Archibald Selwyn
| Archibald Selwyn | |
|---|---|
Selwyn and his wife, 1920s
|
|
| Born |
Archibald Simon 3 November 1877 Canada |
| Died | 21 June 1959 (aged 81) Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Nationality | Canadian, American |
| Occupation | Theater Producer |
| Known for | Broadway productions |
Archibald Selwyn (also Arch or Archie Selwyn; 3 November 1877 – 21 June 1959) was an American play broker, theater owner and stage producer who had many Broadway successes. He and his brother Edgar Selwyn were partners. They were among the founders of Goldwyn Pictures, later to be merged into MGM.
Archibald Selwyn was born in Canada on 3 November 1877. The family name was Simon, later changed to Selwyn. Archibald and his family lived in Toronto, Ontario, then moved to Selma, Alabama, where his parents died. Archibald's brother Edgar Selwyn, an actor, moved to New York City. Archibald followed. His brother found a job for Archibald in the box office of the Herald Square Theatre. The brothers moved into the business of brokering tickets and then created the American Play Company in partnership with Elisabeth Marbury and John Ramsay. This was a play brokerage enterprise.
Upton Sinclair worked with Margaret Mayo in the summer of 1906 on a dramatization of The Jungle, which flopped after a six-week run. The Selwyn brothers, then acting as play brokers, met him at that time. Sinclair had lunch with Arch Selwyn and described The Metropolis, a novel that he was writing. Selwyn was enthusiastic about the project, and jokingly suggested that Sinclair find work with a rich family so he could learn about how these people lived. The next day a story appeared in the New York Morning Telegraph saying Sinclair was obtaining the material for his book by spying on the rich. Sinclair wrote the paper an indignant letter of denial, but the legend was established.
Edgar Selwyn, a prolific playwright as well as an actor, married Margaret Mayo. The two were co-authors of The Wall Street Girl (1912), in which Will Rogers had a role. The brother started to collaborate on producing plays. Where Edgar had a grounding in acting and writing plays, and understood what would appeal to the public, Archibald was a businessman. The Selwyns partnered with producer Crosby Gaige (1882–1949), with whom they produced the hits Within the Law (1912) and Why Marry? (1917). They co-produced Lilac Time (1917) with Gaige, which also starred Jane Cowl. Gaige later broke with them and had a successful career on his own. Other pre-war plays and musicals produced by the Selwyn brothers included Under Cover (1914) and Fair and Warmer (1915).
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