Biography
Ben Hecht (28 February 1894 – 18 April 1964) was an American screenwriter, playwright, journalist and novelist. Born in New York City, he began his career as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News before moving into writing for the stage and screen.
He collaborated frequently with Charles MacArthur, co-writing the play The Front Page (1928) and the screenplay for Wuthering Heights (1939). Hecht received screen credits on around seventy films, including Underworld (1927), for which he won the first Academy Award for Best Story, His Girl Friday (1940), Spellbound (1945) and Notorious (1946). He also worked uncredited as a script doctor on several productions.
