- After graduating from the Virginia Military Institute in 1932,
Finklehoffe and fellow graduate,
John Monks Jr., decided to re-write their
college thesis on cadet life at VMI as a play. The noted director and
playwright George Abbott liked the
piece and produced it on Broadway in December 1936. Entitled 'Brother
Rat', it was hugely successful, running for an astonishing 575
performances. The play was then passed on to Warner Bothers for
$150,000. Having added a degree in law from Yale University to his
resume, Finklehoffe suddenly found himself a much sought-after property
in Hollywood. After writing a sequel to
Brother Rat (1938) - the original
screenplay for
Brother Rat and a Baby (1940) - he was signed to a fifteen-year contract by MGM.
During the 1940's, he worked, usually in collaboration, on musicals and
comedies. At his creative peak, he received an Academy Award nomination
for
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944).
Finklehoffe also co-authored the comedy
The Egg and I (1947), which spawned
the
'Ma and Pa Kettle' series at Universal with Marjorie Main
and Percy Kilbride. On Broadway, he was
active as producer, his biggest hit being
'The Heiress', which was staged at the Biltmore Theatre and starred Wendy Hiller
and Basil Rathbone, who was nominated for
a Tony Award.
A close friend of actress Judy Garland,
Finklehoffe began writing a biography of the star in 1960, but decided
to abandon the project due to her declining health. He was married
three times. His second wife was the actress
Ella Logan (whom he featured on Broadway in
'Show Time', in 1942), his third, in 1956, was the fashion consultant
Carolyn Jo Phillips.- IMDb Mini Biography By: I.S.Mowis
- SpousesCarolyn Jo Phillips (fashion consultant)(1956 - October 5, 1977) (his death, 1 child)Ella Logan(1942 - 1954) (divorced)
- Educated at VMI and Yale Law School.
- Ex-uncle-in-law of Jimmy Logan and Annie Ross.
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