Molly Kazan
Kazan during rehearsal for the stage production The Egghead in 1957
Born
Molly Day Thacher

(1906-12-16)December 16, 1906
South Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedDecember 14, 1963(1963-12-14) (aged 56)
New York City, U.S.
Occupation(s)Dramatist, playwright
Spouse
​
(m. 1932)​
Children4, including Nicholas
Relatives

Molly Day Kazan (/kəˈzæn/ kə-ZAN; née Thacher; December 16, 1906 – December 14, 1963) was an American dramatist and the first wife of influential film director Elia Kazan.

Biography

Molly Day Thacher was born in South Orange, New Jersey,[1][2] the daughter of Emma Cecelia (née Erkenbrecher) and Alfred Beaumont Thacher, a lawyer.[3][4] Her grandparents were Elizabeth (Day) and Thomas Anthony Thacher, a classicist and college administrator. Her uncle, Thomas Thacher, was a lawyer.

Molly's husband, director Elia Kazan

Kazan graduated from Vassar College and attended the Yale Drama School for two years, where she met Elia Kazan.[2] Molly was dating Elia's friend and roommate Alan Baxter at the time, until Molly left Baxter for Elia.[5][6] Molly and Elia Kazan married in 1932.[2][7]

Molly Day Kazan was the head of the playwriting division of Actors Studio for several years before resigning in May 1962.[2][8][9]

In 1949, she wrote the book for a musical titled "Queen of Sheba".[2] She wrote the play The Egghead in 1957, which ran for twenty-one performances on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The play was directed by Hume Cronyn.[10][11][12][13] She wrote the one-act plays Rosemary, and The Alligator in 1960.[2][14][15][16]

Elia had numerous extramarital affairs which caused serious rifts with Molly, including with Constance Dowling and Marilyn Monroe.[17] Elia has also been characterized as a narcissist, having written to Molly after admitting to the affair with Monroe, "If you divorce me, I'll tell you plainly I will in time get married again and have more children. I feel I'm a family man and I want a family, and am a damned good one. I dont care what your judgment is on that. I think I see the world around me (us) a hell of a lot more clearly than you do or anyone else does for that matter."[18] Despite this, the couple stayed together, and Molly was very influential on his professional life.[18]

She died on December 14, 1963, two days before her 57th birthday, in Bellevue Hospital in New York City following a cerebral hemorrhage.[2][19] Her funeral was held at St. Clement's Protestant Episcopal Church with over 400 people in attendance.[20] She was survived by her husband and four children, including the playwright Nicholas Kazan.[20] Her granddaughters are the actresses Zoe and Maya Kazan.[21]

References

  1. ↑ Yale University. Class of 1874; Farnam, H. W. (1912). Biographical Record of the Class of 1874 in Yale College: Part Fourth, 1874–1909. Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company. Retrieved August 27, 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "MOLLY KAZAN, 56, PLAYWRIGHT, DIES; Active in Theater--Wife of Elia Kazan, the Director". The New York Times. December 15, 1963. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  3. ↑ Roberts, G. B.; Dearborn, D. C. (1998). Notable kin: an anthology of columns first published in the NEHGS nexus, 1986–1995. Vol. 2. Published in cooperation with the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts, by Carl Boyer, third. ISBN 9780936124209. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  4. ↑ Thacher, E. J. (1980). Thomas Thacher, 1620-1678, Boston branch, progenitors and descendants. Thacher. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ Schickel, Richard (2006). Elia Kazan : a biography (1st Harper Perennial ed.). New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0060955120.
  6. ↑ Bernstein, Walter (December 26, 2005). "Loving Tribute to Kazan Nearly Derailed by Politics". Observer. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  7. ↑ Rothstein, Mervyn (September 28, 2003). "Elia Kazan, Influential Director, Dies at 94". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  8. ↑ Gardner, Paul (June 29, 1962). "ARCHIBALD IN JOB AT ACTORS STUDIO; Will Head Playwrights' Unit Reorganizing Committee". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  9. ↑ Funke, Lewis (May 27, 1962). "NEWS OF THE RIALTO: DUKE ELLINGTON; Band Leader-Composer Will Prepare Score for New Musical--Items". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  10. ↑ Digital Collections, The New York Public Library. "(still image) Director Hume Cronyn, Phyllis Love, Karl Malden, producer Hope Ableson? and playwright Molly Kazan during rehearsal for the stage production The Egghead, (1957)". The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  11. ↑ "The Theater: New Plays in Manhattan, Oct. 21, 1957". Time. October 21, 1957. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Molly Kazan Succeeds In Husband's Field". The Montreal Star. November 28, 1957. p. 39. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  13. ↑ Calta, Louis (October 22, 1957). "THERESA HELBURN OFFERS PRIZE FUND; $10,000 to Be Divided by Four Plays on Freedom-- 'Egghead' Ends Saturday Molly Kazan Play to Fold Concert Reading Sunday". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  14. ↑ Zolotow, Sam (October 9, 1957). "'EGGHEAD' FACES CRITICS TONIGHT; Molly Kazan's Play to Open at Barrymore--Dispute on 'Compulsion' Ends". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  15. ↑ Taubman, Howard (November 15, 1960). "Theatre: Faultless Acting; Jo Van Fleet in Two Molly Kazan Plays". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  16. ↑ Weiler, A.H. (December 11, 1960). "'The Alligators' Bought -- Other New Projects". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  17. ↑ Simon, John (November 27, 2005). "On the Kazan Front". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  18. 1 2 Maslin, Janet (April 16, 2014). "Combative Director, Even in Letters". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  19. ↑ Theatre World (Season 1962–1963) obituary. Library of Congress Catalog Card #46-13321.
  20. 1 2 "400 ATTEND RITES FOR MOLLY KAZAN". The New York Times. December 18, 1963. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  21. ↑ McGlone, Peggy (July 6, 2012). "East of Hollywood: Actress Maya Kazan enters the family business". NJ Advance Media. Retrieved September 1, 2022.

Further reading

  • Who’s Who of American Women, 1st ad. (1958–59), p. 679 (re Molly Thacher Kazan)
  • Yale University Obituary Record of Graduates Deceased During the Year Ending July 1, 1928, pp. 58–59 (re Alfred Beaumont Thacher)
  • Biographical and Historical Record of the Class of 1835 in Yale College for the Fifty Years from the Admission of the Class to College (1881), pp. 165–68 (re Thomas Anthony Thacher)
  • C. T. Cobb, L. E. Thacher, & D. W. Allen, Genealogy and Biographical Sketches of the Descendants of Thomas and Anthony Thacher (1872), pp. 12–15.
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