*Daddy Long-legs *was the basis of several films beginning in the silent
era, one with Mary Pickford, including a Fred Astaire musical in the
fifties. I didb't know the Mark Twain connection.

On Sun, Jan 13, 2013 at 3:46 PM, Wesley Britton <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>
>
>
>
> Editing a biography of actor Ruth Chatterton, I ran across a dmention of
> Mark Twain's niece,  Jean Webster.  Apparently, actor/producer Henry Miller
> had picked up a copy of Webster's popular book Daddy Long-Legs at a
> newsstand and contacted the authorh about adapting it for the stage in
> 1914.
>
>
> The book has some comments on Webster, stressing Jean Webster combined
> writing with social activism.  "The story was inspired by her work on
> behalf
> of orphans.  She drew her material from monthly visits to orphanages in New
> England."
>
>
>
> Variety praised, "Daddy Long-Legs is a full-grown comedy in which the
> author
> has blended a laugh and a tear in almost every line."[i]
>
>
>
> Apparently, the play was quite a success for several years and perhaps
> helped pave the way for the sufferage movement. Never heard of it
> before-anyone know more?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dr. Wesley Britton
>
> Co-host, Dave White Presents
>
> www.audioentertainment.org/dwp
>
> Spywise website
>
> www.spywise.net
>
>
>
>
>   _____
>
> [i] Review of Daddy Long-Legs, Variety, February 27, 1914
>



-- 
John H. Davis, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Department of Language and Literature
Chowan University
Murfreesboro, North Carolina 27855