Benjamin Kaye

Benjamin Kaye
Born
Benjamin Mark Kaye

1884 (1884)
New York City, United States
DiedMarch 24, 1970(1970-03-24) (aged 85–86)
New York City, United States
NationalityAmerican
Other namesBenjamin M. Kaye
Alma materColumbia University (BA, LLB)
Occupation(s)lawyer, playwright
EmployerKaye Scholer
Known forco-founding Kaye Scholer

Benjamin Mark Kaye[1] (1884 – March 25, 1970) was an American lawyer known for co-founding the international law firm Kaye Scholer.[2] He was also a playwright who wrote and translated several Broadway plays.[3]

Biography

Kaye was born in 1884 in New York City. He graduated from Columbia College in 1904 and Columbia Law School in 1907.[4][5] After being admitted to the bar in 1907, Kaye received legal training at the office of the noted trial lawyer Max Steuer.[2]

Kaye was trained a specialist in federal income taxation and became one of the first lawyers to try a federal income tax case under the Revenue Act of 1913.[2]

In 1917, Kaye founded the law firm Kaye Scholer with Jacob Scholer.[6] The law firm merged with Arnold & Porter in 2016.[7]

Interested in theater since his youth, Kaye was also a prolific playwright who helped organize the Theatre Guild and served as the general counsel of the American National Theater and Academy. His writing credits included She Didn't Say No! (1926), starring Florence Moore and was adapted into the 1941 film She Couldn't Say No, The Curtain Rises (1933), starring Jean Arthur, and On Stage (1935), starring Osgood Perkins.[2]

He also contributed to The Garrick Gaieties by Rodgers and Hart,[8] and was credited by The New York Times for bringing the duo together.[2]

In 1960, he received the Kelcey Allen Award for his contribution to American theater. He died on March 25, 1970, at his home in the Rockefeller Apartments.[2]

References

  1. ^ University, Columbia (1916). Officers and Graduates of Columbia University, Originally the College of the Province of New York Known as King's College: General Catalogue ...
  2. ^ a b c d e f "BENJAMIN M. KAYE, LAWYER 63 YEARS". The New York Times. 1970-03-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  3. ^ "Benjamin M. Kaye". Playbill. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  4. ^ Columbia College (Columbia University). Office of Alumni Affairs and Development; Columbia College (Columbia University) (1958). Columbia College today. Columbia University Libraries. New York, N.Y. : Columbia College, Office of Alumni Affairs and Development.
  5. ^ University, Columbia (1916). Officers and Graduates of Columbia University, Originally the College of the Province of New York Known as King's College: General Catalogue ...
  6. ^ "Jacob Scholer Is Dead at 96; Helped to Found a Law Firm". The New York Times. 1983-10-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  7. ^ Olson, Elizabeth (2016-11-10). "Law Firm Arnold & Porter to Merge With Rival Kaye Scholer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  8. ^ Block, Geoffrey (2008-10-01). Richard Rodgers. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12754-6.