Anne Nichols was a playwright best known for the highly successful comedy ABIE'S IRISH ROSE, which opened on Broadway in 1922, ran for five years, and inspired two movies and a radio series. Born in Dales Mill, Georgia, in 1891, Anne Nichols became an actress as a teenager and appeared on stage and in two early silent movies by the age of 20. Her first full-length work as a playwright was HEARTS DESIRE, written with Adelaide Matthews, with whom Nichols also co-authored JUST MARRIED (1922). Writing alone, Nichols provided the libretto for the musical LOVE DREAMS (1921). ABIE'S IRISH ROSE, a comedy about the romance between an Irish girl and a Jewish boy and the inter-family clash that results, received poor reviews from most critics when it opened in 1922, but audiences loved it, and kept the play running for over 2,300 performances until October 1927. A silent film adaptation starring Buddy Rogers was released in 1929, and a sound version, produced by Bing Crosby, in 1946. The premise was also adapted into a radio series, which ran from 1942 to 1944. Anne Nichols wrote several other plays and directed as well, and later managed property for the Actors' Fund. She died in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on September 15, 1966, at the age of 74.
From the guide to the Anne Nichols papers, 1873-1965, (The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.)
