formulation of the Over There Theatre League during World War I to entertain American forces overseas and organizing and directing a stock acting company under the auspices of the League which toured bases in France. He subsequently aided in the founding of the Dramatists' Guild of the Authors' League of America and joined with fellow playwrights to form a producing organization called the Dramatists' Theatre, Inc. In the 1920s he was lured to Hollywood as a screenwriter for Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Norma Shearer, for whom he also served as a voice coach. Even though he was Canadian-born and -educated, his plays were based on themes and characters wholly indigenous to the United States. He was keenly observant of issues and trends between 1905 and 1929. Interested in the continued movement toward urbanization, he often contrasted small-town and city life and satirized concurrent social climbing. Reflecting the fomentation in the area of women's rights, he wrote several plays dealing with this issue. Forbes married Ada Eugenie Fischer (1876–1938) on September 21, 1901. They had a son, Anthony Henry Forbes (1910–1999). Forbes worked with theatrical producer Henry B. Harris and occasionally travelled to Europe with him on business. On July 3, 1908, Forbes, Harris and their wives, Ada and Irene, arrived in New York on the ocean liner, the RMS Baltic, after one such trip. Forbes died while in Germany in 1938. Playwright/screenwriter The Chorus Lady (play) Savoy Theatre (1906) starring Rose Stahl; screenwriter for film of the same name in 1915 The Traveling Salesman (1908) (play) The Show Shop (1914) (play) Hudson Theatre, starring Douglas Fairbanks The Commuters (1915) (play) The Traveling Salesman (1916) (film) The Famous Mrs. Fair (1919) (play) Henry Miller Theatre, starring Henry Miller (adapted to film of the same name in 1923) The Traveling Salesman (1921 film) starring Roscoe Arbuckle Their Own Desire (1929 film) (dialogue adaptation), starring Norma Shearer (best actress nomination) and Robert Montgomery Inspiration (1931) (adaptation) (uncredited) starring Greta Garbo and Robert Montgomery Bachelor's Affairs (1932) (play Precious) starring Adolphe Menjou Filmography Their Own Desire (1929) (stage director) References External links The Show Shop on Great War Theatre 1871 births 1938 deaths American male screenwriters American male stage actors 19th-century American male actors American male short story writers American theater critics New York World Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian emigrants to the United States People from Centre Wellington Writers from Ontario American