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Name:    Akins, Zoe Byrd
Category:  Cultural Life
Born/Started:     Oct. 30, 1886
Died/Ended:     Oct. 29, 1958
Description:    Zoe Akins, a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and Hollywood screenwriter, grew up in St. Louis. She is best known for her dramatic adaptation of Edith Wharton´s "The Old Maid," for which she won the Pulitzer Prize.

Akins was born to wealthy parents in Humansville, MO, a small Ozark town, in 1886. Her family moved to St. Louis in 1898, when her father was named Republican state chairman. He subsequently held other prominent positions, including assistant U.S. treasurer under President Roosevelt and postmaster under President Taft. During her teens, Akins worked as secretary to her father, where she first began composing poe She published her first poetry at age 15 in the St. Louis Globe Democrat and later in "The Mirror." Soon the big Eastern monthlies, such as Harper´s Monthly and Forum were publishing her work.

Akins attended school at Monticello Seminary in Godfrey, IL and Hosmer Hall in St. Louis. At age 17 she became engaged to forty-two-year old William Marion Reedy, but her father forbid the marriage. She also worked in the theatre, and joined the Odeon Stock Company, the leading theatrical group in St. Louis. She went to Columbia College in New York, but soon quit to concentrate on being a playwright. Akins´s breakthrough came with the stage adaptation of her first novel, "Declassee," starring Ethel Barrymore. Some of her other Broadway successes include "Daddy´s Gone A-Hunting"(1921), "A Royal Fandango" (1923), and "The Furies" (1928).

In 1928 Akins moved to California to begin a lucrative career as a screenwriter. She worked for Paramount, RKO, and MGM Studios. One of her works was "Morning Glory," in which Katherine Hepburn won her first academy award. Her 1930 play, "The Greeks Had a Word for It," was made into the popular film, "How to Marry a Millionaire," in 1953. She married at the age of 46, but her husband died within the year and she never remarried. She also continued to write poetry. Akins´s first book of poems was entitled "Interpretations," which she wrote when she was a teenager. Her second book of poetry, "The Hills Grow Smaller" was published when she was 51.


Detailed Description:
Zoe Akins was born in Humansville, Missouri, a small town in the Ozark Mountains to wealthy parents with a large family library. The family moved to St. Louis in 1898, when Zoe´s father was named Republican State Chairman. He held other prominent positions including Assistant U.S. Treasurer under Roosevelt and Postmaster under Taft. During her teens, Zoe worked as secretary to her father, where she composed poems while at work. She published her first poetry at age fifteen, first in the Globe Democrat and then in "The Mirror". Soon the big Eastern monthlies such as Harper´s Monthly and Forum were publishing her work. Zoe attended school at Monticello Seminary in Godfrey, Illinois and Hosmer Hall in St. Louis. At age seventeen she became engaged to forty-two-year old William Marion Reedy, but her father forbid the marriage. She also worked in the theatre, and joined the Odeon Stock Company, the leading theatrical group in St. Louis. She went to Columbia College in New York but quit to concentrate on being a playwright. She continued to both act and write. Akin´s breakthrough in New York theatre came with her stage adaptation of her first novel, "Declassee", starring Ethel Barrymore. She received the Pulitzer Prize in 1935 for her dramatic adaptation of Edith Wharton´s "The Old Maid". Some of her other Broadway successes include "Daddy´s Gone A-Hunting"(1921), "A Royal Fandango" (1923), and "The Furies" (1928). In 1928 Akins moved to California, to begin a lucrative career as a screenwriter. She worked for Paramount, RKO, and MGM. One of her works was "Morning Glory" in which Katherine Hepburn won her first academy award. Her 1930 play "The Greeks Had a Word for It" was made into the popular film "How to Marry a MIllionaire" in 1953. She married at the age of forty-six, but her husband died within the year and she never remarried. She also continued to write poetry. Zoe ´s first book of poems was entitled "Interpretations "which she wrote when she was a teenager. Her second book of poetry, "The Hills Grow Smaller" was published when Zoe was fifty-one.



Reference
Literary St. Louis: a Guide

 

 

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