Biography
William Slavens McNutt (12 September 1885 – 25 January 1938) was an American screenwriter, short-story writer and journalist. Born in Urbana, Illinois, he began his career on the stage before writing fiction for magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post and working as a war correspondent during the First World War.
McNutt moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s and became a prolific screenwriter. He received Academy Award nominations for Best Story for Lady and Gent (1932) and for Best Adapted Screenplay, shared with Grover Jones and others, for The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935). Other credits include If I Had a Million (1932), Tom Sawyer (1930) and Huckleberry Finn (1931). He frequently collaborated with Jones and contributed to several Paramount productions.
McNutt died of bronchial pneumonia at his home in La Cañada, California, aged 52. His brother Patterson McNutt was also a screenwriter and producer.
