Morris Laurence Samuelson

Lauri Wylie (born Morris Laurence Metzenberg Samuelson) was a British author. He is primarily known as the author of the play "Dinner for One," the 1963 screen adaptation of which went on to become the most frequently repeated TV program ever, according to the Guinness Book of Records, due in large part to its place as a German New Year's viewing tradition.

Lauri Wylie began his career in the late 1890s in London as an actor, receiving frequent writeups in the entertainment press of the day. His first work as a playwright was in 1911 with "Early Morning Reflections", which earned him a copyright infringement lawsuit for having plagiarized a similar play, "The Broken Mirror".

He has authored / co-authored several revues and operettas (including Four, Five, Six at the Duke of York's Theatre in London, a parody of Gilbert and Sullivan entitled A "G&S" Cocktail (1936), and Princess Charming (1930), which was made into a film in 1934 and released under the name Alexandra in the United States in 1935. With his younger brother, G.B. Samuelson, he co-wrote The Game of Life (1922), at the time the longest British feature film ever produced. His other films include "A Warm Corner" (1930) and "Never Trouble Trouble" (1931).

His major success, "Dinner for One", possibly written as early as the 1920s, premiered at the Duke of York's Theatre in 1948, and was later presented on Broadway in 1953 in the revue Almanac by John Murray Anderson. Wylie, however, never profited from the script rights which were allegedly sold to English comedian Freddie Frinton (who famously played the role of James the butler in the popular 1963 film adaptation).

Wylie died at age 70 in 1951 in poverty in a camper which served as his home.

(Adapted from the Wikipedia biography of Lauri Wylie on February 24, 2014.)

Lawrence Samuelson

• 1881 England & Wales Census
• Birth: Circa 1880 - Southport, Lancashire
• Residence: 1881 - 41 Nevill St, North Meols, Lancashire, England
• Parents: Henschel Samuelson, Bertha Samuelson
• Brother: Julian Samuelson