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Notable people · Playwright · Writer

Russel Crouse

A Findlay native who became a Broadway librettist and playwright. With Howard Lindsay he wrote Life with Father, State of the Union (Pulitzer Prize, 1946) and the book of The Sound of Music.

At a glance

Born
1893-02-20
Died
1966-04-03
Known as
Playwright, Writer
Organizations
Lambs Club

Life story

Russel Crouse was born in Findlay in 1893, the son of Hiram Powers Crouse, a newspaperman, and Sarah Schumacher Crouse.

He began on Broadway as an actor in 1928, then turned to writing. In 1934 he first worked with Howard Lindsay on the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes, and the pair became one of the longest-lasting writing teams in American theater.

Their play Life with Father, adapted from Clarence Day's stories, became one of Broadway's longest-running plays. Crouse won the 1946 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for State of the Union and shared a special Tony Award in 1959. He died in New York City in 1966.

Timeline

  • 1893-02-20: Born (Findlay, OH) source
  • 1928: Begins Broadway career as an actor (New York, NY) source
  • 1931: Writes the book for The Gang's All Here (New York, NY) source
  • 1934: First collaboration with Howard Lindsay, on Anything Goes (New York, NY) source
  • 1946: Wins Pulitzer Prize for Drama for State of the Union source
  • 1959: Receives a special Tony Award with Lindsay source
  • 1960: The Sound of Music opens (New York, NY) source
  • 1966-04-03: Dies (New York, NY) source

What Russel is known for

  • Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 1946 (State of the Union)
  • Co-wrote the book of The Sound of Music (1959)
  • Anything Goes
  • Life with Father
  • State of the Union
  • Call Me Madam
  • The Sound of Music
  • Mr. President

Honors and things named for them

  • Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1946)
  • Special Tony Award (1959)

Family

  • first wife: Alison Smith
  • second wife: Anna Erskine
  • son: Timothy Crouse (writer)
  • daughter: Lindsay Crouse (actress)

Ohio places

Where Russel Crouse was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.

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