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IMDbPro

Elliott Nugent(1896-1980)

  • Director
  • Actor
  • Writer
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Elliott Nugent
An American minor leading man of early Depression-era talkies who played earnest, boyish leads, Ohio-born Elliott Nugent would earn more distinction as a writer, producer and director of stage and film after all was said and done. The son of playwright/producer/actor J.C. Nugent, Elliott was born in 1896 and came from pure show business stock, joining his family's vaudeville act, which included both parents and sister Ruth, while still young.

After graduating from Ohio State University Nugent traveled to New York and made his Broadway bow in the George S. Kaufman/Marc Connelly play "Dulcy", in which he enjoyed a personal success. Throughout the 1920s he remained a viable presence on stage, co-authoring and co-starring in nearly ten plays often in tandem with his father.

Nugent eventually took his youthful good looks to Hollywood in 1929 and played young protagonists in both light-hearted and dramatic film features. His first starring role was in Wise Girls (1929), which was based on his own 1922 Broadway play "Kempy." The film also co-starred Elliott's wife Norma Lee (1899-1980) and featured his father. Other celluloid leads would include the musical So This Is College (1929) and the Marion Davies comedy Not So Dumb (1930). He went on to provide second leads alongside Lon Chaney and Lila Lee in the crime drama The Unholy Three (1930); The Sins of the Children (1930) starring Robert Montgomery; Leila Hyams (which was co-written by Elliott and J.C. Nugent), and the opulent Greta Garbo/Lewis Stone drama Romance (1930).

Weary of acting in front of the camera, Elliott formulated a second career as a movie director. His work would include those for such top comedians as Bob Hope, Harold Lloyd and Danny Kaye in their lightweight vehicles. Among the many Broadway projects he and father J.C. corroborated or appeared together in were "Kempy" (which also featured sister vaudevillian Ruth) (1922), "The Poor Nut" (1925), "Take My Advice" (1927, a remake of "Kempy" (1927), "Fast Service" (1931), "All in Favor" (1942) and "A Place of Our Own" (1945).

Nugent's behind-the-scenes career was severely hampered by severe chronic alcohol and psychological problems, prompting his retirement in 1957. He subsequently penned an autobiography entitled "Events Leading Up to the Comedy" in 1965. Long out of the limelight, he died in New York City at age 83 in August of 1980. Wife Norma, whom he married back in 1921, died later that December.
BornSeptember 20, 1896
DiedAugust 9, 1980(83)
BornSeptember 20, 1896
DiedAugust 9, 1980(83)
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Photos38

Richard Barthelmess, Johnny Mack Brown, Walter Byron, Helen Chandler, David Manners, and Elliott Nugent in The Last Flight (1931)
Phyllis Crane, Robert Montgomery, Elliott Nugent, and Sally Starr in So This Is College (1929)
Richard Barthelmess, Johnny Mack Brown, Helen Chandler, David Manners, and Elliott Nugent in The Last Flight (1931)
Helen Chandler, David Manners, and Elliott Nugent in The Last Flight (1931)
Jean Arthur and Elliott Nugent in Virtuous Husband (1931)
Marion Davies and Elliott Nugent in Not So Dumb (1930)
Jack Mulhall, Elliott Nugent, and Sally Starr in For the Love o' Lil (1930)
Jack Mulhall, Elliott Nugent, and Sally Starr in For the Love o' Lil (1930)
Ernie Alexander, Ray Cooke, Cliff Edwards, Robert Montgomery, Elliott Nugent, and Gene Stone in So This Is College (1929)
Marion Davies, Julia Faye, Elliott Nugent, and Sally Starr in Not So Dumb (1930)
Marion Davies and Elliott Nugent in Not So Dumb (1930)
Marion Davies and Elliott Nugent in Not So Dumb (1930)

Known for

The Seven Year Itch (1955)
The Seven Year Itch
7.1
  • Additional Crew
  • 1955
Marion Davies, Franklin Pangborn, and Sally Starr in Not So Dumb (1930)
Not So Dumb
5.8
  • Gordon 'Gordy' Smith
  • 1930
So This Is College (1929)
So This Is College
5.4
  • Eddie
  • 1929
Lon Chaney, Harry Earles, and Ivan Linow in The Unholy Three (1930)
The Unholy Three
6.7
  • Hector
  • 1930

