Lynn Fontanne
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End, she met the American actor
Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...
, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred in Broadway and West End productions over the next four decades. They became known as "The Lunts", and were celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic. Fontanne was born in what is now the London suburb of Woodford, and received her first training as an actress from Ellen Terry. After building up an acting career in Britain she worked extensively in the US, first appearing in New York in 1910. Although she appeared in classics including ''
The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...
'' and ''
The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...
'', experimental drama by
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...
, and dark comedy by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Fontanne and her husband were best known for their stylish performances in light comedies 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 ...
,
S. N. Behrman Samuel Nathaniel Behrman (; June 9, 1893 – September 9, 1973) was an American playwright, screenwriter, biographer, and longtime writer for ''The New Yorker''. His son is the composer David Behrman. Biography Early years Behrman's parents, Z ...
, Terence Rattigan and others, and romantic plays by writers such as Robert E. Sherwood. The Lunts retired from the stage in 1960, and lived at their home in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin, where, after outliving her husband by six years, Fontanne died at the age of 95.


Life and career


Early years

Fontanne was born Lillie Louise Fontanne in Woodford, Essex (now London), on 6 December 1887. She was the youngest of the three daughters of Jules Pierre Antoine Fontanne (1855–1942) and his wife Frances Ellen, ''née'' Thornley (1858–1921). She was educated in London, after which a family friend introduced her to the leading actress Ellen Terry, who sometimes gave lessons to promising young players. Partly as a result of Terry’s training and influence, Fontanne was given roles in plays in London and on tour throughout England from 1905 to 1916. She made her first appearance at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...
, at Christmas 1905, in the chorus of the
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
, ''Cinderella'', and subsequently "walked on" (i.e. was a non-speaking extra) in productions in London starring Lewis Waller, Sir Herbert Tree, Lena Ashwell and others.Herbert, pp. 789–791 During 1909, she toured as Rose in ''Lady Frederick'' with Mabel Love. At the Garrick Theatre, London, in December 1909 she appeared in ''Where Children Rule'', and in ''Billy's Bargain'' at the same theatre in June 1910 she played Lady Mulberry. She then made her first visit to America, making her début in New York at Nazimova's 39th Street Theatre in November 1910 as Harriet Budgeon in ''Mr Preedy and the Countess'' with Weedon Grossmith. After returning to London in 1911 she played at the Criterion Theatre in ''The Young Lady of Seventeen'' and at the
Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
in ''A Storm in a Tea Shop''. She then toured in the provinces in 1912–13 as Gertrude Rhead in
Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist, who wrote prolifically. Between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaborati ...
and Edward Knoblock's ''
Milestones A milestone is a marker of distance along roads. Milestone may also refer to: Measurements *Milestone (project management), metaphorically, markers of reaching an identifiable stage in any task or the project *Software release life cycle state, s ...
'', before playing the part in London. In that role she had to play the same character in youth, middle age and old age. The American star Laurette Taylor saw her in the role and was impressed.Peters, p. 14 At the
Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.
in April 1914 Fontanne scored a success as Liza and Mrs Collison in Knoblock's ''My Lady's Dress''. She played in four other London productions in 1914–15, including the premiere of '' The Starlight Express''. She became engaged to marry a young lawyer, Teddy Byrne, but he was killed in action in 1916 during the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.


Broadway

Shortly before Byrne's death, Fontanne accepted an offer to join Laurette Taylor's company in New York. Taylor and her husband, Hartley Manners, fostered the young Fontanne's career. Taylor later said, "While acting with her I forgot we were actresses". After five plays with them, Fontanne graduated to leading roles for other managements. Between 1918 and 1920, she succeeded Laura Hope Crews as Mrs Rockingham in "A Pair of Petticoats" in New York, and was the female lead in new plays on Broadway and in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. During this time, playing in
summer stock In American theater, summer stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock ...
in Washington DC, she met the actor
Alfred Lunt Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...
. They fell in love, although at first Lunt's wooing was more hesitant than Fontanne would have wished. In mid-1920 Fontanne appeared once again in the West End, appearing with Taylor in a play by Manners, ''One Night in Rome.'' She had little chance to shine in what ''
The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...
'' called "a one-part play" written as a vehicle for Taylor. Wanting to be reunited with Lunt, Fontanne quickly returned to the US, where in 1921 she had her first big success, in the lead role of George S. Kaufman and
Marc Connelly Marcus Cook Connelly (December 13, 1890 – December 21, 1980) was an American playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist. He was a key member of the Algonquin Round Table, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. Biogra ...
's comedy '' Dulcy''. She did not return to the West End for nine years. In May 1922 Fontanne married Lunt, and in 1923 they made their first appearance together in a Broadway production, a revival of Paul Kester's 1900 costume drama ''Sweet Nell of Old Drury''. Although Taylor was the female lead, it was Fontanne who impressed the critics. In '' The New York Herald'', Alexander Woollcott dismissed the play as "gaudy rubbish", but added:


