Background
Wylie was born as Morris Laurence Samuelson, recorded as Maurice Laurence Samuelson Metzenberg.
screenwriter author stage actor
Wylie was born as Morris Laurence Samuelson, recorded as Maurice Laurence Samuelson Metzenberg.
He is primarily known as the author of the play "Dinner for One", the 1963 screen adaptation of which went on to become the most frequently repeated television program ever, according to the Guinness Book of Records, due in large part to its place as a German New Year"s viewing tradition. Lauri Wylie began his career in the late 1890s in London as an actor, receiving frequent writeups in the entertainment press of the day. His first work as a playwright was in 1911 with "Early Morning Reflections", which earned him a copyright infringement lawsuit for having plagiarised a similar play, "The Broken Mirror".
He has authored / co-authored several revues and operettas (including Four, Five, Six at the Duke of York"s Theatre in London, a parody of Gilbert and Sullivan entitled A "G&South" Cocktail (1925, public 1936), and Princess Charming (1930), which was made into a film in 1934 and released under the name Alexandra in the United States in 1935.
His other films include "A Warm Corner" (1930) and "Never Trouble Trouble" (1931). His major success, "Dinner for One", possibly written as early as the 1920s, premiered at the Duke of York"s Theatre in 1948, and was later presented on Broadway in 1953 in the revue Almanac by John Murray Anderson.
Wylie, however, never profited from the script rights which were – allegedly – sold to English comedian Freddie Frinton (who famously played the role of James the butler in the popular 1963 film adaptation). Wylie died at age 70 in 1951 in poverty in a camper which served as his home.
Wylie"s play went on to have significant cultural impact in Germany.
Having been a part of German culture for 50 years, it has spawned thousands of parodies. One such parody, involving German Chancellor Angela Merkel and then-President of France Nicolas Sarkozy, may have led to Mistress Merkel"s widely publicised reference to "Dinner for One" in her 2012 New Year"s address.