Credits

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IMDbPro

Director

  • Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman in Just for You (1952)
    Just for You
  • Mickey Rooney and Robert Stack in My Outlaw Brother (1951)
    My Outlaw Brother
  • The Skipper Surprised His Wife (1950)
    The Skipper Surprised His Wife
  • Alan Ladd, Shelley Winters, Betty Field, and Ruth Hussey in The Great Gatsby (1949)
    The Great Gatsby
  • Shirley Temple, Alvin Greenman, and Clifton Webb in Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949)
    Mr. Belvedere Goes to College
  • Lilli Palmer and Sam Wanamaker in My Girl Tisa (1948)
    My Girl Tisa
  • Bing Crosby, Joan Caulfield, Barry Fitzgerald, and Elizabeth Patterson in Welcome Stranger (1947)
    Welcome Stranger
  • Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour in My Favorite Brunette (1947)
    My Favorite Brunette
  • Dana Andrews, Danny Kaye, Constance Dowling, Dinah Shore, and The Goldwyn Girls in Up in Arms (1944)
    Up in Arms
  • Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard in The Crystal Ball (1943)
    The Crystal Ball
  • Olivia de Havilland, Henry Fonda, and Joan Leslie in The Male Animal (1942)
    The Male Animal
  • Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard in Nothing But the Truth (1941)
    Nothing But the Truth
  • Paulette Goddard in The Cat and the Canary (1939)
    The Cat and the Canary
  • Bob Hope, Andy Devine, and Martha Raye in Never Say Die (1939)
    Never Say Die
  • Bob Hope, Betty Grable, Martha Raye, and Jack Whiting in Give Me a Sailor (1938)
    Give Me a Sailor

Actor

  • Kraft Theatre (1947)
    The United States Steel Hour
  • Kraft Theatre (1947)
    Kraft Theatre
  • Studio One (1948)
    Studio One
  • Goodyear Playhouse (1951)
    Goodyear Playhouse
  • Robert Montgomery Presents (1950)
    Robert Montgomery Presents
  • The Motorola Television Hour (1953)
    The Motorola Television Hour
  • Omnibus (1952)
    Omnibus
  • Mickey Rooney and Robert Stack in My Outlaw Brother (1951)
    My Outlaw Brother
    • (uncredited)
  • Lilli Palmer and Sam Wanamaker in My Girl Tisa (1948)
    My Girl Tisa
    • (uncredited)
  • Bing Crosby, Joan Caulfield, Barry Fitzgerald, and Elizabeth Patterson in Welcome Stranger (1947)
    Welcome Stranger
    • (uncredited)
  • William Terry and Cheryl Walker in Stage Door Canteen (1943)
    Stage Door Canteen
  • Thunder in the City (1937)
    Thunder in the City
    • (uncredited)
  • Jimmy Durante and Lupe Velez in Strictly Dynamite (1934)
    Strictly Dynamite
    • (uncredited)
  • Claudette Colbert, Richard Arlen, Mary Boland, Tom Brown, Wallace Ford, Joan Marsh, and Lyda Roberti in Three Cornered Moon (1933)
    Three Cornered Moon
    • (uncredited)
  • Richard Barthelmess and Helen Chandler in The Last Flight (1931)
    The Last Flight
    • (as Elliot Nugent)

Writer

  • "Eighty Yard Run, The" (Playhouse 90) Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. 1957 CBS
    Playhouse 90
  • The Male Animal
  • She's Working Her Way Through College (1952)
    She's Working Her Way Through College
  • Olivia de Havilland, Henry Fonda, and Joan Leslie in The Male Animal (1942)
    The Male Animal
  • Ann Rutherford and Red Skelton in Whistling in the Dark (1941)
    Whistling in the Dark
    • (uncredited)
  • Una Merkel, John Miljan, and Ernest Truex in Whistling in the Dark (1933)
    Whistling in the Dark
  • Joe E. Brown in Local Boy Makes Good (1931)
    Local Boy Makes Good
  • Leila Hyams and Robert Montgomery in The Sins of the Children (1930)
    The Sins of the Children
  • William Haines and Anita Page in Navy Blues (1929)
    Navy Blues
  • Norma Lee, Elliott Nugent, and Roland Young in Wise Girls (1929)
    Wise Girls
  • Jean Arthur and Jack Mulhall in The Poor Nut (1927)
    The Poor Nut

Personal details

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    • September 20, 1896
    • Dover, Ohio, USA
    • August 9, 1980
    • New York City, New York, USA(undisclosed)
    • Norma LeeOctober 15, 1921 - August 9, 1980 (his death, 3 children)
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared (as "Tom Starrett"; Broadway debut) in "Dulcy" on Broadway. Comedy. Written by George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly. Directed by Howard Lindsay (also in cast as "Vincent Leach"). Frazee Theatre: 13 Aug 1921-11 Mar 1922 (241 performances). Cast: George Alison (as "Blair Patterson"), Wallis Clark (as "C. Rogers Forbes"), Gilbert Douglas (as "Schuyler Van Dyck"), Lynn Fontanne (as "Dulcinea"), Gregory Kelly (as "William Parker"), Norma Lee (as "Angela Forbes"), Harry Lillford (as "Henry"), Constance Pellissier (as "Mrs. Forbes"), John Westley (as "Gordon Smith"). Produced by George C. Tyler and Harry Frazee.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 2 Articles

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Son of writer J.C. Nugent and actress Grace [Fertig] Nugent.

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