Don Hartman

Don Hartman was a versatile American screenwriter, director, and producer whose career spanned the golden age of Hollywood from the early 1930s until his untimely death in 1958. Born Samuel Donald Hartman on 18 November 1900 in Brooklyn, New York, he grew up in a family connected to the entertainment business—his father operated the Park Circle Theatre—yet he initially fled home to work as a bellhop in Chicago before returning to New York for a stint in banking. At seventeen he moved to Texas, drove trucks, attended Baylor University, and discovered a passion for acting at the Dallas Little Theatre, eventually earning a Broadway credit as Andy Hardy in Aurania Rouverol’s play Skidding. After organizing hotel shows in the Catskills and collaborating with future MGM executive Dore Schary, Hartman transitioned to writing lyrics and material for radio and stage, laying the groundwork for his entry into film. He broke into Hollywood as a lyricist in 1930, and by 1933 he had relocated permanently to the film capital. His first screen credit was the RKO romantic comedy Romance in Manhattan (1935), after which Paramount hired him as a staff writer. There he co‑authored the inaugural three Road to… pictures with Frank Butler, earning an Academy Award nomination for Road to Morocco (1942), and earlier shared a nomination for Best Story on The Gay Deception (1935). Hartman’s versatility extended to directing and producing, with titles such as It Had to Be You (1947) and Every Girl Should Be Married (1948) showcasing his ability to shepherd projects from script to screen. In 1951 he ascended to executive producer and production head under Y. Frank Freeman at Paramount, where he helped shape the studio’s post‑war output before departing in 1956 to become an independent producer. His final projects included adaptations of Desire Under the Elms and The Matchmaker; the former’s critical failure left him deeply disappointed, and he died shortly thereafter at age 57. Married to Helen, he was the father of three children—son Timothy and two daughters—leaving a legacy of prolific storytelling and a lasting imprint on mid‑century American cinema.