Elmer Rice
A playwright who used expressionist nightmares and tenement realism to dissect the soul-crushing machinery of modern American life.
1892–1967 (age 75)·American playwright·Birthday: September 28·The Lost Generation
Biography
Elmer Rice, born Elmer Leopold Reizenstein in New York City, carved a path as one of American theater's most inventive and socially conscious voices. Trained as a lawyer, he abandoned the profession after his first play's success, a pattern of defiance that defined his career. In 1923, he jolted Broadway with 'The Adding Machine,' a savage, expressionist satire about a clerk replaced by automation, a work that felt decades ahead of its time. His gritty, Pulitzer-winning 'Street Scene' in 1929 painted a sweeping, operatic portrait of immigrant life in a New York tenement, capturing the city's symphonic chaos. A fierce advocate for playwrights' rights, he helped found the Writers Guild and often clashed with commercial producers, championing artistic control. Though later works met mixed receptions, his early innovations in form and unflinching focus on the individual versus the system left a permanent mark on the dramatic landscape.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Elmer was born in 1892, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Elmer Was Born
The biggest hits of 1892
Elmer's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1892Born
President: Benjamin Harrison
1897Started school
President: William McKinley
1905Became a teenager
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Could drive
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Could vote
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1913Turned 21
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1922Turned 30
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1932Turned 40
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
1942Turned 50
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1952Turned 60
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1962Turned 70
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1967Died at 75
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
Key Achievements
- Won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1929 for his play 'Street Scene'.
- Pioneered American expressionist theater with his groundbreaking 1923 play 'The Adding Machine'.
- Served as the first director of the New York Federal Theatre Project during the Great Depression.
- Co-founded the Dramatists Guild of America, advocating fiercely for playwrights' creative and financial rights.
- Authored over 50 plays across a career spanning five decades, exploring social and psychological themes.
Did You Know?
He legally changed his name from Elmer Leopold Reizenstein to Elmer Rice early in his career.
He graduated from New York Law School but never practiced after his first play was produced.
His play 'Street Scene' was later adapted into a successful opera by composer Kurt Weill.
He directed the original Broadway production of Robert Sherwood's 'Abe Lincoln in Illinois.'
He was a vocal critic of censorship and McCarthy-era blacklists in the entertainment industry.
“The theatre is a gross art, built in sweeps and over-emphasis. Compromise is its second name.”
