Ronald Graham (August 16, 1911 – July 4, 1950) was a Scottish born actor and singer who had a career performing in American radio, film, and theater from the early 1930s until his death in 1950. After winning a national singing competition, he became a regular performer on the radio program ''

Blue Monday Jamboree Blue Monday Jamboree is an old-time radio variety program in the United States. It was broadcast initially (beginning January 24, 1927) on KFRC in San Francisco, California, then was distributed on the West Coast by the Don Lee Network and was ...

'' from 1931 to 1935. He is best remembered for his many appearances in

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

s from 1937 to 1944; notably creating roles in the original productions of works by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

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, Bo ...

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

, and

Arthur Schwartz Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 – September 3, 1984) was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz. Biography Early life Schwartz was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New ...

Life and career

Born Maurice John Ronald Graham in

Hamilton, Scotland Hamilton (; ) is a large town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It sits south-east of Glasgow, south-west of Edinburgh and north of Carlisle. It is situated on t ...

, Graham moved to the United States with his family at the age of 10. He was educated at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

where he was trained as a

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

, and was a member of the theatrical group The Players. In 1931 he married Edna O'Keefe; they divorced in 1939. Graham began his career in 1931 as a singer on radio in San Francisco after winning the Atwater Kent Prize, a national singing competition. He was a regular performer on the radio program ''

''. In 1933 he appeared in

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 ...

productions at the

Golden Gate Theatre The Golden Gate Theatre is a performance venue located at 1 Taylor Street at the corner of Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco, California, United States. It opened in 1922 as a vaudeville house and later was a major movie theater. In the 1960s ...

. He made his film debut in 1935 as Ronald in ''

Old Man Rhythm ''Old Man Rhythm'' is a 1935 American musical film directed by Edward Ludwig from a screenplay by Sig Herzig and Ernest Pagano, based on a story by Herzig, Lewis Gensler, and Don Hartman. The musical director was Roy Webb, with music composed ...

''. His other film credits include a featured singer in '' To Beat the Band'' (1935) and Dr. Hugh Mayberry in ''

Ladies of Washington ''Ladies of Washington'' is a 1944 American drama film directed by Louis King and starring Trudy Marshall, Ronald Graham and Anthony Quinn.Rowan p.9 The film's sets were designed by the art directors James Basevi and Leland Fuller. Plot A g ...

'' (1944). Graham made his Broadway debut in 1937 as Colonel Richard Fairfax in

's ''

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

''. He appeared regularly in Broadway over the next decade, starring in

and

's ''

The Boys from Syracuse ''The Boys from Syracuse'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play '' The Comedy of Errors'', as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemp ...

'' (1938–1939, as Antipholus of Ephesus),

's ''

Du Barry Was a Lady ''Du Barry Was a Lady'' is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and the book by Herbert Fields and Buddy DeSylva.

'' (1939–1940, as Alex Barton),

Rodgers and Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's ...

's ''

By Jupiter ''By Jupiter'' is a musical with a book by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. The musical is based on the play '' The Warrior's Husband'' by Julian F. Thompson, set in the land of the Amazons. ''By Jupiter'' pr ...

'' (1942–1943, as Theseus), and Clay Warnick's ''Dream With Music'' (1944). His other theatre performances included a portrayal of Gaylord Ravenal in

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

and

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

's ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

'' with The Municipal Opera Association of St. Louis in 1938. During

World War II 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 ...

, he volunteered his talents at the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

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 ...

to entertain American troops. In 1944 Graham replaced

Alfred Drake Alfred Drake (October 7, 1914 – July 25, 1992) was an American actor and singer. Biography Born as Alfred Capurro in New York City, the son of parents emigrated from Recco, Genoa, Drake began his Broadway career while still a student at Bro ...

as the host of the CBS Radio program ''Broadway Matinee''. In the late 1940s he was active in regional theatre, and appeared in variety programs on American television and radio. He married the actress Florence Sundstrom on December 20, 1940. He died in New York City on July 4, 1950, one week after a heart attack.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Ronald 1911 births 1950 deaths Scottish radio personalities Scottish baritones Scottish male film actors Scottish male musical theatre actors University of California alumni Scottish vaudeville performers British emigrants to the United States 20th-century Scottish male singers