Theatre Register

Charles Lederer

Shows · Charles Lederer

Book Writer 1906–1976

Charles Davies Lederer (December 31, 1910 – March 5, 1976) was an American screenwriter and film director. He was born into a theatrical family in New York, and after his parents divorced, was raised in California by his aunt, Marion Davies, actress and mistress to newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. A child prodigy, he entered the University of California, Berkeley at age 13, but dropped out after a few years to work as a journalist with Hearst's newspapers. Lederer is recognized for his comic and acerbic adaptations and collaborative screenplays of the 1940s and early 1950s. His screenplays frequently delved into the corrosive influences of wealth and power. His comedy writing was…

Also credited on2 works

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Kismet

These come off the person record, which names a work and not a production. So we can say this name is attached to the work and we cannot say which staging, or in what capacity. For a composer or a writer that is the whole career we hold; there is no cast list to find them in.

In the literature7 passages

  • Direction : Albert Marre; Producers : Charles Lederer (An Edwin Lester Production); Choreography : Jack Cole; Scenery and Costumes : Lemuel Ayers; Lighting : Peggy Clark; Musical Direction : Louis Adrianebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • Tony Awards and Nominations : Best Musical (Kismet ); Best Leading Actor in a Musical (Alfred Drake ); Best Author of a Musical (Charles Lederer and Luther Davis ); Best Producer of a Musical (Charles Lederer ); Best Composer (Alexander Borodin ); Best Musical Conductor (Louis Adrian)ebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • This sort of "How to Succeed in Baghdad Without Really Trying" story was perfectly tailored for Drake's strengths. With a book by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis and a score Robert Wright and George Forrest (based on themes from the work of classical composer Alexander Borodin), the show was crammed with songs, dances, costumes, and sets…ebooks/Viagas, Robert/I'm the Greatest Star_ Broadway's Top Musical Legends from 1900 to Today - Robert Viagas.txt
  • Music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest, based on the music of Aleksandr Borodin; book by Charles Lederer and Luther Davis, based on the play by Edward Knoblockebooks/Wright, Adrian/West End Broadway_ The Golden Age of the American Musical in London - Adrian Wright.txt
  • May 28, 1953. Kismet (1953). Book: Charles Lederer and Luther Davis; lyrics: Robert Wright and George (Chet) Forrest;theatre-pdfs/McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama, v. 3 (I-N).txt
  • KISMET with Music & Lyrics by Robert Wright & George Forrest; Book, Charles Lederer, Luther Davis; Music Director, Steven Smith; CAST:theatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1988-89 Season, v. 45 (Willis).txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Any staging. This name appears in no production cast list we hold — 1,877 of 7,139 people are in that position, most of them writers, composers and designers rather than performers.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — book writer — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

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