Kelly, George Edward (1887-1974), an American playwright, became known for realistic, carefully constructed social comedies. His first success was The Torchbearers (1922), a broad yet biting satire on pompous amateur theater groups. The Show-Off (1924) satirizes the eternal bragging sentimentalist, in the character of Aubrey Piper. Kelly had created Piper in his long-running vaudeville skit Poor Aubrey. Kelly received the Pulitzer Prize for Craig’s Wife (1925), a powerful character study of a cold-hearted woman.
Kelly was born on Jan. 16, 1887, in Philadelphia. He became a vaudeville performer in the early 1900’s and wrote dozens of widely performed vaudeville sketches. He turned to film writing in the 1930’s after continued cool critical reception of his plays. He died on June 18, 1974.
