High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Basil Willett Charles Hood (5 April 1864 – 7 August 1917) was a British librettist and lyricist, perhaps best known for writing the libretti of half a dozen Savoy Operas and for his English adaptations of operettas, including The Merry Widow. He embarked on a career in the British army, writing theatrical pieces in his spare time. After some modest successes, Hood and his collaborator, the composer Walter Slaughter, had a major hit with their long-running show, Gentleman Joe. Hood then resigned from the army to pursue his career as a librettist full-time, later working with such composers as Arthur Sullivan and Edward German.