Peter Hess Stone (February 27, 1930 – April 26, 2003) was an American screenwriter and playwright. Stone is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the screenplays he wrote or co-wrote in the mid-1960s, Charade (1963), Father Goose (1964), and Mirage (1965).
Early life and career Early life Peter Hess Stone was born in Los Angeles to Jewish parents.Biography, playbill.com. Accessed August 18, 2023. His mother, Hilda (née Hess), was a film writer, and his father, John Stone (born Saul Strumwasser), was a screenwriter and film producer. Hilda was a Bavarian Jew from Bamberg, but was born in Mexico (her father dodged the draft in the 1870s) and lived there for five years with her family until all foreign nationals were kicked out during the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Stone had an older brother David, who was a World War II veteran, serving in the U.S. Navy.
When Stone was 15, his parents took him to see Mexican Hayride starring Bobby Clark at the Hazard's Pavilion. Stone saw Clark throw his hat onto a hat tree 100 feet away, and, at that moment, knew he wanted to work in theatre.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
He graduated from University High School in Los Angeles, Bard College starting in 1947, and earned a master's degree from the Yale School of Drama. While at Bard, Stone wrote two plays that were both produced and performed at the school.
Paris After Stone graduated Bard, his mother Hilda (still married) eloped to Paris with a Hungarian literary agent (also married) named George Marton. While in Paris, they both settled their divorces and married each other. Stone describes this as "a really great opportunity came to me through what should have been emotionally wrenching, but wasn't", stating that his mother hated Hollywood and was finally happy. After visiting them in the late 1940s, Stone lived in and around Paris for about thirteen years.
Stone worked for CBS while overseas, as a radio writer and newsreader. He also did television features on subjects like the Arc de Triomphe horse race, the Cannes Film Festival and Princess Grace's wedding. "I was getting a sentimental education and letting Hollywood rub off me," he said later.'Titanic' Adds Another Feather to His Cap: [Biography] Grimes, William. New York Times 18 May 1997: 34. Soon after this, Stone married Mary Hanley.
During this time Stone sold his first script to Studio One in 1956, "A Day Before Battle".
Broadway and television Kean In 1953, Stone saw a play by Jean Paul Sartre called Kean, adapted from the play by Alexandre Dumas based on the life of Edmund Kean. The Broadway singer and actor Alfred Drake was keen to make Kean into a musical, so much so that his agent (who was also Stone's agent) became the producer. Stone signed on in December 1960.New Show Slated by Alfred Drake: Star to Play title Role in Musical, 'Kean' -- Insurance Cuts Loss on 'Laurette' By Sam Zolotow. New York Times 7 Dec 1960: 56.
On 2 November 1961 Kean premiered on Broadway, with music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest, and Stone as playwright. He was hesitant to write for a musical, even though he loved them and saw them: "I did not see myself as doing that...and then an opportunity arose...I just wanted to be on Broadway". Stone needed some help, so he consulted Frank Loesser. Stone said of him, "terribly talented, successful and sophisticated man", when asking Loesser where songs went and other questions about musical structure, and said he was "more than helpful, he was inspiring". The show only ran for 92 performances and was considered somewhat of a flop, but it helped establish Stone on Broadway.
Television Stone wrote two episodes of the 1961 television series The Asphalt Jungle ("The Friendly Gesture", "The Scott Machine") and three episodes of The Defenders. One of his Defenders episodes, "The Benefactors", dealt with abortion care providers and was highly controversial, resulting in sponsors leaving the show.TV Sponsors Quit Disputed Drama: 3 Drop 'Defenders' April 28 Play Dealing With Abortion Broadcasting Notes By Val Adams. New York Times 9 Apr 1962: 58. The New York Times called it "a remarkable demonstration of the use of theatre as an instrument of editorial protest."TV: Drama Used as Editorial Protest: 'Benefactor' Asks Shift in Abortion Laws Play by Peter Stone on C.B.S. 'Defenders' By Jack Gould. New York Times 30 Apr 1962: 43. Stone won an Emmy for his script.
He also wrote episodes of Espionage ("Covenant with Death") and Brenner ("Laney's Boy", "The Tragic Flute")."Peter Stone, Award-Winning Writer of '1776,' Dies at 73", New York Times, April 28, 2003.
Charade and working for Universal Stone's first film script was Charade (1963), which he turned into a novel at the suggestion of his agent Robert Lantz. Stone said he submitted his original script "everywhere and nobody wanted it". After it was made into a novel, it was published, and portions of it were even printed before publication in Redbook.Seidenbaum, Art. "Yes, Geniuses, First Screenplays Do Sell: Hollywood Script Teasers", Los Angeles Times 10 November 1963: p. B1.
Stone sold the script to Stanley Donen, whom he chose because "One, was he was the only person who hadn't seen it before and I felt silly selling it to the people who rejected it. Two, It got me out of New York, which at that point I wanted to, I'd been there a long time with Kean. And three, Stanley got stars, and I had written with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in mind". "I was on the set every day," Stone remembered, "and I had a marvelous time. There were very few hands involved. It was just Stanley (Donen, the director) and me and the actors, and we all worked it out together. It was an absolutely grand experience."
Universal, which made Charade, promptly signed Stone to write two more films: Mirage, based on a novel by Howard Fast, and Father Goose (1964), based on a story by Frank Tarloff, which Stone wrote at the behest of Cary Grant, who wanted to star.A.H. Weiler. "Cary Grant Plans a Comedy-Drama", New York Times, September 7, 1963: p. 11.By Way of Report: Crime and High Jinks --Other Film Items", New York Times, October 13, 1963: p. 127.
