William Hurlbut

William James Hurlbut (1878 or July 13, 1883 – May 4, 1957) was a playwright, screenwriter, and artist.

He was the grandson of Stephen Augustus Hurlbut. His father served as mayor of Belvidere, Illinois and invented an "instantaneous camera".[citation needed ] William Hurlbut was involved in local theater productions and graduated from Belvidere High School. He traveled with his family to New York with a stop in Peru while the Panama Canal was being constructed. In 1896 he was listed as a student at Washington University's School of Fine Arts.

His plays had female leads. One of his plays was about tenement life. Another was about a girlfriend from Europe coming to a town in America.

He was sued for making alterations and subletting a New York City apartment. He never married and had no children.