George Bernard Shaw
Pygmalion, Nobel Prize & Oscar Winner, Socialist Playwright
The Sharpest Leo Tongue
George Bernard Shaw is the only person in history to win both a Nobel Prize in Literature and an Academy Award — and had the Leo wit to initially try to refuse both. His plays are argument made theatrical — every scene is a collision of ideas presented as entertainment. He lived to 94 on vegetables, cycling, and the pleasure of being right.
Leo Legacy
- Pygmalion: 1913 — adapted as My Fair Lady, one of musical theatre’s greatest
- Nobel Prize: Literature 1925 — tried to refuse; his wife made him accept
- Oscar: 1938 — for Pygmalion screenplay adaptation
- Socialist advocacy: Founding member of the Fabian Society — used fame to advance political ideas
Shaw’s Leo intelligence was so fast that his patience with ordinary thinking lasted about 30 seconds.
“Life is not meant to be easy, my child; but take courage — it can be delightful.”