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Boy Meets Girl (play)
''Boy Meets Girl'' is a three-act, seven-scene play, written by Bella and Samuel Spewack, staged and produced by George Abbott. It is a farce with a large cast, fast pacing, two settings and a film sequence. The action centers around two scenarists at the Royal Studios in Hollywood, their volatile producer, the fading western actor they write for, and a pregnant single waitress whose baby they turn into a film star. The play's title comes from a trope common to early film plots: Boy Meets Girl, Boy Loses Girl, Boy Gets Girl. Though not original to the play, the phrase received a boost in popular usage as a result. The set designs were by Arne Lundborg. The show was a critical and popular success, winning the Dramatists Guild award for Best Comedy of the Season. It ran for twenty months on Broadway, closing after 669 performances. It was adapted for film in 1938, but had only two minor revivals on Broadway in later decades. Characters Characters are listed in order of appearan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bella And Samuel Spewack
Bella (25 March 1899 – 27 April 1990) and Samuel Spewack (16 September 1899 – 14 October 1971) were a husband-and-wife writing team. Samuel, who also directed many of their plays, was born in Ukraine. He attended Stuyvesant High School in New York City and then received his degree from Columbia College. Lives and careers The oldest of three children of a single mother, Bella Cohen was born in Bucharest, Romania and with her family emigrated to the Lower East Side of Manhattan when she was a child. After graduation from Washington Irving High School, she worked as a journalist for socialist and pacifist newspapers such as the ''New York Call''. Her work drew attention from Samuel, working as a reporter for ''The World'', and the couple married in 1922. Shortly afterwards, they departed for Moscow, where they worked as news correspondents for the next four years. After returning to the United States, they settled in New Hope, Pennsylvania. In the latter part of the decade, Sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allyn Joslyn
Allyn Joslyn (July 21, 1901 – January 21, 1981) was an American stage, radio, television and film actor, known for his roles playing aristocratic wealthy snobs. Biography Allyn Joslyn was born in Milford, Pennsylvania, the son of a mining engineer. On stage from age 17, Joslyn scored as a leading man in such Broadway productions as '' Boy Meets Girl'' (1936) and '' Arsenic and Old Lace'' (1941), appearing in the latter as beleaguered theatrical critic Mortimer Brewster. Apart from a single appearance in a 1930 Vitaphone movie short, Joslyn confined his work to the stage until moving to Hollywood in 1937. Hollywood didn't see Joslyn as a leading-man type. Thus, he spent most of his film career playing comic character roles: obnoxious reporters, weaklings, and formless "other men" who never got the girl, while stars such as James Cagney and Cary Grant took the roles he originated on Broadway. Among his more notable film appearances were as the tough pilot in ''Only Angels Have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", " Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", and " My Funny Valentine". Life and career Hart was born in Harlem, New York City, the elder of two sons, to Jewish immigrant parents, Max M. and Frieda (Isenberg) Hart, of German background. Through his mother, he was a great-grandnephew of the German poet Heinrich Heine. His father, a business promoter, sent Hart and his brother to private schools. (His brother, Teddy Hart, also went into theatre and became a musical comedy star. Teddy Hart's wife, Dorothy Hart, wrote a biography of Lorenz Hart.) Hart received his early education from Columbia Grammar School and entered Columbia College in 1913, before switching to Columbia University School of Journalism, where he attended for two years.< ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence on popular music. Rodgers is known for his songwriting partnerships, first with lyricist Lorenz Hart and then with Oscar Hammerstein II. With Hart he wrote musicals throughout the 1920s and 1930s, including '' Pal Joey'', '' A Connecticut Yankee'', '' On Your Toes'' and '' Babes in Arms.'' With Hammerstein he wrote musicals through the 1940s and 1950s, such as ''Oklahoma!'', '' Flower Drum Song'', '' Carousel'', ''South Pacific'', ''The King and I'', and ''The Sound of Music''. His collaborations with Hammerstein, in particular, are celebrated for bringing the Broadway musical to a new maturity by telling stories that were focused on characters and drama rathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George M
''George M!'' is a Broadway musical based on the life of George M. Cohan, the biggest Broadway star of his day who was known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway." The book for the musical was written by Michael Stewart, John Pascal, and Francine Pascal. Music and lyrics were by George M. Cohan himself, with revisions for the musical by Cohan's daughter, Mary Cohan. The story covers the period from the late 1880s until 1937 and focuses on Cohan's life and show business career from his early days in vaudeville with his parents and sister to his later success as a Broadway singer, dancer, composer, lyricist, theatre director and producer. The show includes such Cohan hit songs as " Give My Regards To Broadway", " You're a Grand Old Flag", and " Yankee Doodle Dandy." Productions The musical opened on Broadway at the Palace Theatre on April 10, 1968 and closed on April 26, 1969 after 433 performances and 8 previews. The show was produced by David Black and directed and choreograp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Clarke (actor)
John Clarke (April 14, 1931 – October 16, 2019) was an American actor. Clarke is recognized for originating and portraying Mickey Horton on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' for List of longest-serving soap opera actors, 39 years, beginning with the debut of the program in 1965, until his retirement in 2004. In 1959, Clarke acted with Ida Lupino in an episode of CBS's ''The Twilight Zone'' titled ''The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine''. In the 1961-1962 television season, he was cast in 27 episodes as Patrolman Joe Huddleston in Leslie Nielsen's American Broadcasting Company, ABC crime drama series, ''The New Breed (TV series), The New Breed''. His daughter is actress Melinda Clarke, who started out on ''Days of our Lives'' and later played Julie Cooper on the television series, ''The O.C.'' Clarke died on October 16, 2019, from complications of pneumonia at the age of 88. Awards He was nominated for the 1979 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Foulk
