Biography
Major General John Hay Beith, CBE MC (17 April 1876 – 22 September 1952), was a British schoolmaster and soldier, but is best remembered as a novelist, playwright, essayist, and historian who wrote under the pen name Ian Hay.
After reading Classics at Cambridge University, Beith became a schoolmaster. In 1907 his novel Pip was published; its success and that of several more novels enabled him to give up teaching in 1912 to be a full-time writer. During the First World War, Beith served as an officer in the army in France. His good-humoured account of army life, The First Hundred Thousand, published in 1915, was a best-seller. On the strength of this, he was sent to work in the information section of the British War Mission in Washington, D.C.
After the war, Beith's novels did not achieve the popularity of his earlier work, but he made a considerable career as a dramatist, writing light comedies, often in collaboration with other authors including P. G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton. During the Second World War Beith served as Director of Public Relations at the War Office, retiring in 1941 shortly before his 65th birthday.
Among Beith's later works were several war histories, which were not as well received as his comic fiction and plays. His one serious play, Hattie Stowe (1947), was politely reviewed but had a short run. In the same year he co-wrote a comedy, Off the Record, which ran for more than 700 performances.
Filmography
all 30
Movies 30
Writer 30
Sikke'n familie (1963)
Girls at Sea (1958)
Carry on Admiral (1957)
Orders Are Orders (1954)
The Middle Watch (1940)
An Englishman's Home (1940)
The Return of the Frog (1938)
Housemaster (1938)
A Damsel in Distress (1937)
The Frog (1937)
Sabotage (1937)
Farewell Again (1937)
The Man Behind the Mask (1936)
Keep Your Seats, Please (1936)
Secret Agent (1936)
All at Sea (1936)
The Widow from Monte Carlo (1935)
Me and Marlborough (1935)
The 39 Steps (1935)
Admirals All (1935)
I Was A Spy (1933)
Orders Is Orders (1933)
Leave It to Me (1933)
The Midshipmaid (1932)
Tilly of Bloomsbury (1931)
The Sport of Kings (1931)
The Middle Watch (1930)
Tommy Atkins (1928)
The Sporting Lover (1926)
The Happy Ending (1925)
Ratings
Information
Known ForWriting
GenderMale
Birthday1876-04-17
Deathday1952-09-22 (76 years old)
Birth PlaceRusholme, United Kingdom
CitizenshipsUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom
AwardsCommander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Military Cross
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
- Ian Hay
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