Lynn Fontanne 12/06/1887 - Jul 30, 1983 Producer, Director, Designer, Performer; wife of Alfred Lunt - Laurette Taylor in Scenes from Shakespeare; The Guardsman; Arms & The Man; The Brothers Karamazov (Edward G. Robinson, Morris Carnovsky); Strange Interlude; Elizabeth the Queen (Alfred Lunt);Design For Living (Noel Coward); The Pirate (Juanita Hall, Estelle Winwood, Eloise Uggams [Leslie's aunt]); The Great Sebastians (Anne Francine); The Visit (Vincent Gardinia); film's The Guardsman
Ira Gershwin 12/06/1896 - Aug 17, 1983; godfather of Liza Minelli; husband of Lenore Gershwin; one of Broadway's most sterling lyricists, mainly in collaboration with his brother George. Ira's musicals will include Porgy and Bess; Of Thee I Sing; Lady, Be Good; Funny Face; Oh, Kay!, Girl Crazy, Strike Up the Band, Lady in the Dark and in adaptations after his death, My One and Only, Crazy for You and Never Gonna Dance.
Agnes Moorehead 12/06/1900 - Apr 30, 1974 performer; wife of Robert Gist (1953 - 195 divorced - Don Juan in Hell (Charles Boyer, Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke); Lord Pengo (Charles Boyer, Brian Bedford); Gigi (Alfred Drake, Maria Karnilova, Daniel Massey, Karin Wolfe); tv's & film's Bewitched; Citizen Kane; Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte; Pollyanna; 1951 Show Boat; The Magnificent Ambersons; 1944 Jane Eyre
Joyce Mathews 12/06/1919 - Jan 17, 1999 performer; wife of Billy Rose (1956 - ?) divorced; and (1965 - 1966) his death, Milton Berle (1941 - 1947) divorced; and (1949 - 1950) divorced, Don Beddoe (1974 - ?) - High Kickers (George Jessel); Along 5th Ave. (Nancy Walker, Carol Bruce, Jackie Gleason)
Wally Cox 12/06/1924 - Feb 15, 1973 writer, performer - Dance Me A Song (Bob Fosse, Jimmy Kirkwood, Joan McCracken, Biff McGuire, Erik Rhodes, Donald Saddler; Moonbirds (Phyllis Newman, William Hickey); tv's Mr. Peabody; Spencer's Mountain; The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Ban; provided the voice of “Underdog” for the cartoon show of the same name; Cox’s memorable performances included playing computer operator “James Elwood” in The Twilight Zone episode: “From Agnes - with Love.”
Bobby Van 12/06/1928 - Jul 31, 1980 performer; husband of Elaine Joyce (1968 - 1980) his death - Alive and Kicking (Jack Cassidy, Mickey Deems, Carl Reiner, Gwen Verdon); 1954 On Your Toes; 1971 No, No, Nanette; Doctor Jazz (Lola Falana); tv's & film's - Van will always be remembered as the ecstatic young fellow who made like a human pogo stick during an expansive production number in Small Town Girl (1953); host of Make Me Laugh
James Naughton 12/06/1945 performer, director; brother of David Naughton
father of Keira & David Naughton - I Love My Wife; City of Angels; Four Baboons Adoring the Sun; Our Town; Prymate; Democracy; tv's & film's The First Wives Club; The Cosby Mysteries; The Paper Chase
Thomas Hulce 12/06/1953 performer, producer - Equus; 1976 A Memory of Two Mondays / 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (John Lithgow, Meryl Streep, Alice Drummond, Pierre Epstein); A Few Good Men; tv's, video's & film's Hunchback of Notre Dame Parts 1 & 2; Amadeus; Dominick and Eugene; Animal House; A Home at the End of the World; The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket
SHOWS THAT OPENED ON THIS DATE:
1939 Du Barry Was a Lady - Bert Lahr, Ethel Merman, Betty Grable, Russell Georgiev, Adele Jergens. What dreams does a nightclub men's room attendant dream? If that attendant is Bert Lahr, he's dreaming he's Louis XIV and this must be DuBarry Was a Lady. Ethel Merman co-stars. Cole Porter supplies the music and lyrics to this book written by B.G. De Sylva and Herbert Fields.
1944 A Bell for Adano - Frederic March, Rex King, Everett Sloane. The timely A Bell for Adano rings in at the Cort Theatre. Frederic March stars as an American officer trying to help the defeated Italians rebuild their lives. Paul Osborn adapted John Hershey's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
1949 Metropole with Arlene Francis, Lee Tracy
1956 Happy Hunting with Fernando Lamas, Ethel Merman, Estelle Parsons
1972 Jennie Linden is My Fat Friend, at London's Globe Theatre. This Charles Laurence play will continue right through to the following season.
1978 The Kingfisher with Claudette Colbert, Rex Harrison, George Rose
ON THIS DAY IN:
1991 It is announced today that the Nederlanders have decided to sell the gorgeous Mark Hellinger Theatre to the Times Square Church, as it remains to this day. The Hellinger was the theatre where Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison starred in the original Broadway production of My Fair Lady in 1956.
2001 Also today, a little-heralded in-development new musical called Hairspray begins open casting calls in -- where else? -- Baltimore. It will go on to win the 2003 Tony Award as Best Musical.
(sources: IBDB, IMDB, NYT's ON THIS DAY, 440.com’s Those Were The Days, Playbill.com, yahoo.movies.com; what-a-character.com)
Milla
Chorus Member Joined: 10/21/03
It's also my birthday! Thanks for all the great info do_re_milla, great to share the day with all these folks.
It's my birthday, too!
The big 1-8!
Yay for St. Nick's Day babies!
Happy Birthday to you both. You share a day with some very talented people & some interesting opening nights. Make it a magical day!
Milla
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