John C. Wilson (August 19, 1899 – October 29, 1961) was an American theatre director and producer.
Early life
Born in
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...
Wilson started out his working life as a stockbroker. He married
Natalia Pavlovna Paley on September 8, 1937 in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was a marriage of convenience. Wilson was intelligent, rich and a good companion. Natalia's name and social skills were assets to his business as a Broadway producer. Princess Paley liked her husband's humor, and his homosexuality suited her distaste for physical love. They had no children.
Career
During the run of ''
The Vortex'' by
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...
in 1924, Wilson met Coward and soon became his business manager and lover. Wilson used his position to steal from Coward, but the playwright was in love and accepted both the larceny and Wilson's heavy drinking.
[Kenrick, John]
"Noel Coward - Biographical Sketch - Part II"
Coward 101 at ''Musicals 101: The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musical Theatre, TV and Film'', 2000, accessed 9 March 2009
Wilson began his theatre career in 1931 as General Manager for the original
Broadway production of Coward's hit play ''
Private Lives''. He began producing shows on Broadway in 1935, including Coward's ''
Tonight at 8.30'' in 1936 and ''
Set to Music'' in 1939. Wilson's first project as a director was another Coward work, ''
Blithe Spirit'', in 1941.
Additional credits
*1952: ''
The Deep Blue Sea'' (Producer)
*1951: ''
Make a Wish'' (Director)
*1950: ''
The Lady's Not for Burning'' (Producer)
*1949: ''
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (Director)
*1948: ''
Kiss Me, Kate'' (Director)
*1947: ''
The Winslow Boy'' (Producer)
*1946: ''
Present Laughter'' (Producer and Director)
*1945: ''
The Day Before Spring'' (Producer and Director)
*1944: ''
Bloomer Girl
''Bloomer Girl'' is a 1944 Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre, musical with music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, and a book by Sig Herzig and Fred Saidy, based on an unpublished play by writer Daniel Lewis James and his wife Lili ...
'' (Producer)
*1942: ''The Pirate'' by
S. N. Behrman (Director)
References
External links
*
*
John C. Wilson Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, John C.
1899 births
1961 deaths
American theatre directors
American theatre managers and producers
People from Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
LGBTQ theatre directors
LGBTQ theatre managers and producers
American stockbrokers
American gay men