Maurine Dallas Watkins (July 27, 1896 – August 10, 1969) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Early in her career, she briefly worked as a journalist covering the courthouse beat for the Chicago Tribune. This experience gave her the material for her most famous piece of work, the stage play Chicago (1926), which was eventually adapted into the 1975 Broadway musical of the same name, which was then made into a film in 2002 that won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Watkins was born in Kentucky and grew up in Indiana. She graduated with honors from Butler University and headed to Radcliffe, where she received training as a dramatist. She left Radcliffe and was in advertising in Chicago in the early 1920s. She then landed a job as a reporter before returning to university at what became Yale Drama School and play-writing success. Watkins went on to write screenplays in Hollywood, eventually retiring to Florida.
Early life and career
Watkins was born in Louisville, Kentucky, or possibly Lexington, Kentucky. She was born on July 27, however, her birth certificate does not exist in Kentucky state records and several different years have been suggested. Watkins' father was a minister and she an only child. Her family moved to Crawfordsville, Indiana and at age 11 she received local notice for putting on a play she wrote, "Hearts of Gold", which made $45 for charity (about $1600 in 2025 dollars). At Crawfordsville High School she started a newspaper and was active in clubs. She attended a total of five colleges (including Hamilton College (Kentucky), Transylvania University, Butler College (Indianapolis), and Radcliffe College). While at Butler, Watkins joined the Gamma chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta Women's Fraternity and was initiated in 1919.
That year, she graduated first in her class from Butler, and then moved on to Radcliffe, Massachusetts to pursue graduate studies in Greek. Baker encouraged writing students to seek experience in the larger world and may have recommended newspaper reporting. Watkins left Radcliffe before completing a degree, moved to Chicago and first worked in advertising for Standard Oil. While working in advertising, she entertained ideas of working as a playwright. In early 1924, she instead landed a job as a reporter with the Chicago Tribune. Gartner and Annan, after months of press coverage in Chicago's seven daily papers, were found not guilty in separate trials; Watkins believed they were guilty.
Watkins published about 50 stories during her time at the paper, in addition to crime and courts, she was sent to cover funerals, wrote on women's style, and she profiled leaders of the women's pacifist movement.
After the much delayed sale of these rights, Fosse was able to move ahead with development of Chicago: A Musical Vaudeville with a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb. It was first produced in 1975, revived in 1997, and filmed in 2002. By the time of the 50th anniversary of Watkins death, Chicago had become a $2 billion franchise.