Rupert Hughes

Born in Lancaster, Missouri, in 1872, Rupert Hughes became one of those hard-to-categorize American writers who seemed to do everything. He studied at Western Reserve University and Yale, worked as an editor, and went on to build a career as a novelist, playwright, biographer, composer, and music historian.

Hughes wrote both fiction and nonfiction, and his interests ranged widely: literature, popular entertainment, history, and classical music all found a place in his work. He was especially prolific, producing dozens of books and later becoming active in the film industry as a screenwriter and director during the silent era.

He is also remembered as the uncle of Howard Hughes, but Rupert Hughes had a substantial career of his own long before that family connection became a point of curiosity. He died in Hollywood in 1956, leaving behind a body of work that reflects the energy and ambition of American cultural life in the early twentieth century.