Charlie: The Improbable Life and Times of Charles MacArthur

Charles MacArthur was a gifted, lovable rogue who wrote many screenplays and a couple of books, married "the First Lady of the American Theater," raised two children with her, and saw their daughter die of poliomyelitis. Ben Hecht was his sometimes co-author and partner-in-mischief. Hecht's book is a glossed-over but loving account of his friend's life. What it sometimes lacks in meat and interpretation is made up in anecdotes -- this book is a Valentine.