George S. Kaufman  George Simon Kaufman (November 16, 1889June 2, 1961) was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals for the Marx Brothers and others. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the musical "Of Thee I Sing" (with Morrie Ryskind and Ira Gershwin) in 1932, and won again in 1937 for the play "You Can't Take It with You" (with Moss Hart). He also won the Tony Award for Best Director in 1951 for the musical "Guys and Dolls". George S. Kaufman was born to Joseph S. Kaufman, a hatband manufacturer, and Nettie Meyers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He had a younger sister, Ruth. His other sister was Helen, nicknamed "Helse." Kaufman's family were Jewish. He graduated from high school in 1907 and studied law for three months. He grew disenchanted and took on a series of odd jobs, selling silk and working in wholesale ribbon sales. Kaufman began contributing humorous material to the column that Franklin P. Adams wrote for the "New York Mail". He became close friends with Adams, who helped him get his first newspaper job—humor columnist for "The Washington Times"—in 1912. By 1915 he was a drama reporter on "The New York Tribune", working under Heywood Broun. In 1917 Kaufman joined "The New York Times", becoming drama editor and staying with the newspaper until 1930. Kaufman took his editorial responsibilities seriously. According to legend, on one occasion a press agent asked: "How do I get our leading lady's name in the "Times"?" Kaufman: "Shoot her." Kaufman's Broadway debut was September 4, 1918 at the Knickerbocker Theatre, with the premiere of the melodrama "Someone in the House". He coauthored the play with Walter C. Percival, based on a magazine story written by Larry Evans. The play opened on Broadway (running for only 32 performances) during that year's serious flu epidemic, when people were being advised to avoid crowds. With "dour glee", Kaufman suggested that the best way to avoid crowds in New York City was to attend his play. In every Broadway season from 1921 through 1958, there was a play written or directed by Kaufman. Since Kaufman's death in 1961, there have been revivals of his work on Broadway in the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 2000s and the 2010s.