Dwight Deere Wiman | |
---|---|
Born |
Moline, Illinois, USA |
August 8, 1895
Died | January 20, 1951 Hudson, New York, USA |
(aged 56)
Resting place |
Riverside Cemetery Moline, Illinois 41°30′28″N 90°29′31″W / 41.50780°N 90.49190°WCoordinates: 41°30′28″N 90°29′31″W / 41.50780°N 90.49190°W |
Nationality | American |
Education |
Todd Seminary for Boys Yale University |
Occupation | Actor, Playwright, Director, Producer |
Known for | Broadway Producer |
Spouse(s) | Dorothea Stephens (? – 1946; divorced) |
Parent(s) | William Wiman Anna Deere |
Dwight Deere Wiman (August 8, 1895 – January 20, 1951) was an American silent movie actor, playwright and theatrical director. He is best known as a Broadway producer.
Dwight Wiman was born in Moline, Illinois, one of two boys born to William Wiman and Anna Deere, a granddaughter of John Deere. His mother died in 1906 and after his grandfather, Charles Deere, died the following year he, his father and his brother, Charles Deere Wiman, went to live with his grandmother on her estate in Moline, which was named "Overlook". His grandmother died in 1913 and his father died in 1914. He and his brother were cared for by his uncle and aunt, William and Katherine Butterworth who lived across the street. Both his grandfather, uncle and brother served as president of Deere & Company. He was sent to Todd Seminary for Boys in for school. He served in the military during World War I and studied drama under Monty Woolley at Yale University.
He spent two years working for Deere & Company before he and a couple of his friends organized an independent film production company, Film Guild, in Astoria, Queens from 1920-1924. He acted in three silent movies during this time. The film company suffered from marketing difficulties and it dissolved.
In 1925 he started a partnership with William A. Brady, Jr. They produced plays such as Lucky Sam McCarver (1925), the revivals of Little Eyolf and The Two Orphans in 1926, The Road to Rome (1927), and The Little Show (1929). Their working relationship ended amicably in 1929 as Wiman was the only one interested in musical theater. Between 1930 and 1951 he produced more than 50 shows. The more significant productions include: The Vinegar Tree (1930), Gay Divorce (1932), She Loves Me Not (1933), On Your Toes (1936), Babes in Arms (1937), On Borrowed Time (1938), I Married an Angel (1938), Morning's at Seven (1939), By Jupiter (1942), and The Country Girl (1950).