John Hartley Manners (10 August 1870 – 19 December 1928)[1] was a London-born playwright of Irish extraction who wrotePeg o' My Heart, which starred his wife,Laurette Taylor, on Broadway in one of her greatest stage triumphs.
Manners was born on 10 August 1870. He wrote the1922 silent screen adaptation of his own 1912 playPeg o' My Heart, which starred Laurette. The1933 sound remake starringMarion Davies was adapted from Manners' play as Manners had died in 1928. Manners also wrote two 1924 silent film screenplays which starred his wife in her only two other motion picture appearances,Happiness adapted from his play, andOne Night in Rome. The latter his wife particularly enjoyed and kept a personal print to run over and over for guests.
Manners' one-act radio playThe Queen's Messenger was adapted to become the first ever broadcast television drama, only three months before his death on 19 December 1928.
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Peg o' My Heart, a comedy, played inNew York City from December 20, 1912 to May 30, 1914.[2] Afterwards it had a long run inLondon. The play was the subject of aUnited States Supreme Court case decided in 1920,Manners v. Morosco.
Manners' other plays include:
He publishedPeg o' My Heart in 1913, andHappiness and Other Plays, includingJust as Well andThe Day of Dupes in 1914.[2]
He died of esophageal cancer in New York City, aged 58.
