George Jean Nathan
14-Feb-1882
United States
Journalist
American critic and actor, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, studied at Cornell University. After working as a journalist and critic of drama, in 1908 he joined the staff of Smart Set, who organized it with HL Mencken from 1914 to 1923. Collections of Nathan's stories and reviews from this period include Mr. George Jean Nathan Presents (1917), The Famous Theater (1918), and Materia Critica (1924). In collaboration with Mancken he wrote The Artists (1912) and Heliogabalus (1920); his unique solo works are The My Mystery (1913) and The Avon Flows (1937). In 1924 he founded the American Mercury with Mancken; Disagreements led to his resignation as editor in 1925, although he continued to provide updates. Meeting with Theodore Dreiser and others, he started the Spectator in 1932.