#george abbott

[diana-andraste]

Bette Davis in The Letter, 1940

Tallulah Bankhead in The Cheat, 1931

#film #movies #black and white #pre code hollywood #pre code #tallulah bankhead #bette davis #william wyler #george abbott #gif #animation #1940s #1930s #vintage

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Cover of the theater program by EP Kinsella for Broadway, 1926. The play was written and directed by Philip Dunning and George Abbott and ran for 603 performances, a huge success in those days.

Photo: ronaud.com

#vintage New York #1920s #EP Kinsella #vintage Broadway #vintage theater #theater #Philip Dunning #George Abbott #Jed Harris #theater program #Roaring 20s #Jazz Age

[cutesoccerguys]

#george abbott #son heung min

[doyouknowthismusical]

#musical theater #do you know this musical #poll #damn yankees #richard adler #jerry ross #george abbott #douglas wallop #language: english

[gatutor]

Phillips Holmes-Nancy Carroll "Cielo robado" (Stolen heaven) 1931, de George Abbott.

#Nancy Carroll #Phillips Holmes #George Abbott

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

#The Pajama Game #Doris Day #John Raitt #Carol Haney #Eddie Foy Jr. #Barbara Nichols #Reta Shaw #George Abbott #Stanley Donen #1957

[spurstwt]

#jamie donley #ashley phillips #alfie dorrington #tyrell ashcroft #george abbott #josh keeley

[citizenscreen]

Recipients of the 1982 Kennedy Center Honors: George Abbott, Benny Goodman, Lillian Gish, Gene Kelly, and Eugene Ormandy

#george abbott #benny goodman #gene kelly #lillian gish

[outoftowninac]

LOVE ‘EM AND LEAVE ‘EM

1926

Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em is a play in three acts by George Abbott and John V.A. Weaver. It was originally produced by Jed Harris and staged by Mr. Abbott. It featured Florence Johns as Mamie and Katherine Wilson as Janie. 

The idea for the play as the title of a poem by Weaver published in "Vanity Fair." An earlier version of the play was written and produced by Weaver alone, but was not successful. 

The play takes place at Ma Woodruff's Boarding House, Ginsberg’s Department Store, and Mechanic's Hall.

The play tells the tale of Mamie and Janie Walsh, two sisters with the older one pledged to look after the younger one. Mamie, the older one, is the sweet, old-fashioned type, and Janie, the younger, is a jazz-age flapper who takes whatever comes her way. Mamie goes on vacation and returns home to find that Janie has vamped her way into the arms of Mamie's intended.

JANIE: “Oh, Mame, don't be so dumb! He just happened to ask me, ‘cause I'm a better dancer than you are you know that... Now I ain't sayin' a word against you, Mame, but you know everybody says I'm the best lookin' girl in the store.”

MAME: “All my life I never owned anything ‘cause if you wanted it, you took it. You was pretty and I was plain; you was the pet. Everybody loved you and was nice to you. Nobody more'n me, Janie Walsh, nobody more'n me. Well, I guess you're just what they call spoiled, that's all spoiled and spoiled bad. You never stop to worry about anybody else's rights. If a person has anything around they want to keep, they better lock it up where you can t get your hands on it.”

“While I was studying my present role in ‘Love 'Em and Leave 'Em,' I went to a department store dally to pick up the atmosphere of such places.” ~ FLORENCE JOHNS

The play had its world premiere at the Playhouse in Wilmington Delaware on January 22, 1926. 

Billed as "A Bargain Sale of Laugher” and “A Department Store Comedy of Life and Love”, the play opened in Atlantic City at the Globe Theatre on January 25, 1926. 

During the run of the play, the Boardwalk night spot The Silver Slipper invited the cast to be guests of honor. 

Billed as ‘A Comedy in American’ Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em opened on Broadway at the Sam H. Harris Theatre (226 West 42nd Street) on February 3, 1926. 

