Jerome Kilty
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Jerome Timothy Kilty (June 24, 1922 in
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
– September 6, 2012) was an American actor and playwright. He wrote ''Dear Liar: A Comedy of Letters.'' He worked extensively on the stage, both in the United States and abroad.


Career

Kilty has written a number of notable plays including:


''Dear Liar''

''Dear Liar'', full title ''Dear Liar: A Comedy of Letters'' is a play by Kilty that had a successful run in New York, which was based on the correspondence of famed playwright
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
and actress
Mrs. Patrick Campbell Beatrice Rose Stella Tanner (9 February 1865 – 9 April 1940), better known by her stage name Mrs Patrick Campbell or Mrs Pat, was an English stage actress, best known for appearing in plays by Shakespeare, Shaw and Barrie. She also toured th ...
. In the play, two actors duel with each other as they act on the letters exchanged between Shaw and Mrs. Campbell. It was staged in Chicago in 1957. The New York shows launched on March 17, 1960 with Katherine Cornell and Brian Aherne. It was staged in London for the first time in 1963. After London showings, in 1964 Kilty and his wife, actress Cavada Humphrey made a world tour. The play was brought to the screen in 1981 by the director
Gordon Rigsby Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...
with the lead roles by
Jane Alexander Jane Alexander (née Quigley; born October 28, 1939) is an American-Canadian actress and author. She is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and nominations for four Academy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. From 1993 ...
as Mrs. Patrick Campbell and
Edward Herrmann Edward Kirk Herrmann (July 21, 1943 – December 31, 2014) was an American actor, director, and writer. He was known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt in both the miniseries '' Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976) and 1982 film musical '' An ...
as George Bernard Shaw. An adaptation in French was written by
Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...
under the title '' Cher menteur'' (Dear Liar). The film directed by Alexandre Tarta had in lead roles
Edwige Feuillère Edwige Feuillère (born Edwige Louise Caroline Cunatti; 29 October 1907 – 13 November 1998) was a French stage and film actress. Biography She was born Edwige Louise Caroline Cunatti to an Italian architect father and an Alsace-born moth ...
as Mrs. Patrick Campbell and
Jean Marais Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais (), was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 f ...
as George Bernard Shaw.


Other plays

His other notable plays include: *''Dear Love'', a love story based on the poems and letters of
Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...
and
Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime and frequently anthologised after her death. Her work receiv ...
; *''The Ides of March'', dealing with the actions and events surrounding the end of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
; *''The Little Black Book'', wherein a lawyer falls in love with girl number 134 from his little black book. *''
Look Away "Look Away" is a song by American rock band Chicago. Written by Diane Warren and produced by Ron Nevison, the Sentimental ballad, ballad is the second single from the band's 1988 album ''Chicago 19''. "Look Away" topped the US Billboard Hot 100 ...
'', is a play based on the book, ''Mary Todd Lincoln'', by Justin and Linda Levitt, set in an insane asylum exploring the title character's life. Starring
Geraldine Page Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Geraldine Page, numer ...
, it closed after 24 previews and just one performance, but
Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...
was nominated for a
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play The Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality supporting roles in a Broadway theatre, ...
. In the early days of
American television Television is one of the Mass media in the United States, major mass media outlets in the United States. In 2011, 96.7% of households owned television sets; about 114,200,000 American households owned at least one television set each in August ...
, Kilty acted in a number of programs, including ''
The United States Steel Hour ''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation (U.S. ...
'', ''
Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...
'', ''
The Alcoa Hour ''The Alcoa Hour'' is an American anthology television series sponsored by the Alcoa Corporation that aired live on NBC from October 16, 1955, to September 22, 1957. Overview ''The Alcoa Hour'' is a one-hour live anthology series that primar ...
'', '' Studio One'', and ''
Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...
''.


Tours

Kilty and Humphrey toured the world performing ''Dear Liar: A Comedy of Letters'', beginning in 1964. They were also the first duo to internationally tour in the play ''
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of middle-aged couple Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they rece ...
''. Controversy in South Africa ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' was also performed in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. At the insistence of playwright
Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), ''The Sandbox (play), The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), ''A Delicat ...
, ''Virginia Woolf'' was to be presented only before integrated audiences. The play opened in
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...
and then moved to
Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...
, receiving strong reviews (favorable and unfavorable) in both cities, with a more negative response in Durban, where one critic called it "dirt-laden debris". In the less provincial, more cosmopolitan
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, the press was more encouraging. But people who may or may not have seen the show expressed their outrage in letters to the government. In response,
Jan de Klerk Johannes "Jan" de Klerk, (22 July 1903 – 24 January 1979) was a South African politician. He was the father of F. W. de Klerk, the last apartheid State President of South Africa. As a member of the National Party, de Klerk served as inte ...
, South Africa's then Minister of the Interior ordered that performances be suspended in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
while waiting for a report from the official Board of Censors to ensure that the play was "not contrary to public interest or good morals", in effect banning the play.


Personal life

He was born in
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
of Irish descent on his father's side, but raised on the Pala Indian Reservation, San Diego County, California. On May 11, 1956, he wed actress Cavada Humphrey (June 17, 1919 – July 11, 2007), who was three years his senior. Humphrey died in 2007, at the age of 88. Kilty died on September 6, 2012


References


External links

*
American Repertory Theatre website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilty, Jerome 1922 births 2012 deaths Male actors from California American male stage actors American male television actors American people of Irish descent 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights