Feeling frustrated, Kanin moved to RKO where he helmed charming comedies like the Ginger Rogers' vehicles "Bachelor Mother" (1939) and "Tom, Dick and Harry" (1941) as well as "My Favorite Wife" (1940), with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne and the third version of "They Knew What They Wanted" (also 1940), with Carole Lombard and Charles Laughton. He moved to directing with 1937's "Hitch Your Wagon" which landed him a contract with Samuel Goldwyn. Kanin left acting to serve as Abbott's production assistant, working on "Room Service" (1937), among others. After training at NYC's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he made his Broadway acting debut in "Little Ol' Boy" (1934), directed by George Abbott. The Rochester, NY, native dropped out of high school in 1929 and worked in vaudeville as a musician and comic. A highly competent, witty playwright, screenwriter and director, Garson Kanin is perhaps best-remembered for his 1945 Broadway smash "Born Yesterday" and for the scenarios he wrote for others, especially George Cukor.
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