Ward Morehouse

Ward Morehouse (November 24, 1895 – December 7, 1966) was an American theater critic, newspaper columnist, playwright, and author.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, Ward Morehouse first worked as a reporter for The Savannah Press and The Atlanta Journal. He arrived in New York City in 1919 and wrote for The New York Tribune, and The Herald Tribune. In 1926, he began writing the Broadway After Dark column for the New York Sun. He remained at the Sun for 25 years where he was also a drama critic and roving correspondent. When the Sun stopped publishing in 1950, Morehouse continued writing "Broadway After Dark" until his death, first at the New York World-Telegram and Sun, then for other papers and the General Features Syndicate.

Morehouse, who was best known for his dynamic interviews with theater celebrities, organized his own theater company when he was a teenager. As an adult he wrote three plays: "Miss Quis", which ran for 37 performances at the Henry Miller Theatre in 1937; "Gentlemen of the Press" (1928) which ran for 128 performances and was made into a film in 1929; and "U.S. 90", from 1941.

In the early 1930s Morehouse worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter for the films "Central Park" (1932), "Big City Blues" (1932) (both starring Joan Blondell), and "It Happened in New York" (1935).

In 1932 Morehouse married the New York theatrical producer Jean Dalrymple. The marriage ended in divorce five years later.

Morehouse was a world traveler who drove across the United States over 23 times and visited 80 foreign countries in search of stories and interviews with such personalities as Sergeant Alvin York, Eugene O'Neill, Christopher Fry, H. L. Mencken, "Alfalfa Bill" Murray, and Shoeless Joe Jackson. Morehouse stayed in so many hotels that he was quoted as saying his epitaph should read "room service, please."

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