Dwight Deere Wiman (August 8, 1895 – January 20, 1951) was an American silent movie actor, playwright and theatrical director. He is best known as a Broadway producer.
Biography
Early life and education Wiman was born in Moline, Illinois, one of two boys born to William Wiman (son of Erastus Wiman and Eleanor née Galbrith/Erastus was the son of Erastus Wiman and Therese Amelia née Matthews) and Anna Deere, a granddaughter of John Deere. His granduncle was architect Merton Yale Cady of the Yale family. His mother died in 1906 and after his grandfather, Charles Deere, died the following year he, his father and his brother, Charles Deere Wiman, went to live with his grandmother on her estate in Moline, which was named "Overlook". His grandmother died in 1913 and his father died in 1914. He and his brother were cared for by his uncle and aunt, William and Katherine Butterworth who lived across the street. Both his grandfather, uncle and brother served as president of Deere & Company. He was sent to Todd Seminary for Boys in Woodstock, Illinois, for school. He served in the military during World War I and studied drama under Monty Woolley at Yale University.
Career He spent two years working for Deere & Company before he and a couple of his friends organized an independent film production company, Film Guild, in Astoria, Queens from 1920 to 1924. He acted in three silent movies during this time. The film company suffered from marketing difficulties and it dissolved.
In 1925 he started a partnership with William A. Brady Jr. They produced plays such as Lucky Sam McCarver (1925), the revivals of Little Eyolf and The Two Orphans in 1926, The Road to Rome (1927), and The Little Show (1929). Their working relationship ended amicably in 1929 as Wiman was the only one interested in musical theater. Between 1930 and 1951 he produced more than 50 shows. The more significant productions include: The Vinegar Tree (1930), Gay Divorce (1932), She Loves Me Not (1933), On Your Toes (1936), Babes in Arms (1937), On Borrowed Time (1938), I Married an Angel (1938), Morning's at Seven (1939), By Jupiter (1942), and The Country Girl (1950).
Wiman also directed works by Paul Osborn, John Van Druten, and Clifford Odets among others. He had a long association with Rodgers and Hart. During World War II he served as the director of entertainment for the Red Cross in Great Britain.
Personal life and death
Wiman was married to Dorothea Stephens. The couple divorced in 1946. He died in Hudson, New York, in 1951 at the age of 56 and was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Moline.
Filmography Wiman acted in the following silent films: Youthful Cheaters (1923), as Dexter French Puritan Passions (1923) as Richard Talbot Peter Stuyvesant (1924) as Charles II of England
Stage productions Wiman was the producer, director or writer for the following stage productions:
Ostriches (1925), producer Lucky Sam McCarver (1925), producer Little Eyolf, (1926), producer The Masque of Venice (1926), producer Devils (1926), producer The Two Orphans (1926), producer Seed of the Brute (1926), producer Hangman's House (1926), producer The Road to Rome (1927), producer The Dark (1927), producer House of Shadows (1927), producer Women Go On Forever (1927), producer The Command to Love (1927), producer The Queen's Husband (1928), producer The Road to Rome (1928), producer The Grey Fox (1928), producer The Jealous Moon (1928), producer A Most Immoral Lady (1928), director, producer Judas, (1929), producer Paolo and Francesca (1929), producer The Little Show (1929), producer, director Jenny (1929), producer The Second Little Show (1930), writer, director, producer The Vinegar Tree (1930), producer The Third Little Show (1931), writer, producer After All! (1931), producer Gay Divorce (1932), producer Bad Manners (1933), producer, director Champagne, Sec (1933), producer She Loves Me Not (1933), producer The Wooden Slipper (1934), producer Oliver Oliver (1934), producer The Distaff Side (1934), producer The Distant Shore (1935), producer Most of the Game (1935), producer A Room in Red and White (1936), producer On Your Toes (1936), producer Babes in Arms (1937), producer, production supervisor On Borrowed Time (1938), producer I Married an Angel (1938), producer Great Lady (1938), producer Stars in Your Eyes (1939), Producer Morning's at Seven (1939), producer Leave Her To Heaven (1940), producer Higher and Higher ( 1940), producer Old Acquaintance (1940), producer Letters to Lucerne (1941), producer Solitaire (1942), producer By Jupiter (1942), producer The Damask Cheek (1942), producer Street Scene (1947), producer A Story for Strangers (1948), producer The Big Knife (1949), producer Dance Me a Song (1950), producer The Country Girl (1950), producer Romeo and Juliet (1951), producer
References
External links Dwight Deere Wiman Papers at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research