Edward Knoblock
Edward Knoblock was an American playwright born on April 7, 1874, in New York City. He hailed from a wealthy family, being the son of a prosperous businessman and the great-nephew of a significant figure in the establishment of the New York Stock Exchange. Despite a privileged upbringing, Knoblock faced personal challenges, including the early death of his mother, which profoundly impacted him. He pursued a formal education and graduated from Harvard University before moving to Paris, where he began to write plays after working as a claque.
Knoblock's career took off when he settled in London, where he became a notable playwright, best known for his successful work "Kismet," produced in 1911. This play captured the public's imagination, contributing to the rise of musical comedy. Throughout his career, he collaborated with established writers like J.B. Priestley and Arnold Bennet, although many of his original works have since been overlooked. Knoblock also contributed to the war effort during World War I and transitioned into screenwriting in the 1920s. Despite facing health challenges later in life, he remained active in the arts until his passing on July 19, 1945, in London.
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Edward Knoblock
Playwright
- Born: April 7, 1874
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: July 19, 1945
- Place of death: London, England
Biography
Edward Knoblock, son of a prosperous businessman and great-nephew of one of the key figures in establishing the New YorkStock Exchange, was born in New York City on April 7, 1874. Coming from a family of inherited wealth, he remembered his elite childhood with fondness, but he never recovered completely from the death of his devoted mother when he was six. Both his parents were doting and both were skilled pianists who started giving him lessons when he was four, his father determined to turn him into a concert pianist. The young Knoblock remembered carriage rides through Central Park with his great-uncle Henry and being coached to request Gruyere cheese and champagne, which always yielded a trip to Uncle Henry’s favorite exclusive restaurant for thin cheese sandwiches with a sip or two of champagne.
Since Knoblock’s mother had become the essence of all things good and beautiful, his father’s second wife, whom he married in 1885, could not easily take her place. When his father died eighteen months later, the family moved to Germany to live more frugally until some of its inherited wealth was made available. Studying in tightly structured German schools was a grueling experience for Knoblock, but he took advantage of the access to splendid museums and theaters.
From the age of twelve, Knoblock had been performing plays for family members and by seventeen, his productions were quite elaborate. A playwright friend of the family suggested that he become a professional, but his stepmother extracted a promise that he first earn a college degree. After graduating from Harvard University, he headed for Paris, where he was employed as a claque, one of a group of twenty young men hired to attend dramatic productions and clap on cue. He saw a play every night for ten months and began writing his own work.
A trip to London convinced him that this was the city where he was meant to live; he settled there and began his career in earnest. From 1888 until 1895, when he finally sold a play, he wrote incessantly, studying and reading every day in the British Museum. It was another eight years before he sold another play. His prodigious output eventually yielded the one play that made him famous, Kismet, produced in 1911, but only after it was rejected repeatedly on both sides of the Atlantic.
Kismet struck the public imagination, overtaking London and Broadway and spurring on a popular art form, the musical comedy, with its resplendent sets, extravagant costuming, and light-hearted plots. Unfortunately, Knoblock’s original dramas have been forgotten, and only the plays he wrote in collaboration with other authors have received major attention. He worked with some real masters, J. B. Priestly and Arnold Bennet among them, and collaborated with the latter on the playMilestones, inspired by Bennet’s novel The Old Wives Tale. The two collaborated during the ghastly summer of 1911, taking breaks to cool down by spraying each other with a garden hose.
Though Knoblock’s plays always drew good-sized audiences, World War I intervened. For a while, Knoblock worked for England’s intelligence service and wrote several plays for the war effort. He became a screenwriter in the 1920’s. In 1912, his health began to deteriorate. He suffered from colitis and had to endure frequent hospitalizations. He died at his sister’s home in London on July 19, 1945.