About Venue #1: The Sam H. Harris Theatre was built in 1914 as the Candler. It was leased to George M. Cohan and Sam H. Harris until 1920, when Cohan and Harris ended their partnership and Harris kept the theatre, renaming it for himself. In 1926, Harris sold it to the Shuberts, who lost it in a 1933 bankruptcy claim. It became a movie house from 1933 to 1978 and was demolished in 1996. In 2000, it became part of Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.

“’Love ’Em and Leave ’Em' has less than the makings of a hit but it has many other things its authors can be proud of.” ~ ARTHUR POLLACK

“Here is another of those snappy character comedies of the common people that always seem a little patronizing and considerably dependent upon the humor and good nature of the crowd that sees them. They often go a lot better with first nighters than they do with their own people who follow after.” ~ BURNS MANTLE

"I have a sneaking suspicion that ‘Love 'Em and Leave ’Em' to be so good because you could scratch the surface of Mr. Abbott or Mr. Weaver and find underneath only a clerk at good old Ginsberg’s.” ~ ALEXANDER WOOLCOT

~ February 16, 1926. 

Abbott continued to collaborate with other writers for the rest of his career. If indeed he had an inferiority complex, it didn’t stop him from becoming a Broadway icon.  

In March 1926 the playscript was partly reprinted in newspapers nationwide. 

In April 1926, plans were announced for two companies of the play: one to do a sit-down production in Chicago (the Mamie Company?) and the other to tour the country (the Janie Company?).  Producer Harris would conduct a talent search for amateur actresses to understudy the leads in Chicago. At the same time, news that the play was bought for Hollywood by Paramount hit the papers. 

Also in April 1926, in order to boost subscriptions, the Brooklyn Times Union offered free passes for subscribers. The winning subscriber would find their names among the classified ads, encouraging readership of the ads. 

On Monday, May 17, 1926, the play moved digs to the Apollo Theatre (not the one in Atlantic City and not the one in Harlem).

About Venue #2: This Apollo was located on 42nd Street and was formerly known as the Bryant Theatre when it opened in 1910. It was later known as the New Apollo. Today, architectural elements from the building have been incorporated into the Ford Center.

Two weeks later the show moved addresses yet again. This time it moved right next door to the Times Square Theatre on 42nd Street. 

About Venue #3: The Times Square Theatre opened in 1920.  After the market crash in 1929, the theatre was taken by the bank. In 1933 it became a movie theatre. It closed in 1997 and fell into the hands of Livent. Their plans for the theatre were halted when they went bankrupt, leaving the future of the venue uncertain. 

One critic reckoned that Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em might rival Abie’s Irish Rose in popularity. At the time, Abie’s was four years into its 2,327 performance run on Broadway. Love ‘Em clocked in at just 152 performances finally shutting up shop on July 3, 1926.  

While the Broadway production continued (but in its final days), a stock a production opened in San Francisco. A tour launched in Binghmaton NY. 

A silent film adaptation was released later in 1926 starring Louise Brooks as Janie and Evelyn Brent as Mame. In the film, the fictional Ginsberg’s Department Store was replaced by Macy’s. 

The film premiered in Atlantic City at the Earle Theatre on Christmas Day 1926. 

#Love 'Em and Leave 'Em #George Abbott #John V.A. Weaver #Louise Brooks #Broadway #Broadway Play #Atlantic City #Globe Theatre #Jed Harris #Florence Johns #1926 #Katherine Wilson

[pacingmusings]

Seen in 2022:

The Cheat (George Abbott), 1931

#films #movies #stills #The Cheat #George Abbott #Tallulah Bunkhead #pre-code #Hollywood #1930s #seen in 2022

[pablolf]

The Pajama Game - Steam Heat

#steam heat #the pajama game #song #music #video #film #stanley donen #bob fosse #george abbott #musical

[byneddiedingo]

Tallulah Bankhead in The Cheat (George Abbott, 1931)

Cast: Tallulah Bankhead, Harvey Stephens, Irving Pichel, Jay Fassett, Ann Andrews, William Ingersoll, Hanaki Yoshiwara, Willard Dashiell, Edward Keane, Robert Strange. Screenplay: Harry Hervey, based on a silent film scenario by Hector Turnbull. Cinematography: George J. Folsey. Film editing: Emma Hill. 

