Robert Lively (screenwriter)

Robert Lively
Born
Robert Dawson Lively

(1905-02-03)February 3, 1905
Hinton, West Virginia, U.S.
DiedMarch 4, 1943(1943-03-04) (aged 38)
New York City, New York, U.S.
OccupationsScreenwriter, Songriter
Years active1925–1941
Notable workThe Girl Said No
Spouse
Betty Laidlaw
​
(m. 1928)​

Robert Dawson Lively[1] (February 3, 1905–March 4, 1943), sometimes credited as Bob Lively, was an American screenwriter, songwriter, singer, actor, and director. As a writer and singer, Lively worked most often alongside his wife, pianist/composer Betty Laidlaw, and was active from the mid-1920s to at least 1940.[2]

Early life and career

Born in Hinton, West Virginia on February 3, 1905,[3][1] but raised primarily in Charleston,[4][5][6] Lively was the second son born to Etta Magdelen (née Lewis) and Wilson Wise Lively.[4][6] In the week following his death, it was noted that Lively's music career had begun with his work as a choir boy in a Charleston church.[7] He later attended military schools, before making his way to New York.[3]

In March 1926 (in an act later described, variously, as "a team of writers, composers, and lyricists,' and "a dynamical musical act at the piano"[2]), Lively and his then accompanist and soon-to-be wife—billed initially as "Lady Betty Laidlaw—began giving radio recitals on station WHN.[8]

In the fall of 1935, their original play, a backstage musical / murder mystery titled Death in the Dressing Room, debuted over the BBC.[9]

In 1937, Laidlaw and Lively signed a four-year contract with Grand National Pictures, terms of which included a minimum of four scripts a year, with the option of "work[ing] for others in between GN assignments."[10] Unfortunately for all parties concerned, GN's bold projection may have succeeded, if at all, only in hastening L&L's demise. In any event, Personal Secretary, the last of three scripts the team managed to crank out almost within the allotted one-year window, proved to be the final credit in Laidlaw's short-lived screenwriting career.[11]

Personal life and death

By no later than March 1928,[12] Lively had married his then fellow performer and future writing partner, Betty Laidlaw.[a],

On April 4, 1943, aged 38 and said to residing "in a New York hotel" (or, more specifically, "his apartment" at Manhattan's Hotel Mansfield[3]), Lively died in his bed,[15] his death attributed to "a heart disease".[16] Employed, at that time, as a special consultant to the Army Signal Corps Photographic Center in Astoria, Queens,[3] Lively was survived by his wife, as well as his mother, uncle, two brothers and one sister.[15][16][7]

Selected filmography

Notes

  1. ↑ Born Betty Morse Meyers, she had also previously been billed as Betty Baird,[13] both stage names derived from ex-husband Loper B. Laidlaw.[14])

