Edgar Selwyn

Edgar Selwyn (October 20, 1875 – February 13, 1944) was an American actor, playwright, director, and producer born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His career in Broadway theater spanned from 1899 to 1942, during which he worked in multiple capacities, including performing, writing, and producing.

As a performer, Selwyn appeared in a number of Broadway productions, including The Crowded Hour, the musical Dear Sir, and the play Dancing Mothers. He also starred in The Arab. His work as a book writer and composer added further dimensions to his Broadway career.

Alongside his brother Archibald Selwyn (November 3, 1877 – June 21, 1959), he established the theatrical production company The Selwyns, which produced plays on Broadway from 1919 to 1932, including Wedding Bells. The brothers owned several theaters across the United States, among them the Park Square Theatre in Boston, the Hanna Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio, the Selwyn Theatre in Chicago, and the Selwyn, Apollo, and Times Square theaters in New York City.

Selwyn co-founded Goldwyn Pictures in 1916 and later brought his skills to Hollywood, where he produced and directed eight films between 1929 and 1942. He directed The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931) for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a film starring Helen Hayes, whose performance earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. Selwyn also wrote two screenplays, and numerous additional films were adapted from his original stage plays. His directorial credits include Skyscraper Souls (1932), Men Must Fight (1933), Turn Back the Clock (1933), and The Mystery of Mr. X (1934).

In April 1912, Selwyn and his wife, playwright Margaret Mayo, held tickets to sail to New York aboard the RMS Titanic. They had planned to travel alongside Broadway producer Henry B. Harris and his wife Renee, with whom they had been touring Europe and Algiers. A prior commitment to attend a play reading in Paris prevented Selwyn from boarding the ship. His second wife was actress Ruth Selwyn, a sister of director Fred M. Wilcox and sister-in-law of Nicholas Schenck. Selwyn died in Los Angeles, California, on February 13, 1944.