Robert Ardrey (b. October 16, 1908 in Chicago, Illinois; d. January 14, 1980 in South Africa) was an anthropologist, playwright and screenwriter.

Personal

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Ardrey attended the University of Chicago and was married to Helene Johnson from 1938 until they divorced in 1960. He married his second wife Berdine Grunewald in the same year.

Anthropology

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Ardrey was among the most vocal proponents of the hunting hypothesis and the killer ape theory. Ardrey identifies himself especially with the South African writer and scientist, Eugene Marais.

According to the hunting hypothesis, hunting activity and the eating of meat had strong effects on human evolution. Ardrey believed that early African humans survived long dry periods through heavy hunting activity which distinguished them from other primates.

The killer ape theory posits that aggression was the primary characteristic that distinguished human ancestors from other primates and that the urge to do violence is retained in modern humans.

In the academic setting, this theory of aggression was proposed by Washburn and Lancaster. Ardrey's African Genesis (1961), along with another book, On Aggression by ethologist Konrad Lorenz, were popularizations of the ideas put forth by Washburn and Lancaster.

Bibliography

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• A Personal Investigation into the Animal Origins and Nature of Man (1961)
• A Personal Inquiry into the Animal Origins of Property and Nations (1966)
• A Personal Inquiry into the Evolutionary Sources of Order and Disorder (1970)
• A Personal Conclusion Concerning the Evolutionary Nature of Man (1976)

Plays and screenplays

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Ardrey was also a successful playwright and screenwriter, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Khartoum in 1966.

Plays

• Star Spangled (1936)
• Casey Jones (1938)
• God and Texas (1938)
• How To Get Tough About It (1938)
• Thunder Rock (1939) (filmed in 1943)
• Jeb (1946)
• Sing Me No Lullaby (1954)
• Shadow Of Heroes (1958) (also known as Stone and Star)

Screenplays

• They Knew What They Wanted (1940)
• A Lady Takes a Chance (1943)
• The Green Years (1946)
• Song of Love (1947)
• The Three Musketeers (1948)
• Madame Bovary (1949)
• The Secret Garden (1949)
• The Schumann Story (1950)
• Quentin Durward (1955)
• The Power and the Prize (1956)
• The Wonderful Country (1959)
• Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962)
• Khartoum (1966)

Prizes and awards

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• Sergel Drama prize, 1935
• Guggenheim fellowship, 1937
• Sidney Howard Memorial prize, 1940
• Theresa Helburn memorial award, 1961
• Willkie Brothers grant, for anthropology, 1963
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature

External links

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• Biography from the All Movie Guide on The New York Times
• Biography on the Minnesota State University EMuseum website
• Excerpts from Ardrey's book African Genesis
• Review of 1942 British film made from Ardrey's play "Thunder Rock"

1908 births | 1980 deaths | American anthropologists | American dramatists and playwrights | American screenwriters | Chicagoans