Albert Hackett

Albert Maurice Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995[1]) was an American actor, dramatist and screenwriter most noted for his collaborations with his partner and wife Frances Goodrich.

Albert Hackett
Hackett with his wife Frances Goodrich
Hackett with his wife Frances Goodrich
BornAlbert Maurice Hackett
(1900-02-16)February 16, 1900
Nutley, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedMarch 16, 1995(1995-03-16) (aged 95)
New York City, U.S.
Occupation
  • Dramatist
  • screenwriter
  • actor
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1931; died 1984)​
    Gisella Svetlik
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1985)​
    ParentsFlorence Hackett (mother)
    Arthur V. Johnson (stepfather)
    RelativesRaymond Hackett (brother)
    Blanche Sweet (sister-in-law)

    Early years

    Hackett was born in New York City,[2] the son of actress Florence Hackett (née Hart) and Maurice Hackett. He attended Professional Children's School and started out as a child actor, appearing on stage and in films. His brother was actor Raymond Hackett. Their stepfather was the early film actor Arthur V. Johnson, who married their mother Florence around 1910. His sister-in-law was Blanche Sweet, Raymond's second wife.

    Career

    Hackett acted in many films, including Anne of Green Gables (1919).[3] His Broadway credits as a performer include Mr. and Mrs. North (1941), Up Pops the Devil (1930), Mirrors (1928), Off-Key (1927), Twelve Miles Out (1925), The Nervous Wreck (1923), Up the Ladder (1922), Just a Woman (1914) and The Happy Marriage (1909). His Broadway credits as a writer include The Diary of Anne Frank (1955 and 1997), The Great Big Doorstep (1942), Bridal Wise (1932), Everybody's Welcome (1931) and Up Pops the Devil (1930).[4]

    For the summer of 1928, Hackett joined the summer stock cast at Denver's Elitch Theatre. Fellow cast member, Frances Goodrich, showed him a script she had written, entitled Such A Lady, and they rewrote it together. This was the beginning of their collaboration.[5]

    Soon after marrying screenwriter Frances Goodrich, the couple moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s to write the screenplay for their stage success Up Pops the Devil for Paramount Pictures. In 1933, they signed a contract with MGM and remained with the studio until 1939. Among their earliest assignments was writing the screenplay for The Thin Man (1934). They were encouraged by director W. S. Van Dyke to use the writing of Dashiell Hammett as a basis only and to concentrate on providing witty exchanges for the principal characters, Nick and Nora Charles[3] (played by William Powell and Myrna Loy). The resulting film became one of the year's major hits, and the script, considered to show a modern relationship in a realistic manner for the first time, was considered groundbreaking, although it preceded enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code.

    Recognition

    The Hacketts received Academy Award for Screenplay nominations for The Thin Man, After the Thin Man (1936), Father of the Bride (1950) and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1955).[6] They won Writers Guild of America awards for Easter Parade (1949), Father's Little Dividend (1951), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959), and were nominated for In the Good Old Summertime (1949), Father of the Bride (1950) and The Long, Long Trailer (1954). They also won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics' Circle award for their original play The Diary of Anne Frank. Some of their other films include Another Thin Man (1939) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946).

    Filmography
    Year Title Role Notes
    1912My Princess DaveyShort
    1912A College Girl Tommy – Jean's BrotherShort
    1912In After YearsLittle Roy WilsonShort
    1912The Violin's MessageBennie Vane – Blossom's Younger BrotherShort
    1912The Wooden BowlThe GrandsonShort
    1912The Spoiled ChildAlbert Harrold – the Younger SonShort
    1912Just PretendingAlbert Mills – the Little BoyShort
    1912Two BoysAlbert ManningShort
    1913Annie Rowley's FortuneAnnie's 2nd BrotherShort
    1913The School PrincipalTommy MoriartyShort
    1913The Yarn of the 'Nancy Belle'ChildShort
    1914The Lost ChildThe Little BoyShort
    1914Codes of HonorRobert Bowditch as a boy (uncredited)Short
    1914The LieBobbie Phillips – the Little BoyShort
    1914A Prince of PeaceShort
    1914The House PartyJack Carstairs – SonShort
    1915Black FearGeorge Martindale
    1918The Venus ModelBoy
    1919Come Out of the KitchenCharles Daingerfield
    1919The Career of Katherine BushBert Bush
    1919Anne of Green GablesRobert
    1920Away Goes PrudenceJimmie Ryan
    1920The Good-Bad WifeLeigh Carter
    1921Molly OBilly O'Dair
    1922The Country FlapperHopp Jumpp
    1922A Woman's WomanKenneth Plummer
    1922The Darling of the RichFred Winship
    1930Whoopee!Chester Underwood

    References
    1. Mel Gussow (March 18, 1995). Albert Hackett, 95, Half of Prolific Drama Team. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
    2. Hischak, Thomas (2008). The Oxford Companion to the American Musical. Oxford University Press. p. 296. ISBN 9780195335330. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
    3. Bergen, Ronald (May 9, 1995). "The Ideal Hollywood Couple". The Guardian. England, London. p. 11. Retrieved 17 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
    4. "("Albert Hackett" search results)". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
    5. Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich (1998-12-31), "Introduction. History and Development of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama/Comedy", Part D: Belles-Lettres, Volume 12, Drama / Comedy Awards 1917-1996, DE GRUYTER SAUR, pp. xix–lxxxiv, doi:10.1515/9783110955781.xix, ISBN 978-3-598-30182-7, retrieved 2023-04-08
    6. "("Hackett" search results)". Academy Awards Database. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
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