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Walter Hackett

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This article is about the playwright. For the baseball player, see Walter Hackett (baseball).

Walter Lawrence Hackett (usually referred to as Walter Hackett, sometimes given as Walter L. Hackett, and erroneously given as Walter C. Hackett)[a] (November 10, 1876 – January 20, 1944) was an American playwright and theatre manager.[7] A native of Oakland, California, Hackett attended grammar school in that city before continuing his education at a boarding school in Canada; the country of his father's birth. He ran away from that institution to become a sailor, and subsequently worked in a variety of professions including work as a horse trainer and a school teacher. By 1901 he was working as a journalist for the Chicago American, and that same year his first plays were staged with casts led by the actress Lillian Burkhart. His first significant stage plays were The Prince of Dreams (1902) and The Invader. His first play to reach Broadway was The Regeneration in 1908. This was followed by Broadway productions of The White Sister (1909), Our World (1911), Don't Weaken (1914), and It Pays to Advertise (1914).

In 1911 Hackett married the actress Marion Lorne. Many of his plays were written with Lorne in mind, and from this point on she was often the star of his works. In 1914 the couple moved to London, England where they remained for over 25 years. In Britain he earned the nickname Walter "Long Run" Hackett for his many plays that had lengthy runs in London's West End. In Britain some of his most successful plays included Ambrose Applejohn's Adventure, The Fugitives, and London After Dark. Not long after the outbreak of World War II, Hackett and his wife returned to the United States and settled in New York City. He died in Manhattan in 1944.

Early life

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Walter Lawrence Hackett was born in Oakland, California on November 10, 1876.[9][3][4] He was the son of Captain Edward Hackett who lived in Oakland at a home at 1303 Jackson Street.[5][4] Walter was listed as living at that address with his father and his mother, Mary Ann Hackett (née Haight), and as an attendee of public schools in Oakland in the 1880 United States census.[2] Walter later attended boarding school in Canada;[10] the nation of his father's birth.[2] He ran away from that institution in order to obtain work as a sailor.[10] He subsequently worked in a variety of professions; including careers as a horse trainer, school teacher, journalist, and writer of short stories.[11]

By 1895 Hackett was working in Oakland as a horse trainer. He was head of the planning committee for the horse races held at the 1895 Mayday fete of the Fabiola Hospital Association which took place at Oakland Trotting Park as a fund raiser for the hospital.[12] This also included organizing a burro race for which he acquired ten donkeys for the event.[13] He also served as one of the judges for the horse races, and was praised for his work on the front page of The Oakland Times on May 13, 1895.[14] The following year he was appointed to the executive committee of the fete.[15] His 1896 voter registration record indicates he was living in the Hackett family home on Jackson Street.[4]

In 1899 he performed in a show called Chirps put on by Oakland's Athenian Club of which he was a member.[16]

Early writing career in the United States: 1901-1914

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Hackett began his writing career as a journalist and by 1901 was in Chicago working as the city editor for the Chicago American.[5] He was present at the First inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt on September 14, 1901 in Buffalo, New York, and his reporting on that event appeared as a special dispatch in newspapers nationally.[8] Earlier that year, his first stage work, the musical "playlet" Jessie's Jack and Jerry was given its premiere at Keith's Theatre in Philadelphia on March 11, 1901. He co-wrote this work with playwright Francis Livingston, and the production starred Camille D'Arville and Lillian Burkhart.[17] The production toured, including performances at Chicago's Olympic Theater.[18]

Hackett collaborated with Livingston again on a second play, the one act farce The Way to Win a Husband , which they wrote specifically for Burkhart. Burkhart toured in this play in late 1901, including performances in Chicago and Los Angeles.[5] In 1902 the actor Emmett Corrigan acquired the rights to Hackett's first full length play, the three act comedy The Prince of Dreams.[19]

On September 16, 1911 Hackett and the actress Marion Lorne (real name Marian McDougall) acquired a marriage license in Jersey City, New Jersey with plans to have a wedding ceremony at a future date.[20] The couple remained married until his death in 1944.[7]

Life in England:1914-1940

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Several of his stage works (such as Ambrose Applejohn's Adventure, The Freedom of the Seas, The Regeneration, Hyde Park Corner, The Gay Adventure, 77 Park Lane, The Barton Mystery, It Pays to Advertise and Other Men's Wives) were adapted for film.

Later life in New York

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In 1940 Hackett returned to the United States and settled with his wife in New York City. He died at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan after being ill for a short period of time on January 20, 1944.[7]

Filmography

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Selected plays

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Notes and references

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Notes

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  1. ^ Some sources such as the Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism list Hackett's middle initial as C and refer to him as Walter C. Hackett.[1] However, this middle initial is in error as it does not match primary documents which indicates he was born with the name Walter Lawrence Hackett. Walter L. Hackett is the name used in the 1880 United States census,[2] Hackett's 1942 World War II draft registration card,[3] and his 1896 voter registration record in California.[4] Newspaper reports from his native city of Oakland, California also refer to him as Walter L. Hackett,[5] as do British newspaper reports and court documents from Hackett's 1940 filing of bankruptcy.[6] As a writer he was predominantly known as Walter Hackett without a middle initial.[7] However, as a journalist he did use Walter L. Hackett as his byline.[8]

Citations

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  1. ^ Fisher & Hardison Londré 2017, p. 293.
  2. ^ a b c 1880 United States Federal Census for Walter L. Hackett, California, Alameda County, Oakland, Supervisor District No. 2, Enumeration District No. 14, page number 27
  3. ^ a b Walter Lawrence Hackett in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
  4. ^ a b c d Walter Lawrence Hackett in the California, U.S., Voter Registers, 1866-1898, Great Register Alameda County, City of Oakland, Fifth Ward, Precinct No. 5, page 234
  5. ^ a b c d "Walter Hackett Scores Success as Playwright". Oakland Tribune. December 5, 1901. p. 4.
  6. ^ "£12,000 Liabilities of Walter Hackett". Evening Standard. April 12, 1940. p. 5.
  7. ^ a b c d "Walter Hackett, Playwright, Dead". The New York Times. January 22, 1944. p. 13.
  8. ^ a b Hackett, Walter L. (September 15, 1901). "Exit M'Kinley---Enter Roosevelt: Solemn Scene When Roosevelt Became President of the United States". Minnesota Star Tribune. p. 2.
  9. ^ Moses 1925, p. 676.
  10. ^ a b "Death of "Long Run" Hackett". The Gloucestershire Echo. January 22, 1944. p. 1.
  11. ^ "American Who Wrote "London After Dark"". The Bolton News. January 22, 1944. p. 4.
  12. ^ "Horse Committee". Oakland Times. March 26, 1895. p. 5.
  13. ^ "Burro Race". The Oakland Times. April 18, 1895. p. 1.
  14. ^ "Oakland's Floral Triumph". The Oakland Times. May 13, 1895. p. 1.
  15. ^ "Work Progressing: Preparations for the Fabiola May Day Fete". Oakland Enquirer. April 1, 1896. p. 3.
  16. ^ "An Evening At Athenian Club: "Chirps" Last Saturday Evening Was A Great Success". Oakland Tribune. October 2, 1899. p. 6.
  17. ^ "Bright Stars At Keith's". The Philadelphia Inquirer. March 12, 1901. p. 5.
  18. ^ "Haymarket and Olympic Vaudeville". Chicago Tribune. September 4, 1901. p. 16.
  19. ^ "Topics of the Theater". The Inter Ocean. October 24, 1902. p. 6.
  20. ^ "Walter Hackett Will Marry". Chicago Tribune. September 17, 1911. p. 7.

Bibliography

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