Nugent, Elliott

Elliott Nugent was born in 1896 in the small town of Dover in eastern Ohio, USA in the family of playwright and actor John Charles Nangent (1868-1947). In the early 1920s, his plays were already performed at the Broadway Theaters, written both in collaboration with his father, and together with college friend James Terber, later a well-known comedian writer in the USA ^[1] , and in several performances Elliot acted as an actor. He began his artistic career in silent cinema in 1925. In 1932, he first directed the crime drama The Mouthpiece, starring Warren William and Sidney Fox . Commercial success came after the start of collaboration with the comedian Bob Hope in the comedies Give Give a Sailor (1938), Never Say Die (1939), The Cat and the Canary (1939) and others. The last collaboration was a comedy parodying the film noir “ My Beloved Brunette ” (1947).

Elliott Nugent collaborated with actors such as Bing Crosby (“ She Doesn't Love Me ”, 1934, “ Welcome, Stranger ”, 1947), Harold Lloyd (“ Professor Beware ”, 1938), Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland ( The Male Beast , 1942), Danny Kay ( Up in Arms , 1944), Alan Ladd (The Great Gatsby , 1949). The last directorial work of Nugent was the film "Just for You" (1952). Leaving the movie business of a still not old person (56 years old) is associated with excessive alcohol consumption, which led to negative changes in the psyche ^[2] . However, the filmmaker did not abandon the work, continuing to appear in television productions until the end of the 1950s.

In 1965, he published a fairly frank book of memoirs, “ Events Leading Up to the Comedy ”. Throughout his career he directed 31 films and starred in more than 20 roles.

Died at the age of 83 in New York.

Elliott Nugent. Events Leading Up to the Comedy. - NY: Pocket Books, 1966. - ISBN B000J65P6Y.