Former Chicago journalist who teamed up with Ben Hecht to write several Broadway hits, including "The Front Page" (1928) and "Twentieth Century" (1932), before turning his attentions to Hollywood. MacArthur's best work as both writer ("Barbary Coast" 1935, "Wuthering Heights" 1939) and director ("Crime Without a Passion" 1934, "The Scoundrel" 1935) was done in collaboration with Hecht. MacArthur married actress Helen Hayes in 1928, and their adopted son is actor James MacArthur.