(1875-1944)
Born in Cincinnati, actor, producer, and playwright Edgar Selwyn debuted as an actor in William Gillette's Secret Service (1896). He wrote the melodramas Pierre of the Plains (1908) and The Arab (1911) before establishing Selwyn and Company with his younger brother, Arch, in 1912. They produced popular plays and musicals, including the first Pulitzer PRizE-winning play, Jesse Lynch Williams's Why Marry? (1917), but the brothers dissolved their partnership in 1924, after which Selwyn continued producing, including Gentleman Prefer Blondes (1926), The Barker (1927), and the George and Ira Gershwin musical, Strike Up the Band (1930). His final production was The Wookey (1941), after which Selwyn retired.
The Historical Dictionary of the American Theater. James Fisher.