How did Judy Holliday get the leading role of Billie Dawn in the Broadway play Born Yesterday?

Judy Holliday was cast as a last-minute replacement for Jean Arthur in Garson Kanin's Broadway play Born Yesterday. Holliday memorized the difficult role of Billie Dawn in just three days, and the play was a significant success, running from February 1946 to December 1949.1

Despite Holliday's triumph on stage, Hollywood studios were initially hesitant to cast her in the film adaptation. Columbia Pictures, headed by Harry Cohn, was reluctant to give the role to Holliday. However, after other actresses, including Rita Hayworth, were not signed for the part, studio officials eventually agreed to cast Holliday. Her performance in Adam's Rib (1949), where she played a comedic supporting role, helped convince Cohn to give her the part in the film version of Born Yesterday.21