The plot first took form in Charles Bruce Millholland's play Napoleon of Broadway, based on his experiences working for the theater producer David Belasco. This was adapted by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur as the play Twentieth Century, which was produced and directed on Broadway in 1932 by George Abbott. (It was revived in 1950).
The play was adapted by Hecht and MacArthur (credited) and by Gene Fowler and Preston Sturges (uncredited) for Howard Hawks's 1934 film, Twentieth Century, which starred John Barrymore and Carole Lombard.
The movie was adapted for a musical, On the Twentieth Century, with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman, and directed by Hal Prince. It opened in 1978 and starred Imogene Coca, John Cullum, Madeline Kahn, and Kevin Kline.