Theatre Guild

In 1924, the Lunts joined the company of the
Theatre Guild The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of ...
, which, in the words of Fontanne's biographer Jared Brown, "staged plays on Broadway but defied Broadway conventions by offering serious and innovative plays that were regularly rejected by commercial managements".Brown, Jared
"Lunt, Alfred (12 August 1892 – 03 August 1977), and Lynn Fontanne (06 December 1887 – 30 July 1983), actors and producers"
''American National Biography''. Oxford University Press, 1999. Retrieved 23 August 2021
The first play in which the couple appeared for the Guild was Ferenc Molnár's ''The Guardsman,'' in which they established a reputation for playing light comedy. They acted together in three plays by Bernard Shaw: '' Arms and the Man'' (as Raina and Bluntschli, 1925), '' Pygmalion'' (as Eliza and Higgins, 1926) and '' The Doctor's Dilemma'' (as the Dubedats, 1927).Herbert, pp. 1110–1111 Fontanne had the chance to demonstrate her versatility by switching from comedy to demanding experimental drama in
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...
's '' Strange Interlude'' (1928), described by Woollcott as "the ''
Abie's Irish Rose ''Abie's Irish Rose'' is a popular comedy by Anne Nichols, which premiered in 1922. Initially a Broadway theatre, Broadway Play (theatre), play, it has become familiar through repeated stage productions, films and radio programs. The basic premi ...
'' of the pseudo-intelligentsia". Fontanne and Lunt introduced a naturalistic new way of delivering dialogue, building on a technique Fontanne had begun to explore in her performances with Laurette Taylor. It was unheard of for an actor to speak while another was still speaking, but, in Brown's words: As a consequence, according to Brown, the Lunts' scenes together could be "more vivid, more ''real'' than those of other actors". In 1928, Fontanne and Lunt co-starred in what for the Guild was an untypically frothy comedy, ''Caprice''. The biographer Margot Peters calls the production a milestone in their careers for two reasons: it was the first production in which they, rather than the play, were the main draw, and it marked the start of their inseparable theatrical partnership: from then on they always appeared together. They took ''Caprice'' to London in 1930 – Lunt's first appearance there – and won the admiration of audiences, critics, and writers including Shaw and J. B. Priestley. For the Guild in New York, Fontanne and Lunt starred in Robert Sherwood's romantic comedy ''Reunion in Vienna'' which opened in November 1931 and ran throughout the season, before a nationwide tour. The two were strong believers in touring, taking many of their Broadway hits to remote locations as well as the larger American cities. They felt a double responsibility to do so: to ensure that playwrights had their works presented to as many people as possible, and to allow people outside New York to see Broadway productions.


''Design for Living''

Fontanne and Lunt had been close friends of the English actor and playwright
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 ...
since they met in New York in 1921, before any of them had achieved success in the theatre. They had resolved then that when they were famous, Coward would write a play for all three of them to star in. The Lunts' marriage was the subject of much conjecture in theatrical circles: although they were clearly devoted to each other, there were unsubstantiated but persistent rumours that Lunt was bisexual and had gay liaisons; there was also speculation that Fontanne had extramarital interests. Against this background, Coward wrote a comedy for the three of them, '' Design for Living'' (1932)'','' in which Fontanne's character switches back and forth between the two men, who then pair up when she deserts them both, before all three end up together. The combination of the risqué subject and the popularity of the three stars caused box-office records to be broken, and reportedly earned Fontanne and her co-stars the highest salaries paid on Broadway to that time. The immense success of ''Design for Living'' led Coward to write another play for his friends, but his '' Point Valaine,'' in which Fontanne and Lunt starred in 1934, was a failure. Coward set out to write an uncharacteristically serious drama, but the grim plot and unsympathetic characters did not appeal to audiences used to seeing the Lunts in glamorous and romantic roles; Fontanne's prediction that the play would only run for a matter of weeks proved correct. It was the only outright failure of the Lunts' joint career.


1934 to 1945

Between the two Coward plays in New York, Fontanne and Lunt played in London, in ''Reunion in Vienna'', repeating their American success with the piece. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' commented: For the rest of the 1930s Fontanne and her husband appeared in Guild productions. In 1935 they played Katherina and Petruchio in ''
The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...
''; in 1936 they starred in a new Sherwood play, ''Idiot's Delight''; in 1937 they took the leading roles in
S. N. Behrman Samuel Nathaniel Behrman (; June 9, 1893 – September 9, 1973) was an American playwright, screenwriter, biographer, and longtime writer for ''The New Yorker''. His son is the composer David Behrman. Biography Early years Behrman's parents, Z ...
's adaptation of
Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; ; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His wo ...
's comedy ''Amphitryon 38''; and in 1938 they played Arkadina and Trigorin in ''
The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...
'' on Broadway and took the production of ''Amphitryon 38'' to London, before touring it extensively in the US in repertory with ''Idiot's Delight'' and ''The Seagull''. The Lunts had a country estate in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin, close to where Lunt had grown up. It was their summer home, where they entertained a great many theatrical friends and colleagues over the decades. Carol Channing later said "Genesee Depot is to performers what the Vatican is to Catholics". They gave up their usual summer break there during the latter part of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, because at Fontanne's behest the couple moved to England. She felt she should share the hardships of her family and friends there, and from 1943 to 1945 the Lunts appeared in the West End, and in performances for the troops, including a tour of army camps in France and Germany in 1945.


