Theatre Register

John McGowan

Shows · John McGowan

Book Writer 1894–1977

John McGowan, also known by his nickname Jack McGowan, (January 12, 1894, Muskego, Wisconsin – May 28, 1977, New York City) was an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, director and producer. His 1927 Broadway play Excess Baggage was adapted into the 1928 film of the same name. He died in New York City on May 28, 1977.

Also credited on4 works

Hold Everything!
Flying High
Girl Crazy
Crazy for You

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 literature3 passages

  • Book: Ken Ludwig; co-conceived by Ken Ludwig and Mike Ockrent; inspired by material by Guy Bolton and John McGowanebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Flying High (1930). Book: B. G. De Sylva and John McGowan; lyrics: De Sylva and Lew Brown; music: Ray Henderson. Musical comedy about a mail flier. Tod Ad-theatre-pdfs/McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama, v. 3 (I-N).txt
  • performances. Music by George Gershwin. ed by Alex A. Aarons and Vinton Freedley. Book uy Bolton and John McGowan. Book staged by nder Leftwich. Dances staged by George Hale. Orra under the direction of Earl Busby. Orchestras by Robert Russell Bennett. Cast, starring Willie ‘Howard (Gieber Goldfarb), Ginger Rogers (Molly Gray), and Allen…theatre-pdfs/The Complete Lyrics of Ira Gershwin - Gershwin, Ira, 1896-1983.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.
  • Any portrait. 1,626 of 7,139 people have one, so this is the usual case rather than the exception.
  • 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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