In writing their play, Kaufman and Hart hilariously work in many of their contemporaries- and acquaintances- mostly by shameless name dropping on the telephone, or in telegrams. During his extended convalescence, Whiteside exchanges telephone calls and cables with many famous persons of the day... he begins a telegram to Mahatma Gandhi "Dear Pooh-Pooh". As well, several characters in the play- and movie- are thinly disguised copies of actual people: Beverley Carlton is very obviously Noel Coward, Banjo is Harpo Marx... and then of course, there's Sheridan Whiteside himself.
F.Y.I.
* Alexander Woollcott loved the play and eventually performed in the role of Whiteside- essentially playing himself.
* One of the main characters in my favourite film noir, 'Laura', was also modeled on Woollcott: Waldo Lydecker, played by Clifton Webb.
* The 2000 revival of 'The Man Who Came To Dinner' can be found in its entirety on You Tube- definitely worth watching.