Clayton Meeker Hamilton

Born in Brooklyn in 1881, he studied at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and then earned a master's degree from Columbia University in 1901. He soon built a career as a lecturer on drama and as a critic, becoming associated with major New York publications including Forum, The Bookman, Everybody's Magazine, and Vogue.

Alongside his journalism, he wrote books such as Materials and Methods of Fiction, The Theory of the Theatre, Studies in Stagecraft, and Seen on the Stage. Archive records from the New York Public Library also describe him as a playwright and note later work in the film world, including positions at Goldwyn Studios and Palmer Photoplay Corp.

He married Gladys Coates in 1913 and had two sons. Late in his career he also worked in radio, serving in 1945 as host and narrator of the anthology series Brownstone Theater. He died in New York in 1946, leaving behind criticism and theater writing that still captures the lively culture of his era.