author
Owen Davis
1874–1956
A hugely productive American playwright, he helped shape popular theater in the early 20th century and won the Pulitzer Prize for Icebound. His career stretched from melodrama and comedy into radio and film, making him one of the busiest writers of his era.
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About the author
Born in Maine in 1874, Owen Davis became one of the most prolific dramatists in American theater. He wrote well over 200 plays across a long career and was especially successful with melodramas before moving into more serious dramatic work.
His best-known play is Icebound, which won the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He was also an important figure in the profession itself, serving as the first elected president of the Dramatists Guild of America.
Davis's work reached beyond the stage into radio and film, and his career lasted for decades before his death in New York City in 1956. Today he is remembered both for his sheer output and for the range of popular and literary theater he produced.