---
name: "Garson Kanin"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/garson-kanin"
fi1m_id: "garson-kanin"
imdb_id: "nm0437717"
tmdb_id: 100131
wikidata_id: "Q1377923"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "24 November 1912"
died: "13 March 1999"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 79
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-25T04:37:12.804783+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Garson Kanin

## Identity

Garson Kanin

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/garson-kanin
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** garson-kanin
- **IMDb ID:** nm0437717
- **TMDB ID:** 100131
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1377923
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garson_Kanin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1377923, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0437717/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/100131

Writer. Born 24 November 1912 in Rochester, New York, USA. Died 13 March 1999.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 24 November 1912, Rochester, New York, USA
- **Died:** 13 March 1999
- **Active:** 1943–1959
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 4: 2 writing, 2 crew
- **Academy Awards:** 3 Oscar nominations
- **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 82 (2), 1950s 67 (2)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garson_Kanin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1377923, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0437717/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/100131

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*Adam's Rib*](https://film.one/film/adams-rib.md) (82)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Garson Kanin was an American writer, director and playwright. Born in Rochester, New York, he trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and began his career in the theatre as an actor and director, making his Broadway debut as a director in 1936.

He is best known for his screenplays written in collaboration with his wife, the actress and writer Ruth Gordon, whom he married in 1942. Their credits include *A Double Life* (1947), *Adam's Rib* (1949) and *Pat and Mike* (1952), all directed by George Cukor and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Kanin also wrote and directed the play *Born Yesterday* (1946), which was later adapted into a film.

He received Academy Award nominations for three screenplays and was nominated for three Tony Awards. Kanin died in New York City in 1999.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

### Wrote (2) — the average rests on these

- *Born Yesterday* (1950), Fi1m 76, Theatre Play — [page](https://film.one/film/born-yesterday.md)
- *Adam's Rib* (1949), Fi1m 82, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/adams-rib.md)

### Crew (2)

- *The Diary of Anne Frank* (1959), Fi1m 58, Stage Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-diary-of-anne-frank.md)
- *The More the Merrier* (1943), Fi1m 82, Additional Writing — [page](https://film.one/film/the-more-the-merrier.md)

## Complete filmography (40)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Smash* (2012), series, Novel
- *Born Yesterday* (1993), Theatre Play
- *Tattingers* (1988), series, Actor
- *The Silent Lovers* (1980), Novel
- *The Scarlett O'Hara War* (1980), Novel
- *This Year's Blonde* (1980), Novel
- *Hardhat & Legs* (1980), Screenplay
- *Adam's Rib* (1973), series, Story, Creator
- *Ferraille et chiffons* (1972), Author
- *Some Kind of a Nut* (1969), Director, Writer
- *Where It's At* (1969), Director, Writer
- *Mr. Broadway* (1964), series, Director, Creator
- *The Right Approach* (1961), Theatre Play
- *High Time* (1960), Story
- *The Rat Race* (1960), Screenplay, Theatre Play
- *The Diary of Anne Frank* (1959), Stage Director — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/the-diary-of-anne-frank.md)
- *The Girl Can't Help It* (1956), Novel
- *Born Yesterday* (1956), Writer, Director
- *Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1955), series, Story
- *It Should Happen to You* (1954), Story, Screenplay
- *Pat and Mike* (1952), Screenplay
- *The Marrying Kind* (1952), Writer
- *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, Director
- *Born Yesterday* (1950), Theatre Play — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/born-yesterday.md)
- *Adam's Rib* (1949), Screenplay — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/adams-rib.md)
- *A Double Life* (1947), Screenplay
- *From This Day Forward* (1946), Adaptation
- *The True Glory* (1945), Director
- *A Salute to France* (1944), Director
- *The More the Merrier* (1943), as Additional Writing — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-more-the-merrier.md)
- *Ring of Steel* (1942), Director
- *Fellow Americans* (1942), Director
- *Night Shift* (1942), Director
- *Tom, Dick and Harry* (1941), Director
- *They Knew What They Wanted* (1940), Director
- *My Favorite Wife* (1940), Director, Additional Writing
- *Bachelor Mother* (1939), Director
- *The Great Man Votes* (1939), Director, Additional Writing
- *Next Time I Marry* (1938), Director
- *A Man to Remember* (1938), Director

## Gallery

- ![Garson Kanin](https://film.one/media/person/1234229/gallery-6844db11455a.jpg) Garson Kanin — photographer-Eileen Darby/Graphic House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Garson_Kanin_1946.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Photo of playwright and director Garson Kanin and his wife, actress Ruth Gordon.](https://film.one/media/person/1234229/gallery-45e5dca3e72b.jpg) Photo of playwright and director Garson Kanin and his wife, actress Ruth Gordon. — photographer-Eileen Darby/Graphic House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Garson_Kanin_and_Ruth_Gordon_1946.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Ruth Gordon Garson Kanin Dore Schary (1930)](https://film.one/media/person/1234229/gallery-89d8da40d8d1.jpg) Ruth Gordon Garson Kanin Dore Schary (1930) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Ruth_Gordon_Garson_Kanin_Dore_Schary.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 3 nominated

- 1953: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Pat and Mike*
- 1951: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Adam's Rib*
- 1948: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *A Double Life*

### Other awards — 1 won, 3 nominated

- American Theatre Hall of Fame 1985: American Theatre Hall of Fame (won)
- Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical 1961: Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (nominated)
- Tony Award for Best Musical 1961: Tony Award for Best Musical (nominated), for *Do Re Mi*
- Tony Award for Best Director 1956: Tony Award for Best Director (nominated)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/garson-kanin