- Born
- Died
- Birth nameDudley Alfred Nichols
- Height6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
- Dudley Nichols was born on April 6, 1895 in Wapakoneta, Ohio, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Sister Kenny (1946), The Informer (1935) and Stagecoach (1939). He was married to Esther "Esta" Varez. He died on January 4, 1960 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- SpouseEsther "Esta" Varez(November 5, 1928 - January 4, 1960) (his death)
- First artist to refuse the Oscar when he won Best Screenplay for The Informer (1935).
- Worked on thirteen scripts for the director John Ford. Under contract at Fox (1929-35) and RKO (1935-38 and 1943-47).
- Refused to accept the Oscar for his writing for The Informer (1935) because of the antagonism between several industry guilds and the academy over union matters.
- Before becoming a screenwriter, he was a star reporter and feature writer for the New York Post.
- One of his films as writer/director, Mourning Becomes Electra (1947), became the worst financial debacle for RKO up to that time, losing the studio a record $2.3 million.
- It is the writer who is the dreamer, the imaginer, the shaper. He works in loneliness with nebulous materials, with nothing more tangible than paper and a pot of ink; and his theatre is within his mind. He must generate phantoms out of himself and live with them until they take on a life of their own and become, not types, but characters working out their own destinies.
- The great actors of the stage are actors; of the screen, re-actors.
- [on his collaborations with John Ford}: Working with Ford closely, I fell in love with the cinema.
- The film writer can afford to bow to the director; and if it be one of the world's few great directors, he can do so with pride and gratitude.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
