McEvoy, J. P.

(1897-1958)

   Novelist and playwright John Patrick McEvoy was born in New York. After completing a degree at Notre Dame, he worked as a journalist before scoring a theatrical success with the long-running comedy, The Potters (1923). Another play, God Loves Us (1926), was a failure. Most of McEvoy's writing for the stage consisted of sketches for the revue series Americana (1926, 1927, 1932), Ziegfeld Follies of 1925, and librettos for musicals, including Allez-oop (1927) and Stars in Your Eyes (1939). His novel, Show Girl, was the source for the 1929 Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.-produced musical of the same name, which starred Ruby Keeler and Jimmy Durante. He also wrote nearly two dozen motion pictures, including Glorifying the American Girl (1929), The Lemon Drop Kid (1934), Love in Bloom (1935), and W. C. Fields's vehicle It's a Gift (1934), as well as movie adaptations of The Potters (1927) and Show Girl (1928).