References

  1. 1 2 "California, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGFM-P8RR : Fri Apr 04 01:10:59 UTC 2025), Entry for Robert Dawson Lively and Betty Laidlow Lively, 16 Oct 1940.
  2. 1 2 "THIS EVENING'S WIRELESS". Birmingham Evening Despatch. January 25, 1935. p. 4. Retrieved May 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. I HAVE often heard two called company, but never before Betty Laidlaw and Bob Lively, who take part in tonight's programmes, came into prominence have I heard it described as a team. These two, however, describe themselves as 'a team of writers, composers, and lyricists,' and between them they produce what someone else calls "a dynamical musical act at the piano.' After this we simply must listen when they come on tonight. Betty Laidlaw is one of many classical artists who have turned to the lighter side of entertainment, and she has scored a big success. Bob Lively, on the other hand, started his career as an actor, and has run the whole gamut of stock companies, variety, etc. He was leading man of the Schuberts, and appeared in many other Broadway productions. Later he transferred to Hollywood, and was very successful in films which have been shown in the States but which have not yet come over here.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "ROBERT 0. LIVELY: Scenario Writer, Former Actor, a Signal Corps Consultant". The New York Times. March 9, 1943. p. 23. ProQuest 106444661. Robert D. Lively, actor, scenario writer and a special consultant to the Army Signal Corps Photographic Center, 35-11 Thirty-fifth Avenue, Astoria, Queens, died on Thursday in his apartment in the Hotel Mansfield at the age of 38. Born in Hinton, W. Va., he attended a military school in the South and came to New York as an actor. One of the plays in which he was seen here was "Sunny Days." Later he wrote for the Gaumont-British film concern and for the British Broadcasting Company, then went to Hollywood. [...]
  4. 1 2 "United States, Census, 1910", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPNX-TP8 : Wed Aug 13 17:39:26 UTC 2025), Entry for Wilson W. Lively and Edna M. Lively, 1910.
  5. ↑ "Lad Breaks Arm". The Daily Item. May 29, 1915. p. 1. Retrieved May 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Robert Lively, the young son of Mrs. Etta Lively, 406 Dickinson street, was painfully injured late yesterday afternoon when he fell from the rear of a delivery wagon in Washington street.
  6. 1 2 "United States, Census, 1920", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNKJ-MZD : Sun Jan 19 07:27:14 UTC 2025), Entry for Etta M King and Carl L Lively, 1920.
  7. 1 2 Associated Press (March 23, 1943). "Robert D. Lively Dies; 'Victor Herbert' Author". The Washington Star. p. A-8. Retrieved May 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Robert D. Lively, 37, native of Charleston who was co-author and co-director of the motion picture 'The Great Victor Herbert,' died yesterday in his New York apartment, a sister, Mrs. Ernestine Billings, was informed. Mr. Lively, whose musical career began as a choir boy in a Charleston church, was found dead in his bed. He was serving as a member of the Army's civilian film division. He is survived by his widow, the former Betty Laidlaw, New York composer.
  8. ↑ "THE CHAT'S RADIO PROGRAM: What local broadcasters are doing for the coming week". The Chat. March 27, 1926. p. 6. Retrieved May 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. MONDAY, MARCH 20 2:15 p. m. – Lester Sims and his Circus Orchestra, 2:45 p. m.; Joint recital, Lady Betty Laidlaw and Bob Lively. 3 p. m.
  9. ↑ "Chatter!". Daily Variety. November 20, 1935. p. 2. ProQuest 3309695541. Betty Laidlaw and Bob Lively authored 'Death in the Dressing Room,' being aired by the British Broadcasting Company.
  10. ↑ "CN Signs Laidlaw And Lively for 4 Years". Daily Variety. May 6, 1937. p. 3. ProQuest 3309081748. Betty Laidlaw and Robert Lively have been signed to a four year contract by Grand National. They will turn out four scripts a year and can work for others in between GN assignments.
  11. ↑ Betty Laidlaw Filmography: Writer. American Film Institute. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Throws a Party". Seattle Union Record. March 24, 1928. p. 21. Retrieved May 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Bob Lively of 'Sunny Days' and his wife, Betty Laidlaw, will hold a house party tonight at 423 West 120th st., with many of the stars from the show attending.
  13. ↑ "Royal Gems Nearly Made Them Trouble: Betty Baird and Loper B. Laidlaw". Seattle Union Record. June 2, 1923. p. 14. Retrieved May 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. The 'Kandy Box Revue,' a musical comedy show backed by Loper B. Laidlaw, son of Edward James Laidlaw, multi-millionaire New York banker, went on the rocks in San Francisco while awaiting a booking. Young Laidlaw and his pretty wife, Betty Baird, leading lady of the company, called on a pawnbroker with $50,000 worth of jewels that had been given her by a son of a Turkish sultan. The 'uncle' became suspicious and called the police, but when young Laidlaw was taken into a leading bank and greeted effusively by the president he was discharged with proper apologies..
  14. ↑ "PUNCHED WIFE WHEN SHE LIT LIGHT IN ROOM; This And Other Acts Of Cruelty Win Divorce For Greenwich Woman". The Daily Item. February 2, 1925. p. 1. Retrieved May 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. Mrs. Betty Morse Laidlaw has been granted a divorce from her husband, Loper Baird Laidlaw, of Greenwich, by the Superior Court in Bridgeport. The' decree was granted on the ground of intolerable cruelty. Mrs. Laidlaw is now residing with her parents at- 423 West One Hundred and Twentieth street, New York City. [...] The pretty young plaintiff, dressed in a manner that gave evidence of the wealth of the family, recited a story which dealt mostly with liquor from the time of their marriage, February 22, 1923, to the time of the separation.
  15. 1 2 "Obituaries". Variety. March 10, 1943. p. 5. ProQuest 1285826347. Robert D. Lively, 38, died in a N.Y. hotel March 4. At the time of his death, he was a consultant in the Army Signal Corps photographic center, Astoria, N. Y. Lively's most important contribution to film was his collaboration with Russell Crouse in writing the screen play, 'The Great Victor Herbert.' He had also collaborated with his wife, the former Betty Laidlaw, on a number of film plays, including 'Danger on the Air,' 'East Side Kids,' Yukon Flight,' 'Personal Secretary' and 'Isle of Destiny.' After starting on the legitimate stage in N. Y., Lively gave up his acting career to become a writer. He wrote for Gaumont-British Films and the British Broadcasting Co. before going to Hollywood. Widow, mother and two brothers survive.
  16. 1 2 "Roanoker's Nephew Found Dead in N. Y." The Roanoke World-News. February 2, 1943. p. 10. Retrieved May 16, 2026 – via Newspapers.com. J. D. Lively, of 1012 Rugby Blvd., has received word of the death of his nephew Robert D. Lively, in New York last week. Associated with Paramount Studios in Hollywood, he was co-author and co-director of the motion picture, 'The Great Victor Herbert.' He was a member of the army's Civilian film division, has played opposite Jeanette MacDonald in a Schubert opera and has sung on the radio in London. His wife, the former Miss Betty Laidlaw, is a composer of music. He was found dead in his New York hotel and death was attributed to a heart disease.
  17. ↑ "Laidlaw, Lively Output". The Hollywood Reporter. October 27, 1936. p. 7. ProQuest 3309658826. Betty Laidlaw and Bob Lively have authored two songs for the Buck Jones pic, 'Sandflow.' One tune carries same title as pic, while the other is 'We Are he Rangers.'
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.