Peter Stone | |
|---|---|
| Born | Peter Hess Stone (1930-02-27)February 27, 1930 Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Died | April 26, 2003(2003-04-26) (aged 73) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Bard College (BA) Yale University (MFA) |
| Spouse | Mary Hanley Stone |
Peter Hess Stone (February 27, 1930 – April 26, 2003) was an American screenwriter and playwright. Stone is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the screenplays he wrote or co-wrote in the mid-1960s,Charade (1963),Father Goose (1964), andMirage (1965).
Peter Hess Stone was born inLos Angeles to Jewish parents.[1] His mother,Hilda (née Hess), was a film writer, and his father,John Stone (born Saul Strumwasser),[citation needed] was a screenwriter and film producer.[2] Hilda was a Bavarian Jew fromBamberg, but was born inMexico (her fatherdodged the draft in the 1870s) and lived there for five years with her family until all foreign nationals were kicked out during theMexican Revolution of 1910. Stone had an older brother David, who was aWorld War II veteran, serving in theU.S. Navy.[3]
When Stone was 15, his parents took him to seeMexican Hayride[3] starringBobby Clark at theHazard's Pavilion. Stone saw Clark throw his hat onto a hat tree 100 feet away, and, at that moment, knew he wanted to work in theatre.[4]
He graduated fromUniversity High School inLos Angeles,Bard College starting in 1947, and earned a master's degree from theYale School of Drama.[3] While at Bard, Stone wrote two plays that were both produced and performed at the school.[5]
After Stone graduated Bard, his mother Hilda (still married) eloped to Paris with a Hungarian literary agent (also married) named George Marton.[3][6] While in Paris, they both settled their divorces and married each other. Stone describes this as "a really great opportunity came to me through what should have been emotionally wrenching, but wasn't", stating that his mother hated Hollywood and was finally happy. After visiting them in the late 1940s, Stone lived in and around Paris for about thirteen years.
Stone worked forCBS while overseas, as a radio writer and newsreader. He also did television features on subjects like theArc de Triomphe horse race, theCannes Film Festival andPrincess Grace's wedding. "I was getting a sentimental education and letting Hollywood rub off me," he said later.[7] Soon after this, Stone married Mary Hanley.[3]
During this time Stone sold his first script toStudio One in 1956, "A Day Before Battle".[8]
In 1953, Stone saw a play byJean Paul Sartre calledKean, adapted from the play byAlexandre Dumas based on the life ofEdmund Kean. The Broadway singer and actorAlfred Drake was keen to makeKean into a musical, so much so that his agent (who was also Stone's agent) became the producer.[3] Stone signed on in December 1960.[9]
On 2 November 1961Kean premiered on Broadway, with music and lyrics byRobert Wright andGeorge Forrest, and Stone as playwright. He was hesitant to write for a musical, even though he loved them and saw them: "I did not see myself as doing that...and then an opportunity arose...I just wanted to be on Broadway". Stone needed some help, so he consultedFrank Loesser. Stone said of him, "terribly talented, successful and sophisticated man", when asking Loesser where songs went and other questions about musical structure, and said he was "more than helpful, he was inspiring".[4] The show only ran for 92 performances and was considered somewhat of a flop, but it helped establish Stone on Broadway.
Stone wrote two episodes of the 1961 television seriesThe Asphalt Jungle ("The Friendly Gesture", "The Scott Machine") and three episodes ofThe Defenders. One of hisDefenders episodes, "The Benefactors", dealt with abortion care providers and was highly controversial, resulting in sponsors leaving the show.[10] TheNew York Times called it "a remarkable demonstration of the use of theatre as an instrument of editorial protest."[11] Stone won an Emmy for his script.
He also wrote episodes ofEspionage ("Covenant with Death") andBrenner ("Laney's Boy", "The Tragic Flute").[12]
Stone's first film script wasCharade (1963), which he turned into a novel at the suggestion of his agent Robert Lantz. Stone said he submitted his original script "everywhere and nobody wanted it".[3] After it was made into a novel, it was published, and portions of it were even printed before publication inRedbook.[13]
Stone sold the script toStanley Donen, whom he chose because "One, was he was the only person who hadn't seen it before and I felt silly selling it to the people who rejected it. Two, It got me out of New York, which at that point I wanted to, I'd been there a long time withKean. And three, Stanley got stars, and I had written withCary Grant andAudrey Hepburn in mind".[3] "I was on the set every day," Stone remembered, "and I had a marvelous time. There were very few hands involved. It was just Stanley (Donen, the director) and me and the actors, and we all worked it out together. It was an absolutely grand experience."[14]
Universal, which madeCharade, promptly signed Stone to write two more films:Mirage, based on a novel byHoward Fast, andFather Goose (1964), based on a story byFrank Tarloff, which Stone wrote at the behest of Cary Grant, who wanted to star.[15][16]
WhenCharade came out it was a huge success. Stone signed an exclusive five-picture deal withUniversal Studios.[17]Father Goose was made beforeMirage. It earned Stone his one and onlyOscar for Best Screenplay; he shared it with Tarloff.[18] According to one of his obituaries, "Some felt that the honor was, in part, a delayed tribute for the overlookedCharade script."[12]
Stone's work in the 1960s employedHitchcock-like narratives, even while the director was still an active film maker. Hitchcock's influence is especially evident in theEdward Dmytryk-directedMirage, a suspense-mystery that Stone adapted from the Howard Fast novelFallen Angel. The narrative has Peck suffering from "unconscious amnesia" while dodging bullets in downtown New York. Although shot in black-and-white, many of its themes and images are reminiscent ofVertigo. The cast includedWalter Matthau andGeorge Kennedy fromCharade.
