George S. Kaufman (1889-1961), American playwright, director, and producer, who cowrote several of the most successful comedies of his time. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kaufman worked as a journalist before devoting himself exclusively to the writing of plays. He was a member of the Algonquin Round Table, a group of writers and artists that gathered regularly during the 1920s and 1930s at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City. The group included such American writers as Dorothy Parker, Robert E. Sherwood, Heywood Broun, Marc Connelly, and Robert Benchley and was known for witty conversation and verbal sparring. Kaufman's fame rests principally on works that he wrote in collaboration with other noted American writers. His chief contribution to these collaborations was acidly satirical, often hilarious dialogue. With Marc Connelly he wrote Merton of the Movies (1922) and Beggar on Horseback (1924); with Morrie Ryskind, Animal Crackers (1928) and Of Thee I Sing (1931; Pulitzer Prize, 1932); with Moss Hart, Once in a Lifetime (1930), You Can't Take It with You (1936; Pulitzer Prize, 1937), I'd Rather Be Right (1937), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939), and George Washington Slept Here (1940); with John P. Marquand, The Late George Apley (1944); with Edna Ferber, Dinner at Eight (1932) and Stage Door (1936); with his wife, Leueen MacGrath, The Small Hours (1951); and with Abe Burrows, Silk Stockings (1955). Kaufman was sole author of the successful plays The Butter and Egg Man (1925) and Strike Up the Band (1927).