One of the most prolific writers for the American stage, Owen Davis made his early reputation by cranking out dozens of sensational melodramas. When the popularity of the formula melodramas began to decline, Davis made a serious effort to write for the legitimate Broadway theater. He demonstrated his success in this area when his realistic character study Icebound (1923) won the Pulitzer Prize in drama. During his long career, Davis was also known for leadership roles in such organizations as the Dramatists Guild and his work for fair treatment of playwrights by theater managers and producers.

One of eight children of Owen Warren Davis, an iron manufacturer, and Abigail Augusta Gould Davis, Owen Gould Davis was born 29 January 1874 in Portland, Maine. Davis claimed that in his first play, "Diamond Cut Diamond or the Rival Detectives," written at age nine, he managed to kill off nine of the eleven characters...