Mary Orr (1) (1910–2006)

Mary Orr was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved with her family to Canton, Ohio, as a child. She studied at Syracuse University and then at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.
In 1947, she married British writer and director Reginald Denham. With Denham, she wrote four plays that were produced on Broadway, the first and most successful of which was the comedy Wallflower in 1944. A Hollywood film version of Wallflower was released in 1948. Ms. Orr also acted in several Broadway stage plays. In May 1946, she published a short story in Cosmopolitan magazine entitled "The Wisdom of Eve." It was loosely based on an anecdote told to her by the famous Viennese actress Elisabeth Bergner. Ms. Orr then wrote a radio adaptation that aired on NBC in 1949, which led to the now-classic film adaptation called All About Eve, released in 1950. All About Eve was hugely successful at the box office and won six Academy Awards in 1951, including for Best Picture. A musical adaptation of All About Eve called Applause opened on Broadway in 1970 and was a major hit. With her husband and independently, Ms. Orr also wrote five books and 40 television scripts.