Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Dietrich, Marlene

(Encyclopedia)Dietrich, Marlene märlāˈnə dēˈtrĭkh [key], 1901–92, German-American film actress and singer, b. Berlin. Dietrich began her career as a violinist. She then studied drama, appearing on the stag...

Cueva, Juan de la

(Encyclopedia)Cueva, Juan de la dā lä kwāˈvä [key], 1550?–1610?, Spanish dramatist, one of the precursors of Lope de Vega. He spent the years from 1574 to 1577 in Mexico. Of his 14 plays, the most famous is...

Cyrano de Bergerac, Savinien

(Encyclopedia)Cyrano de Bergerac, Savinien sävēnyăNˈ sēränōˈ də bĕrzhəräkˈ [key], 1619–55, French novelist. Satirizing the customs and beliefs of his time, he wrote two fantastic romances about visit...

Ewald, Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Ewald, Johannes yōhänˈəs āˈväl [key], 1743–81, Danish poet. Ewald's elegant verse made him the leading poet of his time. He studied for the ministry but soon turned to writing. His lyrical tr...

Horton, Lester

(Encyclopedia)Horton, Lester, 1906–53, American modern dancer, choreographer, and teacher, b. Indianapolis. Moving to California in 1928, Horton formed his own company in Los Angeles and also performed in theater...

Howard, Sidney Coe

(Encyclopedia)Howard, Sidney Coe, 1891–1939, 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...

Heiberg, Johan Ludvig

(Encyclopedia)Heiberg, Johan Ludvig yōhănˈ lo͞oᵺˈvē hīˈbâr [key], 1791–1860, Danish writer, director of the National Theater. In the play Christmas Fun and New Year's Jesting (1817), he satirized leadi...

Heywood, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Heywood, Thomas, 1574?–1641, English dramatist. A prolific writer, he claimed to have written and collaborated on more than 200 plays, most of which are now lost. Although he wrote dramas based on E...

Hochhuth, Rolf

(Encyclopedia)Hochhuth, Rolf rôlf hōkhˈho͞ot [key], 1931–2020, German dramatist. His provocative first drama, The Deputy (1963), accuses Pope Pius XII and the Roman Catholic clergy of tolerating Nazi crimes a...

Luzzatto, Moses Hayyim

(Encyclopedia)Luzzatto, Moses Hayyim häˈyēm lo͞ot-tsätˈtō [key], 1707–47, Hebrew playwright, poet, and mystic, a leader of the renaissance of Hebrew literature, b. Padua. At 15 he formed a group to study k...