Wikipedia

Arthur Kober

Arthur Kober (August 25, 1900 – June 12, 1975) was an American humorist, author, press agent, and screenwriter. He was married to the dramatist Lillian Hellman.

Arthur Kober
BornArthur Kober
(1900-08-25)August 25, 1900
Brody, Galicia, Austria-Hungary
DiedJune 12, 1975(1975-06-12) (aged 74)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationWriter
NationalityAmerican
Spouse
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1925; div. 1932)​
  • Margaret Frohnknecht
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1941; died 1951)​
Children1
RelativesAndrew Kober (grandnephew)

Biography

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Early life

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Kober was born into a Jewish family in Brody, Galicia, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now part of western Ukraine). His family emigrated to the United States when he was 4. They first moved to Harlem before settling in The Bronx.[1]

He attended the High School Of Commerce (later known as Louis D. Brandeis High School) for one semester before working at a series of jobs, including as a stock clerk at Gimbels. He then found work as a theatrical press agent for the Shubert brothers, Jed Harris, Herman Shumlin, and Ruth Draper.[1]

His grandnephew is actor Andrew Kober.

Kober married Lillian Hellman on December 31, 1925. During their marriage, they often lived apart. They divorced in 1932, after Hellman had started a relationship with Dashiell Hammett.[2] He later married Margaret Frohnknecht in 1941, who died in 1951. They had one daughter, Catherine.[1]

Writing career

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Kober began writing humorous short fiction for The New Yorker in 1926 and became a prolific contributor. Many of his characters, such as the husband-hunter Bella Gross, were based on his Jewish upbringing in the Bronx.[3] His New Yorker stories were later collected in the anthologies Thunder Over the Bronx (1935), Pardon Me for Pointing (1939), My Dear Bella (1941), Parm Me (1945), Bella, Bella Kissed a Fella (1951), and Oooh, What You Said! (1958).[4]

He became a screenwriter in Hollywood, working on about 30 films in the 1930s and 1940s, including The Little Foxes (1938), based on Hellman's semi-autobiographical play.[1]

Kober wrote the Broadway play Having Wonderful Time, a comedy set in a Jewish resort in the Catskills.[5] It was staged in 1937 and the following year it was made into a Hollywood film, though the Jewish ethnic humor was sanitized.[5] It was adapted as a stage musical, Wish You Were Here, in 1952.[5]

Kober died of cancer in New York on June 12, 1975, at the age of 74.[1] He was portrayed by David Paymer in the 1999 film, Dash and Lilly.[6]

Works

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Screenwriting

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Playwriting

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Television writing

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Books

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  • Thunder Over the Bronx (1935)
  • Pardon Me for Pointing (1939)
  • My Dear Bella (1941)
  • Parm Me (1945)
  • That Man is Here Again: The Adventures of a Hollywood Agent (1946)
  • Bella, Bella Kissed a Fella (1951)
  • Oooh, What You Said! (1958)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Shenker, Israel (June 13, 1975). "Arthur Kober, Humorist, Is Dead at 74". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Martinson, Deborah (2005). Lillian Hellman: A Life with Foxes and Scoundrels. Counterpoint Press. ISBN 9781582433158.
  3. ^ "Arthur Kober". The New Yorker. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  4. ^ Hart, James D., ed. (1986). The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-19-503982-5.
  5. ^ a b c Erickson, Hal. "Arthur Kober". AllMovie. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  6. ^ "Dash and Lilly". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2014. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
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