Albert Hackett

Albert Maurice Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995) 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
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,[1] 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 circa 1910. His sister-in-law was Blanche Sweet who was Raymond's second wife.

Career

Films in which Hackett acted included Anne of Green Gables.[2] His Broadsway credits as a performer included 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 included 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).[3]

Not long after marrying screenwriter Frances Goodrich, the couple went 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 them until 1939. Among their earliest assignments was writing the screenplay for The Thin Man (1934). They were encouraged by the 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[2] (played by William Powell and Myrna Loy). The resulting film was one of the major hits of the year, and the script, considered to show a modern relationship in a realistic manner for the first time, was considered to be groundbreaking. However this is only because it was written and released before the enactment of the Hollywood Production Code, which strictly censored movies from mid-1934 until the early 1960s (see Pre-Code). The other Nick and Nora films show a steep decline regarding the "groundbreaking maturity" of the Charleses' marriage.

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).[4] 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), as well as nominations 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(final film role)

References
  1. Hischak, Thomas (2008). The Oxford Companion to the American Musical. Oxford University Press. p. 296. ISBN 9780195335330. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  2. Bergen, Ronald (May 9, 1995). "The Ideal Hollywood Couple". The Guardian. England, London. p. 11. Retrieved 17 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "("Albert Hackett" search results)". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  4. "("Hackett" search results)". Academy Awards Database. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
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