History Creator / PrestonSturges

He was the first person to use the "written and directed by" credit (for ''The Great [=McGinty=]'', which won him the first UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Original Screenplay), and the first successful Hollywood studio screenwriter who was allowed to direct his own scripts, paving the way for other writer-directors like Creator/OrsonWelles, Creator/JohnHuston and Creator/BillyWilder.

He was the first person to use the "written and directed by" credit (for ''The Great [=McGinty=]'', which won him the first UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Original Screenplay), and the first successful Hollywood studio screenwriter who was allowed to direct his own scripts, paving the way for other writer-directors like Creator/JohnHuston and Creator/BillyWilder.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/prestonsturges.jpg]]

His mother was very friendly with the dancer Isadora Duncan, even giving her the long silk scarf that would soon break her neck, and had an affair with none other than Creator/AleisterCrowley (though Preston was not his son).

His mother was very friendly with the dancer Isadora Duncan, even giving her the long scarf that would soon break her neck, and had an affair with none other than Creator/AleisterCrowley (though Preston was not his son).

* ''Film/TheInvisibleMan1933'' (contributing writer, uncredited)

However, his departure from Paramount proved a setback that his career never recovered from: ''The Sin of Harold Diddlebock'', his first independent picture, was a sequel to ''Film/TheFreshman1925'' and meant to be an attempted comeback vehicle for Creator/HaroldLloyd, but creative differences between the two led to an uneven finished product and Lloyd retreating deeper into retirement. After the subsequent box-office failure of ''Unfaithfully Yours'', he spent the last decade of his life mostly unemployed.

He was the first person to use the "written and directed by" credit (for ''The Great [=McGinty=]'', which won him the first UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Original Screenplay).

His mother was very friendly with the dancer Isadora Duncan, and had an affair with none other than Creator/AleisterCrowley (though Preston was not his son).

Sturges holds a celebrated reputation among film historians for both his comedic and dramatic work; ''Creator/JohnLasseter'' and former ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' writer John Swartzwelder are noteworthy fans.

His mother was very friendly with the dancer Isadora Duncan.

Sturges' output at the beginning of TheForties was especially prolific; he wrote ''Remember the Night'', wrote and directed ''[=McGinty=]'', ''Christmas in July'', and ''The Lady Eve'', and opened a restaurant in 1940, then won an Oscar for ''[=McGinty=]'' and wrote and directed ''Sullivan's Travels'' and ''The Palm Beach Story'' in 1941, all before Pearl Harbor was attacked. However, his departure from Paramount proved a setback that his career never recovered from: ''The Sin of Harold Diddlebock'', his first independent picture, was a sequel to ''Film/TheFreshman1925'' and meant to be an attempted comeback vehicle for Creator/HaroldLloyd, but creative differences between the two led to an uneven finished product and Lloyd retreating deeper into retirement. After the subsequent box-office failure of ''Unfaithfully Yours'', he spent the last decade of his life mostly unemployed.

Sturges' output at the beginning of TheForties was especially prolific; he wrote ''Remember the Night'', wrote and directed ''[=McGinty=]'', ''Christmas in July'', and ''The Lady Eve'', and opened a restaurant in 1940, then won an Oscar for ''[=McGinty=]'' and wrote and directed ''Sullivan's Travels'' and ''The Palm Beach Story'' in 1941, all before Pearl Harbor was attacked. However, his departure from Paramount proved a setback that his career never recovered from, and after the box-office failure of ''Unfaithfully Yours'' he spent the last decade of his life mostly unemployed.

And, no, he wasn't related to fellow director Creator/JohnSturges, although both men were natives of UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}.

And, no, he wasn't related to Creator/JohnSturges, who directed such films as ''Film/BadDayAtBlackRock'' and ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]''.

An actress whom he was dating in the late 1920s revealed to him that she was only in the relationship for research purposes--she was writing a play, and to her, (said she) he was "as a guinea pig is to a scientist." Not long after that, his first produced play, ''The Guinea Pig'', opened on Broadway in 1929.

He was the first director to use the "written and directed by" credit (for ''The Great [=McGinty=]'', which won the first UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Original Screenplay).

Preston Sturges (born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American film director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, inventor, and restaurateur.

And, no, he wasn't related to John Sturges, who directed such films as ''Film/BadDayAtBlackRock'' and ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]''.

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/prestonsturges.jpg]]

Preston Sturges (born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, director, producer, inventor, and restaurateur.

He was the first director to use the "written and directed by" credit (for ''The Great [=McGinty=]'', which won the first "Best Original Screenplay" UsefulNotes/AcademyAward).

His mother was very friendly with Isadora Duncan.