Walter Ben Hare

Walter Ben Hare was an American playwright and theatrical writer born in Sandusky, Ohio, on February 20, 1880, and he died in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 30, 1950. Reliable catalog and film-reference records connect him with a large body of popular stage writing, especially plays designed for schools, churches, and local dramatic groups.

His surviving bibliography shows a writer with a strong feel for usable theater: titles such as The White Christmas, and Other Merry Christmas Plays, Aaron Boggs, Freshman, And Billy Disappeared, An Early Bird, and An Old Fashioned Mother suggest a mix of comedy, mystery, seasonal entertainment, and sentimental drama. He is also associated with Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick, one of the works for which he remains remembered.

Hare's reputation today rests less on literary prestige than on how well he served everyday performers. His plays were built to be staged, enjoyed, and reused, which helped keep his name alive in library catalogs and theater history long after their first productions.