Ben Hecht was an American journalist, playwright, novelist, and filmmaker. He was born in New York City and raised in Wisconsin. After graduating high school at 16, he went to Chicago and got a full-time reporting job at the Chicago Daily Journal newspaper. He became a war correspondent and crime reporter while contributing to Chicago literary magazines and making a name among Chicago’s most esteemed writers. His first novel, Erik Dorn, was published in 1921 and received universal acclaim.
Hecht began writing plays in 1914 with a series of one-acts. His first full-length play, The Egotist, premiered in 1922. He later wrote The Front Page with fellow reporter Charles MacArthur. The play was based directly on their experiences as Chicago reporters and premiered in 1928. After a successful run on Broadway, the play was adapted into a movie. Hecht would write 12 other plays and dozens of screenplays, though he considered screenwriting inferior to journalism.
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