The character of Sheridan Whiteside in The Man Who Came to Dinner was based on the famed writer/critic/radio personality Alexander Woollcott.

The Man Who Came to Dinner was originally a play written by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The original Broadway production opened October 16, 1939 and starred Monty Woolley as Sheridan Whiteside. It ran for 739 performances and Monty Woolley went on to reprise his role in the film version.

There was a Broadway revival of the play The Man Who Came to Dinner in 1980. It starred Ellis Rabb as Whiteside. It ran for 85 performances.

A second Broadway revival was mounted in 2000 with Nathan Lane in the role of Sheridan Whiteside. It also starred Jean Smart as the saucy actress Lorraine. The production was broadcast by PBS on October 7, 2000, three days after the New York production closed, and was released on DVD.

In 1949, The Man Who Came to Dinner was produced for CBS Radio for The Hotpoint Holiday Hour. The production starred Charles Boyer, Jack Benny, Gene Kelly, Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Rosalind Russell.

The play and subsequent film served as the basis for the 1967 musical Sherry!, with a book and lyrics by James Lipton (of Inside the Actors Studio fame) and music by Laurence Rosenthal. It ran for 72 performances.

A Hallmark Hall of Fame production was broadcast by NBC on November 29, 1972. It starred Orson Welles as Sheridan Whiteside, Lee Remick as Maggie, Joan Collins as Lorraine and Marty Feldman as Banjo.

Clifton Webb and Lucille Ball starred in a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast of the play on March 27, 1950.

by Andrea Passafiume