Later years and death

After the war Fontanne and Lunt returned to the US and resumed their association with the Theatre Guild. They appeared in 1946–47 in Terence Rattigan's comedy '' Love In Idleness'' (given on Broadway under the title ''O Mistress Mine''), and in 1949–50 in '' I Know My Love'', Berhman's adaptation of ''Auprès de ma blonde'' by Marcel Achard; these productions ran for 482 and 247 performances respectively. The Lunts toured the latter throughout the US. They returned to England in 1952 for their third and final Coward premiere, ''
Quadrille The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six ''Contra dance, contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of ope ...
'', a romantic comedy set in the 1870s. After a West End run of 329 performances they took the play to Broadway in 1954, where it ran for 159 performances; it could have profitably run for longer, but the Lunts chose to close in March 1955. Fontanne and Lunt's last Broadway premiere was in Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse's "melodramatic comedy" ''The Great Sebastians'' in 1956. After a six-month run in New York they toured the piece throughout the US. Their final production was in 1957: '' The Visit'',
Maurice Valency Maurice Valency (22 March 1903 – 28 September 1996) was a playwright, author, critic, and popular professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University, best known for his award-winning adaptations of plays by Jean Giraudoux and Friedri ...
's adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt's ''Der Besuch der alten Dame'', in which a rich old woman exacts a terrible revenge on the man who betrayed her fifty years earlier. They toured the play in Britain in 1957–58, initially under the title ''Time and Again'', in a production directed by
Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...
. In May 1958 they opened the
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by C ...
in New York with the same play (by then renamed ''The Visit'') and toured it in the US. In June 1960, in Brook's production, they opened the new
Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.
, London in June 1960, running until 19 October. After a final week playing the piece at the
Golders Green Hippodrome The Golders Green Hippodrome was built in 1913 by Bertie Crewe as a 3,000-seat music hall, to serve North London and the new London Underground Northern line expansion into Golders Green in the London Borough of Barnet, London, England. Tak ...
in November they retired from the stage. Lunt died on 3 August 1977. Fontanne died in Genesee Depot on 30 July 1983, aged 95, from
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
, and was interred next to her husband at Forest Home Cemetery in
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
, Wisconsin."Lynn Fontanne is Dead at 95; A Star with Lunt for 37 Years"
''The New York Times'', 31 July 1983. Retrieved 17 April 2014.


Cinema and broadcasting

Fontanne, like her husband, disliked acting for the camera and she made only four films. She appeared in the
silent films A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...
'' Second Youth'' (1924) and ''The Man Who Found Himself'' (1925). For '' The Guardsman'' (1931) she and Lunt were both nominated for
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
. She and Lunt were in ''
Stage Door Canteen The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers w ...
'' (1943) in which they had cameos as themselves. The two starred in four television productions in the 1950s and 1960s with both Lunt and Fontanne winning
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
s in 1965 for '' The Magnificent Yankee''. She narrated a 1960 television production of ''
Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...
'' starring
Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific (musica ...
and received a second Emmy nomination for playing Grand Duchess Marie in the
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 ...
telecast of ''Anastasia'' in 1967, two of the few productions in which she appeared without her husband. The Lunts also starred in several radio dramas in the 1940s, notably on the Theatre Guild programme. Many of these broadcasts still survive.


Honours

In September 1964 Lunt and Fontanne were presented with the
Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...
by President
Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...
at a
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
ceremony. Like Lunt, Fontanne was a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame. She received a Kennedy Center Honor for the Performing Arts in 1980. She received no official British honour, which was a matter of mild regret as she would have liked to be Dame Lynn Fontanne: "They thought I was American. But I was always British. I would have cherished the award". When she was 90 she received a standing ovation when she attended a performance of '' Hello, Dolly!'' at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.


Notes, references and sources


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* * *
Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne Papers
at the
Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR) is a major archive of motion picture, television, radio, and theater research materials. Located in the headquarters building of the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, Wisconsin, th ...
.
Ten Chimneys
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fontanne, Lynn 1887 births 1983 deaths Actresses from Essex Deaths from pneumonia in Wisconsin English silent film actresses English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English radio actresses English emigrants to the United States Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners Kennedy Center honorees Actors from the London Borough of Redbridge 20th-century English actresses Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Special Tony Award recipients People from Woodford, London Burials at Forest Home Cemetery