Acted on stage for two seasons with Sir Frank Benson's Shakespearean Company prior to World War I. After wartime service, worked as theatrical director from 1922. Joined Oxford Players in October 1923, appearing in several plays by George Bernard Shaw. Broadway debut in 1929, staging "Rope's End", the first of many hits. Active as writer/director for the screen from the early 1930s and as playwright from 1938.