Zoe Akins

Zoe Akins

From Wikipedia

Zoë Akins (October 30, 1886 – October 29, 1958) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright, poet, and author. In the early 1930s, Akins became more active in film, writing several screenplays as well as licensing minor adaptations of her work—such as The Greeks Had a Word for It which was adapted twice, in 1932 (as The Greeks Had a Word for Them) and 1938 (as Three Blind Mice) – neither was a hit. Two highlights of this period are the films Sarah and Son (1930) and Morning Glory (1933), the latter film remade as Stage Struck. While both films earned their respective female leads (Ruth Chatterton and Katharine Hepburn) Academy Award nominations, neither was enough to launch Akins' career. She finally received recognition in 1935 when she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her dramatization of Edith Wharton's The Old Maid, a melodrama set in New York City and written in five episodes stretching across time from 1839 to 1854. A film version of The Old Maid followed in 1939, starring Bette Davis. Akins also adapted the Alexandre Dumas novel, La dame aux camélias, into the film Camille in 1936. The film starred Greta Garbo, Robert Taylor, and Lionel Barrymore, and earned Garbo her third Oscar nomination. To Akins' surprise, she was thrust into notoriety again in 1953, when Jean Negulesco directed an adaptation of The Greeks Had a Word for It. The film, titled How to Marry a Millionaire, became a box office sensation and helped launch the career of its star, Marilyn Monroe. Monroe's role in the Akins' play helped the rising star become a cultural icon, and encouraged Akins to pursue a short stint as a writer for several television variety programs.

Writing

1958

Stage Struck
Movie

Theatre Play

1947

1939

The Old Maid
Movie

Theatre Play

1938

Zaza
Movie

Screenplay

1938

1937

1936

Camille
Movie

Screenplay

1936

1933

Morning Glory
Movie

Theatre Play

1931

1930

1930

1930

Infos

Full Name
Zoe Akins
Gender
Female
Date of Birth
10/20/1886
Date of Death
10/29/1958
Also Known As

Zoë Akins