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David Belasco (July 25, 1853 - May 14, 1931) was an American playwright, director and theatrical producer. Born in San Francisco, California, to which his Sephardic Jewish parents had moved from London, England during the Gold Rush, he began working in a San Francisco theatre doing a variety of routine jobs such as call boy and script copier. He eventually was given the opportunity to act and serve as a stage manager, learning the business inside out. A gifted playwright, Belasco went to New York City in 1882 where he worked as stage manager for the Madison Square Theater while writing plays. By 1895, he was so successful that he set himself up as an independent producer. During his long career between 1884 and 1930, Belasco either wrote, directed, or produced more than 100 Broadway plays including Hearts of Oak , The Heart of Maryland , and Du Barry, making him the most powerful personality on the New York city theater scene. Although he is perhaps most famous for having penned Madame Butterfly and The Girl of the Golden West for the stage, both of which were adapted as operas by Giacomo Puccini, more than forty motion pictures have been made from the many plays he authored, including Buster Keaton's Seven Chances .
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