Rice, Elmer, 1892-1967

Dramatist Elmer Rice was born and raised in Manhattan. Working as a file clerk, he earned a high-school equivalency diploma and entered New York Law School, passing the bar exam. He quit his job with a law firm to write plays, and within eight months his play On Trial was a critical and popular success. In a career marked by success and innovation, the prolific Rice produced socially-conscious drama as well as accessible entertainment; he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1929 for Street Scene. He directed many of his plays, and also wrote screenplays and stories. He was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union, opposed censorship, and worked for social issues such women's suffrage and child labor laws.

From the description of Elmer Rice letter to Mrs. Brennan, 1941 April 15. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 62171655

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