Born in Lima, Illinois, Charles Turner Dazey was the son of Illinois General Assembly member Mitchell Dazey. He pursued his education at the state university in Lexington, Kentucky, before graduating from Harvard University in 1881. During his college years, Dazey demonstrated early literary promise, editing The Harvard Advocate, serving as his class poet, and publishing poetry in The Century Magazine. His first theatrical piece, the comedietta Rustication, was produced at the Boston Museum while he was still a sophomore.
Dazey went on to build a prolific career as a playwright, writing works for prominent actors of his era, including Kate Putnam, James O'Neill, and Maggie Mitchell. In 1892, he collaborated with composer Oscar Weil to write the libretto for the operetta War-Time Wedding. His most enduring theatrical triumph came with In Old Kentucky, a play written for producer Jacob Litt. The production achieved massive commercial success, running continuously in America for over twenty-six years.
With the advent of cinema, Dazey transitioned to screenwriting, penning scripts for silent film stars such as Douglas Fairbanks (Manhattan Madness), Mrs. Vernon Castle (The Mysterious Client), and Gloria Swanson (Shifting Sands). Outside of his writing, Dazey was a member of New York's Lambs Club and married actress Lucy Harding. He also donated the land for the town of Dazey, North Dakota, which was named in his honor. He died in Quincy, Illinois, in 1938 at the age of 82.