American novelist Eric Stow Hatch was born in New York City in 1901. His father was an investment banker on Wall Street, and at age 17 Hatch dropped out of school and went to work for his father's firm, staying for ten years. His career was interrupted by World War I, during which he served two years with the New York National Guard. At war's end he returned to Wall Street, but even during that time he was writing stories and getting them published. By 1928 he was successful enough that he left Wall Street to devote full time to writing. It wasn't long before Hollywood came calling. He is probably best known for his story "My Man Godfrey", which was made into the now-classic My Man Godfrey (1936).Eric Hatch died on July 4, 1973, in Torrington, CT.