When Charade came out it was a huge success. Stone signed an exclusive five-picture deal with Universal Studios."Filmland Events: Peter Stone Dealt Five by Universal", Los Angeles Times, November 21, 1964: p. 18. Father Goose was made before Mirage. It earned Stone his one and only Oscar for Best Screenplay; he shared it with Tarloff."Will Real Frank Tarloff Please Stand Up?" Los Angeles Times, May 22, 1966: p. C6 According to one of his obituaries, "Some felt that the honor was, in part, a delayed tribute for the overlooked Charade script."
Stone's work in the 1960s employed Hitchcock-like narratives, even while the director was still an active film maker. Hitchcock's influence is especially evident in the Edward Dmytryk-directed Mirage, a suspense-mystery that Stone adapted from the Howard Fast novel Fallen Angel. The narrative has Peck suffering from "unconscious amnesia" while dodging bullets in downtown New York. Although shot in black-and-white, many of its themes and images are reminiscent of Vertigo. The cast included Walter Matthau and George Kennedy from Charade.
Stone was reunited with Stanley Donen on Arabesque which also starred Gregory Peck. Stone was brought on to the film to "trick up the dialogue of somebody else's script... so that nobody would notice the film didn't make sense." Stone was unhappy with his low billing and used the pseudonym 'Pierre Marton' on the credits (literally 'Peter/stone' in French, plus an homage to his stepfather George Marton).
Stone wrote some scripts which were not made, including The Expert (1964) written with Theodore Flicker, who had been his roommate at Bard College."Local View: New Trio in Prospect", New York Times, June 21, 1964: p. X7.
Stone's contract with Universal enabled him to continue to write for theatre. He had a minor hit on Broadway with the musical Skyscraper (1965–66) with Julie Harris, that went for 248 performances. Stone later called it "A terrific idea, but it never jelled." "People don't know what a book is", he said later. "They think it's the jokes. Well, everybody knows the actors make those up as they go along. A book is a concept and a structure, and dialogue is the smallest part... You can have the best score in the world, but if the book is weak, it won't work. On the other hand, if the book is good, it can carry a mediocre score."
Stone scripted a pilot for a TV series, Ghostbreakers (1967), that was not picked up. He adapted Androcles and the Lion (1967) for TV, starring Noël Coward and directed by Joe Layton and wrote the book for a musical, The Games People Play, with Feuer and Martin, based on the best-selling text book (it ended up not being produced).
"I think I've always had an appetite for a certain kind of urbane comedy", he said in a 1967 interview. "But I don't believe comedy in and of itself is an end."Scheuer, Philip K. "Peter: A Chip Off the Elder Stone", Los Angeles Times, July 9, 1967: p. C15.
Stone wrote a series of films for Universal: The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968), a World War Two comedy with Paul Newman (co written with Tarloff); Jigsaw (1968), a mystery with Bradford Dillman; the film adaptation of the musical Sweet Charity (1969), directed by Bob Fosse, which was an unexpected box office flop; and what ultimately became Skin Game (1971).Martin, Betty. "Movie Call Sheet: Plummer Gets Musical Lead", Los Angeles Times, March 2, 1968: p. 19.
1776 Stone wrote the book for the Broadway musical 1776 (1969–72) which went for 1,217 performances. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Stone won the Drama Desk Award for Best Book.'1776' Reaps Fruit Of Long Research By Lewis Funke. New York Times 18 March 1969: 38.
Stone continued to write scripts at Universal, doing work on Skin Game and writing a story about black-white relations that was ultimately never made, The Ornament.Say It Without Music: Say It Without Music By A. H. Weiler. New York Times 13 April 1969: D13.
He did some uncredited script doctoring on the book for the stage musical Georgy (1970), which was credited to Tom Mankiewicz.Tom Mankiewicz and Robert Crane, My Life as a Mankiewicz, University Press of Kentucky 2012 p 98 Then he wrote another musical, Two by Two (1970–71) which starred Danny Kaye with songs by Rodgers. It ran for 351 performances.News of the Rialto: 'Solitaire,' Anyone? 'Solitaire,' Anyone? By Lewis Funke. New York Times 21 June 1970: 81.
Stone was unhappy with the changes made to his script for Skin Game (1971) (eventually made by Warners), which he said were caused by James Garner, who starred and produced, changing the last third of the film, which Stone wanted to focus on co-star Louis Gosset. Stone again used his "Pierre Marton" pseudonym saying "it was the only thing you can do in a situation like that."At the Movies: After 'Carrie' Amy Irving gets the E.S.P. in 'The Fury.' Buckley, Tom. New York Times 24 Feb 1978: C8.
A happier creative experience was the film of 1776 (1972) where he adapted his own book into a screenplay. It was a box office failure.
Stone had another Broadway hit with the book for the musical Sugar (1972–73), an adaptation of Some Like It Hot, produced by David Merrick and directed by Gower Champion. Stone replaced original book writer George Axelrod. It ran for 505 performances and had a popular life aftwards.Merrick Gambles on 'Sugar' Coe, Richard L. Los Angeles Times 29 December 1971: f13. Stone later said "It's probably the most successful stock and amateur [property] I've ever done — especially foreign [licensing]. There are two guys everywhere in the world who wanna get in a dress. And this is the one show they can get into a dress without being gay — they're on the run! It's terribly attractive to two actors, so it's constantly done."