John Mason Brown
John Mason Brown was a prominent figure in the American theater scene, particularly noted for his involvement with Broadway from the 1920s to the 1950s. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he pursued a deep interest in drama from an early age, eventually studying at Harvard University where he participated in George Pierce Baker's 47 Workshop. After graduating in 1923, he taught drama and Shakespeare at the University of Montana and then traveled through Europe to study its theater traditions. Brown gained recognition as a drama critic, starting with his position at the New York Evening Post in 1929, where he worked until 1941 before serving in the Navy during World War II. His wartime experiences were documented in two published works, earning him a Bronze Star. After the war, he resumed his career as a critic for the Saturday Review of Literature and was involved with the Pulitzer Prize committee for drama. Brown's influential career extended beyond criticism; he also contributed to various cultural institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He passed away in 1969 in New York City due to pneumonia-related complications.
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John Mason Brown
Writer
- Born: July 3, 1900
- Birthplace: Louisville, Kentucky
- Died: 1969
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
John Mason Brown is identified with the Harvard- and Yale- dominated theater scene of Broadway from the 1920’s through the 1950’s. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and his parents divorced when he was two. Brown and his older sister were brought up by their mother, Caroline Carroll Ferguson. He worked at the Louisville Courier-Journal at the age of seventeen.
Brown was attracted to drama at an early age and followed his passion when he entered Harvard, enrolling in George Pierce Baker’s 47 Workshop. He acted, wrote, and directed while at Harvard. He taught drama and Shakespeare at the University of Montana upon graduating from Harvard in 1923, then traveled across Europe making a survey of European theater.
Brown published The Modern Theater in Revolt in 1929. From 1931 to 1932, he taught the history of drama criticism at Yale, where his former mentor Baker had moved. On the strength of the widely respected The Modern Theater in Revolt, Brown became drama critic for the New York Evening Post in 1929 and worked there until 1941, when he left for the rival New York World-Telegram.
Brown soon left that position to enter the navy, broadcasting the invasion of Sicily and the D-Day invasion of Normandy. He published his World War II experiences in To All Hands: An Amphibious Adventure in 1943 and Many a Watchful Night in 1944. He was awarded the Bronze Star for the latter.
Brown returned from the war in 1944 and became drama critic for the Saturday Review of Literature. He was an adviser for the Pulitzer award in drama, until he resigned in 1963 after Columbia University trustees overruled the committee’s recommendation of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Other prominent responsibilities included serving as a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and serving as a judge for the Book-of-the-Month Club. Brown died in New York City in 1969, of complications from pneumonia.