Tallulah Bankhead is the only reason to see the cornball and somewhat racist The Cheat today. Bankhead made only a handful of films, and only one or two of them -- chiefly Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944) -- are any good. The Cheat was an old Paramount property, originally directed by Cecil B. DeMille in 1915, that was dragged out of mothballs to be remade for Bankhead. She plays Elsa Carlyle, happily married to the broker Jeffrey Carlyle (Harvey Stephens), but given to spending and gambling beyond their means. Faced with a debt she can't pay, she turns to a wealthy socialite just returned from spending time in "the Orient," Hardy Livingstone (Irving Pichel). Livingstone has picked up all sorts of sinister Asian artifacts and manners, and keeps dolls representing his sexual conquests in a cabinet. He brands the dolls with his own insignia. It soon becomes clear that he plans to add an effigy of Elsa to his collection, and when she spurns his advances he brands her, too, with a hot iron applied just above her breast. (Some production stills and posters show Bankhead baring a shoulder instead of her chest.) She shoots Livingstone, but only wounds him, and when Carlyle arrives, followed by the police, he claims to have fired the pistol. A trial ensues. Even contemporary reviewers found the movie old-fashioned and noted that the audiences laughed in all the wrong places. There's some impressive camerawork directed by George J. Folsey, but also a rather kitschy Thai-Balinese dance number choreographed by Ruth St. Denis. Bankhead does what she can with the material, which isn't enough, and she and director George Abbott returned to Broadway, where they had more success. 

#The Cheat #George Abbott #Tallulah Bankhead

[linusjf]

George Abbott: Three act structure

“In the first act, your hero gets stuck in a tree. In the second act, you throw stones at him. In the third act, you get him out of the tree.” —George Abbott.

View On WordPress

#George Abbott

[cutesoccerguys]

#george abbott

[chiefarbitermoon]

Sherry Britton: Fordham Class of '82

Do Any Of Our Fordham University Alumni Recognize This Lady?

College enrollment will begin to decline in the next few years. Around the year 2026, the number of high school graduates in the United States is expected to drop significantly and for maybe as long as a decade. Maybe longer. What are some of the tactics the institutions of higher learning are taking to combat these enrollment/revenue deficits? 

Schools have lobbied the government for the use of Pell Grants which, starting this year, will expand the eligibility of people in prison (750,000+) to receive college educations.

In 2020, New York State relaxed the definition of the term university. It is hoped this will make it easier to market to foreign students who often viewed the term “college” as simply 2-year junior colleges.

Some of the major for-profit universities have been sold to major private schools to provide turn-key operations for encouraging on-line learners.

Another important area, built into these business models is the adult learner-Introducing Ms. Sherry Britton! 

Dec. 9, 1945 issue of Yank, the Army Weekly

“Here is the story of The Great Britton or Stripeasaurus Sex 

 and a College Graduate from the Class of 1982 graduate.”

She was born in 1918 as Edith Zack. After fleeing an adolescence marred with domestic violence, foster homes and an abusive first husband, Sherry Britton started stripping at the age of fifteen at the People's Theater on The Bowery in Lower Manhattan. She received ten cents a performance. She was also a trained belly dancer and acted on Broadway.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Jane Margaret Laight 

She was named an honorary brigadier general by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for entertaining our troops during World War II.

She Married Her Millionaire

In 1971, Britton, who had been married twice previously, and who once said she'd been engaged "14 times," married wealthy businessman Robert Gross. Gross urged her to attend Fordham University. Although Britton had never attended high school, she was admitted to the Lincoln Center campus as an undergraduate where she majored in courses “appropriate for pre-law students”. Gifted with a very high IQ, she graduated magna cum laude in 1982, at the age of 63.

