planned wedding by trying to substitute her brother, played by [Allan Jones](/source/Allan_Jones_(actor)), for the intended groom. ==References== {{reflist}} * {{IMDb name|0727109}} * [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB091FFF3A5F1B7493C1A91789D95F418785F9 "Lawrence Riley, 78, Wrote '35 Stage Hit"] ''NY Times'' obituary. * [https://www.nytimes.com/1940/11/02/archives/the-play-lawrence-riley-makes-faces-at-the-summer-theatres-in-a.html "The Play: Lawrence Riley Makes Faces at the Summer Theatres in a Comedy Entitled Return Engagement"] "Gossip of the Rialto" {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Lawrence}} Category:1896 births Category:1974 deaths Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Category:Writers from Greenwich, Connecticut Category:Princeton University alumni Category:American male screenwriters Category:United States Army personnel of World War I Category:American male dramatists and playwrights Category:People from Riverside, Connecticut Category:20th-century American male writers Category:People from Warren, Pennsylvania Category:Screenwriters from Pennsylvania Category:Screenwriters from Connecticut Category:20th-century American screenwriters --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lawrence Riley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Riley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Riley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.