Stone was reunited with Stanley Donen onArabesque which also starred Gregory Peck. Stone was brought on to the film to "trick up the dialogue of somebody else's script... so that nobody would notice the film didn't make sense." Stone was unhappy with his low billing and used the pseudonym 'Pierre Marton' on the credits (literally 'Peter/stone' in French, plus an homage to his stepfather George Marton).[19]
Stone wrote some scripts which were not made, includingThe Expert (1964) written withTheodore Flicker, who had been his roommate atBard College.[20]
Stone's contract with Universal enabled him to continue to write for theatre. He had a minor hit on Broadway with the musicalSkyscraper (1965–66) withJulie Harris, that went for 248 performances. Stone later called it "A terrific idea, but it never jelled."[7] "People don't know what a book is", he said later. "They think it's the jokes. Well, everybody knows the actors make those up as they go along. A book is a concept and a structure, and dialogue is the smallest part... You can have the best score in the world, but if the book is weak, it won't work. On the other hand, if the book is good, it can carry a mediocre score."[7]
Stone scripted a pilot for a TV series,Ghostbreakers (1967), that was not picked up. He adaptedAndrocles and the Lion (1967) forTV, starringNoël Coward and directed byJoe Layton and wrote the book for a musical,The Games People Play, with Feuer and Martin, based on the best-selling text book (it ended up not being produced).[2]
"I think I've always had an appetite for a certain kind of urbane comedy", he said in a 1967 interview. "But I don't believe comedy in and of itself is an end."[2]
Stone wrote a series of films for Universal:The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968), a World War Two comedy withPaul Newman (co written with Tarloff);Jigsaw (1968), a mystery withBradford Dillman; the film adaptation of the musicalSweet Charity (1969), directed byBob Fosse, which was an unexpected box office flop; and what ultimately becameSkin Game (1971).[21]
Stone wrote the book for the Broadway musical1776 (1969–72) which went for 1,217 performances. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Stone won the Drama Desk Award for Best Book.[22]
Stone continued to write scripts at Universal, doing work onSkin Game and writing a story about black-white relations that was ultimately never made,The Ornament.[23]
He did some uncredited script doctoring on the book for the stage musicalGeorgy (1970), which was credited toTom Mankiewicz.[24] Then he wrote another musical,Two by Two (1970–71) which starredDanny Kaye with songs by Rodgers. It ran for 351 performances.[25]
Stone was unhappy with the changes made to his script forSkin Game (1971) (eventually made by Warners), which he said were caused by James Garner, who starred and produced, changing the last third of the film, which Stone wanted to focus on co-star Louis Gosset.[19] Stone again used his "Pierre Marton" pseudonym saying "it was the only thing you can do in a situation like that."[26]
A happier creative experience was the film of1776 (1972) where he adapted his own book into a screenplay. It was a box office failure.
Stone had another Broadway hit with the book for the musicalSugar (1972–73), an adaptation ofSome Like It Hot, produced byDavid Merrick and directed byGower Champion. Stone replaced original book writerGeorge Axelrod. It ran for 505 performances and had a popular life aftwards.[27] Stone later said"It's probably the most successful stock and amateur [property] I've ever done — especially foreign [licensing]. There are two guys everywhere in the world who wanna get in a dress. And this is the one show they can get into a dress without being gay — they're on the run! It's terribly attractive to two actors, so it's constantly done."[28]
Less successful was the only non-musical he did on Broadway,Full Circle (1973) based on the novel byErich Maria Remarque and directed byOtto Preminger. It only ran 21 performances.[29]
Stone returned to TV for a small screen adaptation of the Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy1949 film,Adam's Rib (1973). Stone wrote episodes, including the pilot, and worked as a producer. However the show only had a short run.[30]
He wrote the pilot forPat and Mike, based on another Tracy-Hepburn film, but it was not turned into a series.[31]
Stone wrote the film adaptation of the train hijacking novelThe Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974). He worked on some scripts that were ultimately not produced includingThe Leavenworth Irregulars,The Grand Defiance, andThe Ornament, as well as a musical that was not made,Subject to Change.[32] He did some uncredited doctoring on the showGoodtime Charley (1975) and wrote the TV movieOne of My Wives Is Missing (1976), a thriller starring Jack Klugman, using the Pierre Marton pseudonym again.