Perhaps A Little Too “Tradeschoolish” For A Serious University? 

Attending a burlesque show is not like going to a strip club. 

“Burlesque is a form of variety theater.” said Edward Bristow, former Dean at FCLC who has served at the Director of the Bachelor of Fine Arts. Program, ”It includes both dance and singing. It was most popular in the late 19th century and early 20th Century.” Bristow added: “I don’t think there is any formal training in stripetease.” 

Note: Unlike the striptease performer, you should not necessarily expect nudity on a burlesque stage. Dancers at a burlesque show plan their routines carefully and do a lot of training, just like ‘exotic dancers’ do. 

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY DIGITAL COLLECTIONS

(L-R) Sherry Britton, unidentified actress, and Tom Poston in the stage revue The Best of Burlesque

Behind the Burly Q (2010)

Sherry is seen in archive footage in the Leslie Zemeckis directed film documentary that attempted to examine the golden age of American Burlesque in the first half of the 20th century. It takes a behind-the-velvet-curtain peek at the golden age of burlesque, meeting the women and men who pushed the envelope of social propriety. 

The Legitimate Theatre Too.

She appeared on Broadway in the 1958 three act comedy, Drink To Me Only. At the George Abbott Theatre on 154 West 54th Street. She played a character named Princess Alexandria for 77 performances. 

(https://www.ibdb.com/broadway)

After Robert Gross died in 1990, Britton lived a life of retirement. She died of natural causes on April 1, 2008, in New York City. 

Sherry Britton talks about burlesque and its history in NYC

{This article originally appeared in the Fordham University Class of 1980 Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/groups/537184563628982}

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Some Other Fordham Connections

When she co starred in Drink To Me Only she worked with Screen, 

Stage and TV veteran John McGiver (FCRH 1938 B.A. English) 

(IMDb.com)

Also interviewed in Behind the Burly Q, was Alan Alda (FCRH Class of 1956). His father, Robert Alda (right), had worked as a burlesque singer and straightman. 

(IMDb.com)

End Notes

1.https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2021/01/27/one-way-colleges-can-weather-the-coming-enrollment-squeeze/?sh=657acf016aaf

2.https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4073299-around-30000-prisoners-soon-to-be-eligible-for-free-college-with-pell-grant-expansion/

 3.https://www.news10.com/news/ny-news/nys-board-of-regents-changes-definition-of-university/

 University of Phoenix being bought by the University of Idaho (estimated price is $550 million). 4.https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/2023/05/18/sale-of-university-of-phoenix-nears-after-deal-with-university-of-idaho-550-million/70234256007/

 5. Kaplan University bought by Purdue University for $1.00 (share revenue over next 30 years.) 

6.https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-04-27-purdue-buys-for-profit-kaplan-university-for-1-to-create-new-kind-of-public-university

 7. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2000509/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

 8. https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sherry-britton-100411

 9. Hevesi, Dennis (3 April 2008). "Sherry Britton, 89, a S

10. https://www.1923lv.com/what-to-expect-from-a-burlesque-show/

11. https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/drink-to-me-only-2696

12. Hevesi, Dennis (3 April 2008). "Sherry Britton, 89, a Star of the Burlesque Stage, Dies". The New York Times.

13. Freeman, William M. (September 10, 1975). "John McGiver, Actor, 62, Dies. Did TV, Film Character Roles" (PDF). New York Times.  14. Gelt, Jessica (6 July 2013). "'Behind the Burly Q' a revealing portrait of burlesque's stars". Los Angeles Times.

#fordhamuniversity #sherry britton #burlesque #Behind the Burly Q #alan alda #tom poston #john mcgiver #george abbott #edward bristow #pell grants #for profit universities #Leslie Zemeckis #robert gross #Robert Alda

[gatutor]

Herbert Marshall-Claudette Colbert "La confidente" (Secrets of a secretary) 1931, de George Abbott.

#Claudette Colbert #Herbert Marshall #George Abbott