First artist to refuse the Oscar when he won Best Screenplay for
The Informer (1935).
Worked on thirteen scripts for the director John Ford. Under contract at Fox (1929-35) and RKO (1935-38 and 1943-47).
(1937-1938) President of the Screen Writers Guild.
Refused to accept the Oscar for his writing for The Informer (1935) because of the
antagonism between several industry guilds and the academy over union
matters.
One of his films as writer/director, Mourning Becomes Electra (1947), became the worst financial debacle for RKO up to that time, losing the studio a record $2.3 million.
Before becoming a screenwriter, he was a star reporter and feature
writer for the New York Post.