Stone wrote the feature filmsSilver Bears (1977),Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978), with George Segal, andWhy Would I Lie? (1980) with Treat Williams.
He wrote some unfilmed scripts around this time calledCsardas,The Late Great Creature, andThe Day They Kidnapped Queen Victoria.[33][34]
In 1980, Stone was working on a musical about theAlgonquin Round Table but it was not made.[35] Stone returned to Broadway with the book of the musical adaptation ofWoman of the Year (1981–83) starringLauren Bacall which ran for 770 performances. Stone won theTony Award for Best Book of a Musical for his efforts.[36] Also successful wasMy One And Only (1983–85) where Stone wrote the book with the music ofGeorge Gershwin. StarringTommy Tune andTwiggy it went for 767 performances.[citation needed]
Stone wrote the TV movieGrand Larceny (1987). In 1988 he wrote "Baby on Board" forCBS Summer Playhouse.
Stone did some uncredited script doctoring on the book for the musicalGrand Hotel (1989) at the request of directorTommy Tune. He was a writer forThe 44th Annual Tony Awards (1990) andThe 46th Annual Tony Awards (1992). He wrote the book forThe Will Rogers Follies (1991–93) which went for 981 performances. It won the Tony for Best musical, and Stone's book was nominated.[citation needed]
Stone wroteJust Cause (1996), a thriller film starringSean Connery. He worked on the books for some musicals that were ultimately not made,Love Me Love My Dog and a musical with Michael Jackson.[14]
Stone wrote the book for the musicalTitanic (1997–99) with music and lyrics byMaury Yeston which had a troublesome preproduction period but ultimately ran for 804 performances and swept the Tonys with five wins, including Stone who won a Tony for his book.[37]
"I love it when a show I'm working on is in trouble", Stone said around this time. "I'm an ardent puzzle doer, and I love solving the puzzle of it. I like the process. I don't like being in trouble in New York; nothing pleases the theatrical community more than knowing that a show is in trouble. And maybe had they succeeded--and the show was very nearly destroyed by it--it might have been discouraging. But they lost and we won."[38]
He had given up screenwriting by this time saying "I miss writing them, but I don't miss what happens to them after you write them. Stars are now the producers, because they are the motivating force to what gets done--half Jim Carrey's salary is the entire budget for 'Titanic'--and stars don't have the slightest clue of how to rewrite anything. It hurts the pictures terribly. Minutes after the script leaves my computer, it's best I be put to sleep."[38]
He said he hoped to write three or four more musicals. "'The Peter Principle'--this notion that as soon as you get good at something, you're promoted to something you're not good at--isn't going to work here," he said. "I'm good at writing book musicals and I'm going to keep writing them. I know I'm not going to sit down and write the Great American Play, but I hope to do the Great American Musical. Maybe I've already done it."[38]
Stone had one last Broadway hit with a 1999 revival ofAnnie Get Your Gun, where Stone revised the book. It ran for 1045 performances.
WhenCharade was remade asThe Truth About Charlie, Stone was credited on-screen as 'Peter Joshua', one of the names used by Cary Grant in the original film.[39]
For 18 years, Stone served as the member-elected president of theDramatists Guild of America from 1981 to March 24, 1999. He resigned his presidency so a "new crew could take over."[40]
Stone died ofpulmonary fibrosis on April 26, 2003, inManhattan,New York. He was survived by his wife, Mary, and brother, David.[41] On February 27, 2004, shortly after his death, he was posthumously inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame. Honoring him at the induction ceremony was his close friend, actressLauren Bacall.[42]
Shortly after Stone's death, in a memorial ceremony held June 30, 2003, at theRichard Rodgers Theatre, it was observed that the two most famous ships of all time wereNoah's Ark and theTitanic, and that Stone had writtenBroadway musicals about both of them (Noah's Ark being the topic ofTwo by Two).
Stone had a posthumous success on Broadway withCurtains (2007–08) based on his original book. It ran for 511 performances.
In 2011, one of his projects was completed withThomas Meehan, andDeath Takes a Holiday was produced off-Broadway with a score byMaury Yeston.
Before his death he revised the book toFinian's Rainbow for a planned Broadway production that never made it beyond its tryout, and worked on the musical,Love Me, Love My Dog with Jimmy Webb that was never made.
Stone is among the small group of writers who have won acclaim in stage, screen, and television by winning aTony, anOscar, and anEmmy.[37] In 1964, Stone won anEdgar Award from theMystery Writers of America for his screenplay forCharade.[5]
Stone was nominated for theTony Award for Best Book of a Musical five times (winning forWoman of the Year andTitanic) and for theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical three times (winning for1776 and posthumously for his contribution toCurtains).[43]
Stone was shy about taking credit, since he hadn't worked on the script for the redo. … So he came up with Peter Joshua as a bit of an in-joke.
