Author. He was a novelist, screenwriter, and journalist who wrote for the "New York Times and the "New York Herald." Following enlisting in the Navy in 1916, he served in the Philippines aboard the destroyer "U.S.S. Chauncey." When World War I started, his ship was sent to the Atlantic Ocean, and he was aboard on November 19, 1917, when the ship collided with a merchant ship while escorting a convoy and sank with the loss of twenty-one men, including the captain. He became a Naval aviator before being discharged in 1920. After attending Columbia University in New York City, he graduated in 1923. He worked as a stage manager on Broadway before starting his writing career with newspapers and a Philadelphia advertising firm. Following writing for over fourteen years, he published his 1941 best-seller novel "Delilah," which was about his ordeal on the "U.S.S Chauncey." During those years, he continued to write for newspapers and went to Hollywood to successfully write screenplays for films, such as "Navy Born" in 1936 and "It's a Wonderful Life" in 1947. During World War II, he served in the Navy in the Mediterranean and Pacific and ended the war as a lieutenant commander. He married five times and divorced five times. He was the first husband of actress Olivia de Havilland, and she was his last wife. The couple had a son. Although he had no family in Richmond, he retired in 1963 to a downtown apartment. He died of heart failure while a resident of Libby Convalescent Center in Richmond at age 93.
Author. He was a novelist, screenwriter, and journalist who wrote for the "New York Times and the "New York Herald." Following enlisting in the Navy in 1916, he served in the Philippines aboard the destroyer "U.S.S. Chauncey." When World War I started, his ship was sent to the Atlantic Ocean, and he was aboard on November 19, 1917, when the ship collided with a merchant ship while escorting a convoy and sank with the loss of twenty-one men, including the captain. He became a Naval aviator before being discharged in 1920. After attending Columbia University in New York City, he graduated in 1923. He worked as a stage manager on Broadway before starting his writing career with newspapers and a Philadelphia advertising firm. Following writing for over fourteen years, he published his 1941 best-seller novel "Delilah," which was about his ordeal on the "U.S.S Chauncey." During those years, he continued to write for newspapers and went to Hollywood to successfully write screenplays for films, such as "Navy Born" in 1936 and "It's a Wonderful Life" in 1947. During World War II, he served in the Navy in the Mediterranean and Pacific and ended the war as a lieutenant commander. He married five times and divorced five times. He was the first husband of actress Olivia de Havilland, and she was his last wife. The couple had a son. Although he had no family in Richmond, he retired in 1963 to a downtown apartment. He died of heart failure while a resident of Libby Convalescent Center in Richmond at age 93.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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