Ben Hecht received the inaugural Academy Award for Best Story for the 1927 film Underworld. Throughout a prolific career as a journalist, novelist, and playwright, he contributed to the development of approximately seventy motion pictures. A central figure in American literature and cinema, he remained an influential force in Hollywood storytelling from the 1920s until his death in 1964.
Early Development and Journalism
Born in New York City in 1894 to Russian-Jewish immigrants, Hecht spent his youth in Racine, Wisconsin, where he attended Washington Park High School. By age seventeen, he moved to Chicago to pursue journalism. He achieved prominence as a reporter for the Chicago Daily Journal and the Chicago Daily News. Following the conclusion of World War I, he served as a foreign correspondent in Berlin. His newspaper column, One Thousand and One Afternoons in Chicago, established a literary approach to reporting that focused on urban life.
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Hecht expanded his professional reach into theater and film throughout the 1920s. His co-authored play, The Front Page, became a significant Broadway success. He transitioned into the motion picture industry, where he earned credits on dozens of films. His contributions included providing story ideas for Stagecoach and writing, producing, and directing the 1940 film Angels Over Broadway. Despite his success, he maintained a preference for his earlier journalistic work over his screenwriting career.
Political Activism and Later Career
During the 1940s, Hecht became an active Zionist, writing plays such as We Will Never Die and A Flag is Born to bring attention to the Holocaust. His political activities led to a British boycott of his films, forcing him to write many screenplays anonymously. He continued to write throughout his later years, publishing his autobiography, A Child of the Century, in 1954. Hecht remained a member of the Writers Guild of America West until he died in New York City in 1964.
Fast facts
- Born: 1894, New York City
- Died: 1964, New York City
- Education: Washington Park High School
- Academy Award for Best Story wins: 1929, 1936
- Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement: 1981
- Religion: Judaism
Questions readers ask
What was Ben Hecht's first Academy Award win?
He received the first Academy Award for Best Story for his work on the 1927 film Underworld.
Why did Ben Hecht write some screenplays anonymously?
He faced a British boycott of his work in the late 1940s and early 1950s due to his support of paramilitary action against British Mandate for Palestine forces.
