Intrepid Laughter: Preston Sturges and the Movies

Chronology

18981901 1902 CHRONOLOGY August 29th. Preston Sturges born in Chicago, Illinois to Mary Estelle Dempsey and Edmund Biden. January? Leaves America for the first time with his mother to spend most of his childhood in Europe . Visits intermittently in America during his childhood years. January. Adopted by Solomon Sturges. 1907~14- Attends schools in France and SWitzerland. 19111914 Mary Sturges (Desti) opens Maison Desti in Paris. Summer. Manages the Deauville branch of Maison Desti. Autumn. Returns to America; sees his father, Solomon, for the first time since early childhood. 1915=17- Runs the Desti emporium in New York. 19161917 Works as a runner for stockbrokers F. B. Keech in New York. July. Enlists in the air service. Sent to Camp Dick in Texas where he graduates as lieutenant in the Sixty-Third Squadron. Publishes his first piece of writing, "300 Words of Humor," in the camp newspaper. 1919-27- Returns to New York to Keech, then to resume management of the Desti emporium and to work on his inventions. 19201923 Closes the retail operation of Desti cosmetics. December. Marries Estelle de Wolfe Mudge of Bristol, Rhode Island. 19271928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 Estelle Mudge and Sturges divorce. Christmas. Stricken with appendicitis in Chicago. Writes Speaking of Operations during his recuperation . First completed full-length play, The Guinea Pig, staged at the Wharf Players Theatre in Provincetown on July 30th. Later, it goes to Broadway. Strictly Dishonorable produced on Broadway by Brock Pemberton and directed by Antoinette Perry. The Big Pond, Sturges' first screenplay, written for Paramount. January. Stages his next play, Recapture. The Well of Romance, an operetta written with Maurice Jacquet, staged. April. Marries Eleanor Post Hutton. Writes the dialogue for Paramount's Fast and Loose. April. Mary Desti dies. March. Child of Manhattan staged. April. Eleanor Hutton and Sturges divorce. September. Moves to Hollywood to write the screenplay for Universal's The Invisible Man. Late. Writes The Power and the Glory for Fox. Writes Thirty-Day Princess for Paramount. Late. Writes The Good Fairy for Paramount. Writes Diamond Jim for Paramount. Writes Hotel Haywire for Paramount. Writes Easy Living for Paramount. Opens the Sturges Engineering Company. Late. Writes Port of Seven Seas with Ernest Vajda for M-G-M. Writes If I Were King for Paramount. Late. Works on the script of Never Say Die for Paramount. November. Marries Louise Sargent Tevis. Writes Remember the Night for Paramount. xii 19401941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 May . Solomon Sturges dies. July. Opens The Players Restaurant and Drive-In. July. Sturges' first directed film, The Great McGInty , released by Paramount. September. Christmas in July released by Paramount . February. The Lady Eve released by Paramount. June. Solomon (Mon) Sturges IV born. The Players reopens as The Players Club. December. Sullivan's Travels released by Paramount . Early. Produces and writes some of Ren~ Clair's I Married a Witch for Paramount. Writes Triumph over Pain (The Great Moment) and begins work on The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. November. The Palm Beach Story released by Paramount. Works on The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. January. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek released by Paramount. January. Leaves Paramount. February. Forms California Pictures Corporation with Howard Hughes. June. Hail the Conquering Hero and The Great Moment released by Paramount. Works on subsequently aborted production of Vendetta . September. Starts shooting The Sin of Harold Diddlebock . May. Louise Tevis and Sturges divorce. October. Resigns as an officer of California Pictures . December. Signs a contract with Twentieth CenturyFox . April. The Sin of Harold Diddlebock released by United Artists. October. Unfaithfully Yours released by Fox. May. The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend xiii released by Fox. Leaves Fox. Late. Works on various screenplays. 1950-51- Writes the book for the musical Make a Wish, based on his own screenplay of The Good Fairy. 1950- The Sin of Harold Diddlebock rereleased as Mad Wednesday after reediting by Howard Hughes-.1951 -59- Works on various unproduced stage and screen projects. 19511953 1954 April . Completes conversion of The Players into a dinner theatre. August. Marries Anne "Sandy" Nagle. February. Preston Sturges, Jr. born. The Players and the Sturges Engineering Company close. January. Leaves for Europe. 1954-55- Works on his last film, The Notebooks of Major Thompson (The French They Are a Funny Race) in Paris. 19561957 1959 June . Thomas Preston Sturges born. May. The French They Are a Funny...