Who was Lillian Hellman? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Died At Age: 79

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Arthur Kober (m.1925 -1932)

father: Max Hellman

mother: Julia Newhouse

Playwrights Screenplay Writers

Died on: June 30, 1984

place of death: Tisbury, Massachusetts

U.S. State: Louisiana

City: New Orleans, Louisiana

More Facts

education: New York University, Columbia University

awards: 1961 - Creative Arts Medal from Brandeis University for her outstanding lifetime achievement
1976 - Edward MacDowell Medal for her contribution to literature
1976 - Paul Robeson Award from Actors' Equity

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1

What were some of Lillian Hellman's famous works?

Lillian Hellman was a renowned playwright and screenwriter known for works such as "The Children's Hour," "The Little Foxes," and "Watch on the Rhine."
2

How did Lillian Hellman contribute to the entertainment industry?

Lillian Hellman made significant contributions to American theater and film by writing powerful and socially relevant plays and screenplays that tackled important issues of her time.
3

What was Lillian Hellman's writing style like?

Lillian Hellman was known for her sharp and incisive writing style, characterized by strong dialogue, complex characters, and themes that often explored moral ambiguity and societal injustices.
4

How did Lillian Hellman's works reflect the political climate of her time?

Lillian Hellman's works often reflected the political and social turmoil of the mid-20th century, with themes such as fascism, anti-Semitism, and the impact of war on individuals and families.
5

What influence did Lillian Hellman have on other writers and playwrights?

Lillian Hellman's bold and unapologetic approach to storytelling inspired many writers and playwrights who admired her courage in addressing controversial topics and challenging societal norms through her work.

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Childhood & Early Life

Lillian Hellman was born on June 20, 1905, in New Orleans, to Jewish parents, Julia Newhouse and Max Hellman. Her father was a shoe salesman. The family shifted to New York City when she was five.

As a child, she would spend half the year with her parents and the other half with her aunts in Louisiana. She attended New York and Columbia Universities, but obtained degrees from neither.

In 1925, she married Arthur Kober, a press agent, but they often lived away from each other. Travelling to Europe, she resumed her studies in Bonn. The growing anti-Semitism made her return to America.

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Career

Lillian Hellman accompanied her husband to Hollywood in 1930. She became a reader with MGM and was paid $50 weekly. The job involved writing summaries of novels that could be used as screenplays.

Encouraged by novelist Dashiell Hammet, she produced the play, ‘The Children's Hour’ in 1933. For its controversial theme of Lesbianism, it was banned in Chicago, Boston and London. It brought her fame and financial success.

She was hired by Goldwyn Pictures to write the screen play for ‘The Dark Angel’. The 1935 film told the story of two men competing for a woman’s love.

She joined the Screen Writers Guild in 1935. The guild was a union formed by screen writers. She took up the issue of crediting screenwriters, which some producers were averse to acknowledge.

Goldwyn Pictures paid her $35,000 for the rights of her play, ‘The Children's Hour’. She reworked the play, removing the lesbian angle. The film released in 1936 as ‘The Three’; her screenplay was hailed.

In 1936, she united with literary luminaries, including Ernest Hemingway to form the Contemporary Historians, Inc., which produced the film, ‘The Spanish Earth’ that condemned Gen. Franco in the Spanish Civil War.

Her next project was the screen play for the1937 crime film ‘Dead End’. Its actors appeared as a team in many films and came to be known as Dead End Kids.

In 1937, when the Dewey Commission exonerated Trotsky of Stalin’ s charges, Hellman joined 88 influential Americans to sign ‘An Open Letter to American Liberals’. Defending Stalin, it blamed Trotsky of destabilizing Soviet Union.

In 1937, travelling to Spain, her reports were broadcast to the U.S and were published in The New Republic, a liberal magazine. However, the veracity of the report was questioned later.

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She joined the Communist Party in 1938, but later moved away from it, as she thought that she was in the “wrong place” and the political left did not suit her “maverick nature”.

Her plays written during WWII, protested against Fascism – ‘Watch on the Rhine’ showed 378 times on Broadway. ‘The Searching Wind’ was received negatively by Communists as Soviet Union was trying to appease Hitler then.

In 1946, she directed her own play, ‘Another Part of the Forest’. The play traced Marcus Hubbard's rise from poverty to his immoral acquisition of wealth.

The semi-autobiographical play,’ Toys in the Attic’, was a huge success in Broadway in 1960, boasting 464 performances. It received many accolades and a Tony nomination for Best Play.

She collaborated with music composer Leonard Bernstein twice. Her adaptations of Jean Anouilh's play, L'Alouette to English called ‘The Lark’ and ‘Candide’, based on Voltaire’s work, were set to the music by him.

She brought three volumes of her memoirs — ‘An Unfinished Woman: A Memoir’ (1969), ‘Pentimento: A Book Of Portraits’ (1973) and ‘Scoundrel Time’ (1976) —which bear out her dignified struggle and vision.

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Major Works

In 1939, Lillian Hellman’s highly successful play, ‘The Little Foxes’, was staged on Broadway 410 times. The conflict between her maternal grandmother’ Sophie Marx and the Hellman family inspired the story of the play.

The 1951 play, ‘The Autumn Garden’, which critics consider her best, discusses the disillusionment that people feel as middle age sets in. The play was nominated for the New York Drama Critics Circle Award.

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Awards & Achievements

Lillian Hellman’s 1941 play, ‘Watch on the Rhine’, won the prestigious New York Drama Critics' Circle.

She was awarded the U.S. National Book Award in the Arts and Letters category for ‘An Unfinished Woman: A Memoir’, published in 1969 as the first of the three volumes of her memoirs.

In 1976, she received the Edward MacDowell Medal for her contribution to literature, and the Paul Robeson Award from Actors' Equity. Many universities including Brandeis, Yale, Wheaton and Columbia awarded her honorary degrees.

Personal Life & Legacy

Lillian Hellman divorced Arthur Kober in 1932. Meanwhile, the mystery author Dashiell Hammet became her companion and critic. She also had affairs with the diplomat, John Melby, and publisher, Ralph Ingersoll.

She died on June 30, 1984, at the age of 79, from a heart attack at her home on Martha's Vineyard.

Facts About Lillian Hellman

Lillian Hellman was known for her love of animals, particularly her pet dogs. She often included them in her daily routines and writing sessions.

Hellman had a passion for gardening and spent many hours tending to her plants and flowers. She found solace and inspiration in nature.

Despite her reputation as a serious playwright, Hellman had a great sense of humor and enjoyed making people laugh with her witty remarks and observations.

Hellman was an avid reader and had an impressive personal library filled with a wide range of books on various subjects.

In addition to her writing talents, Hellman was also skilled in the kitchen and loved to experiment with new recipes and cooking techniques. Her friends and family often praised her culinary creations.

Lillian Hellman Biography

You wanted to know

What were some of Lillian Hellman's famous works?

How did Lillian Hellman contribute to the entertainment industry?

What was Lillian Hellman's writing style like?

How did Lillian Hellman's works reflect the political climate of her time?

What influence did Lillian Hellman have on other writers and playwrights?