Robert C. Foulk (May 5, 1908 – February 25, 1989) was an American television and film character actor who portrayed Sheriff H. Miller in the CBS series ''Lassie'' from 1958 to 1962. Early years Foulk attended the University of Pennsylvania, studying to be an architectural draftsman. Stage Acting Foulk's Broadway credits include '' What a Life'', ''Brother Rat'' (1936), ''Boy Meets Girl'' (1935), and two productions of ''As Husbands Go'' in 1930 and in 1932. Directing Foulk was an aide to producer-director George Abbott, and he went on to direct productions in places such as Palos Verdes. Television Between 1953 and 1959, Foulk was in thirteen episodes of the NBC anthology series, ''The Loretta Young Show''. From 1954 to 1957, he was in five episodes as Ed Davis in the sitcom ''Father Knows Best'' with Robert Young, when the series aired on NBC. In 1956, he played Jackley in the Walt Disney ''Mickey Mouse Club'' serial "The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure". In 1957 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Julie Opp
Julie Opp (January 28, 1871 – April 9, 1921) was an American stage actress who was for a number of years popular on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. She was the wife of the Anglo-American actor William Faversham, whom she married shortly after the two co-starred in the 1902 Broadway production, ''The Royal Rival''. Biography Julie (sometimes spelled Julia) Opp was born in New York City on January 28, 1871, the daughter of John "Johnny" and Mary Opp. Johnny Opp, the son of Bavarian immigrants, ran a saloon on Lower Manhattan's Bowery and was also active in local neighborhood politics. Mary Dwyer, a first generation Irish-American, was some thirteen years her husband's junior and in her late teens when Julie was born. As a child Opp attended public school for a time before her mother decided it best she was educated at a local convent. There she astounded the sisters and amused a bishop by declaring her ambition to become a ballet dancer when he asked what she wanted to be when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Faversham
William FavershamBlum, Daniel (c. 1954). ''Great Stars of the American Stage''. "Profile No. 46". 2nd ed. (12 February 1868 – 7 April 1940) was an English stage and film actor, manager, and producer. Biography He was born in London. As a teen in the mid 1880s he saw actor Maurice Barrymore on tour and followed the actor through the streets of London during the Barrymore family's stay there from 1884-86.Great Times, Good Times: The Odyssey of Maurice Barrymore, by James Kotsilibas Davies c.1977 Young Faversham was so impressed by Barrymore and other actors he sought to become one himself. One of the highest paid actors at the turn of the century earning upward of $5,000,000 annually he became one of the last of the legendary actor-managers, William Faversham became a major name on Broadway in the original production of ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' in 1895. Faversham was much admired in such potboilers as ''Brother Officers'' (1900), which he revived twice that same yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helen Gardner (actress)
Helen Louise Gardner (September 2, 1884 – November 20, 1968) was an American stage and film actress, screenwriter, film producer and costume designer. Career Gardner was born in Binghamton, New York. An alumna of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Gardner began her acting career as a stage actress. She became a Vitagraph Studios player in 1910 and earned critical acclaim for portraying Becky Sharp in the film version of the novel '' Vanity Fair''. In 1912, she became the first film actor, male or female, to form her own production company, The Helen Gardner Picture Players. The company was established in Tappan, New York with capital provided by Gardner’s mother. Gardner hired her lover Charles L. Gaskill as a director and scenarist. Known for her portrayal of strong female characters, Gardner’s first production was ''Cleopatra'' (1912), one of the first American full-length films. The film was re-edited and re-released after Fox released the 1917 adaptation starring ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three Men On A Horse
''Three Men on a Horse'' is a three-act farce co-authored by John Cecil Holm and George Abbott. The comedy focuses on a man who discovers he has a talent for choosing the winning horse in a race as long as he never places a bet himself. Originally titled ''Hobby Horse'' by John Cecil Holm, ''Three Men On A Horse'' was a property controlled and produced by Alex Yokel, who reached out to Warner Bros. for financial assistance; Warners agreed to provide financing on the condition Yokel find someone to doctor the script and direct the Broadway production. George Abbott, the director, who had since 1932 directed and produced each of his Broadway productions, immediately saw the potential and rewrote the script and agreed to direct if he received co-author credit and split the author's royalties with Holm. Abbott wrote a third act, resulting in a new three-act play titled ''Three Men on a Horse''. Plot Mild-mannered Erwin Trowbridge, bored with his suburban New Jersey life with his wife ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Star Spangled
''Star Spangled'' is a 1936 comedic play by Robert Ardrey. It was his first play produced on Broadway and resulted in Ardrey being awarded a Guggenheim fellowship. Story Brooks Atkinson, writing for The New York Times, gave this description of the play: Somewhere in the northwest side of Chicago in the Polish district live the Dzieszienewskis, the mother being an immigrant, the children being assimilated Americans and ambitious. She is an unprincipled strumpet whose blood boils in the Spring. Taking America as they have learned it from notorious Americans, her children are versatile nincompoops. One son is a melancholy baseball player in the Texas League, another is studying to be a cheap politician, a third is president of the Killers Club in the State penitentiary, and the daughter is a chorus girl who dreams of Hollywood.Atkinson, Brooks. "'Star Spangled,' a Comedy of Polish-Americans Who Have Not Grasped the Spirit of Our Land." ''The New York Times,'' 11 March 1936. Print. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
