Woollcott, Alexander (1887-1943), an American journalist and taleteller, became well known for his unusual personality and his sharp tongue. Dramatists George Kaufman and Moss Hart made Woollcott’s oddities famous in the play The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939), in which Woollcott himself played the title role.
Woollcott was born in Phalanx, New Jersey. He became a newspaperman in New York City and made his first major success as a drama critic. He later became a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine. Woollcott’s writings include Shouts and Murmurs (1922) and While Rome Burns (1934).
