The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Howard, Sidney Coe
18911939, American dramatist, b. Oakland, Calif., grad. Univ. of California, 1915, and studied under George Pierce Baker at Harvard. His first successful play was They Knew What They Wanted (1924; Pulitzer Prize), a compassionate drama set in the wine-producing region of California. It was followed by such plays as Ned McCobbs Daughter (1926), about a courageous New England resort owner; The Silver Cord (1926), concerning possessive maternalism; and Yellow Jack (1934), a dramatization of mans struggle against yellow fever. Howards other works include the adaptation The Late Christopher Bean (1932) and the Academy Award winning screenplay for the movie Gone With the Wind (1939).