author
Samuel Spewack
1899–1971
Best known for helping create the hit musical Kiss Me, Kate, he built a lively career as a playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and director. Much of his work was done in partnership with his wife, Bella Spewack, forming one of the notable husband-and-wife writing teams of 20th-century American theater.
2 Audiobooks
Exiles of the sky
by Samuel Spewack
Murder in the Gilded Cage
by Samuel Spewack
About the author
Born in Bakhmut, in what is now Ukraine, on September 16, 1899, Samuel Spewack later made his life and career in the United States. He studied at Stuyvesant High School in New York City and earned a degree from Columbia College.
Spewack worked across several forms, including journalism, stage writing, and film. He and Bella Spewack wrote together for Broadway and Hollywood, and their best-known success was the book for Cole Porter’s musical Kiss Me, Kate, which helped secure their lasting place in American theater history.
He also directed many of the plays he worked on, and his career reflected a rare mix of newsroom experience, sharp comedy, and theatrical craft. Samuel Spewack died in New York City on October 14, 1971.