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Kind Sir
''Kind Sir'' is a 1953 play written by Norman Krasna and directed by Joshua Logan. It was the inspiration for the 1958 film '' Indiscreet''. Background Norman Krasna had written the play by June 1950. He was delayed putting it on by working with Jerry Wald at RKO. Joshua Logan says Krasna told him he wrote it with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in mind for the leads. Logan says after he read the play "I was amazed again at the way Norman could take a small misunderstanding, a white lie, and turn it into a full-length, funny and even romantic play... It did not have the GI humor and lustiness of ''John Loves Mary'' but it was brilliantly constructed and had the glamour and delightful aura of drawing room comedy that had been missing from the theatre for years." Logan called it "a good play. It had all the craftsmanship of the best Pinero farce - plus the charm and elegance of something by Lonsdale or Maugham." Logan offered the female lead to Joan Crawford who read the first two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Krasna
Norman Krasna (November 7, 1909 – November 1, 1984) was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films during a forty-year career in Hollywood. He garnered four Academy Award screenwriting nominations, winning once for 1943's ''Princess O'Rourke'', which he also directed. Biography Early life Krasna was born in Queens, New York City. He attended Columbia University and St John's University School of Law, working at Macy's Department Store during the day. He wanted to get into journalism and talked his way into a job as a copy boy for the Sunday feature department of the ''New York World'' in 1928. (He worked with Lewis Weitzenkorn who turned Krasna into a character in the play ''Five Star Final''.) He quit law school, worked his way up to being a drama critic, at first for ''The World'' then the ''New York Evening Graphic'' and ''Exhibitors Herald World''. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German university. He became a medical student in London and qualified as a physician in 1897. He never practised medicine, and became a full-time writer. His first novel, ''Liza of Lambeth'' (1897), a study of life in the slums, attracted attention, but it was as a playwright that he first achieved national celebrity. By 1908 he had four plays running at once in the West End theatre, West End of London. He wrote his 32nd and last play in 1933, after which he abandoned the theatre and concentrated on novels and short stories. Maugham's novels after ''Liza of Lambeth'' include ''Of Human Bondage'' (1915), ''The Moon and Sixpence'' (1919), ''The Painted Veil (novel), The Painted Veil'' (1925), ''Cakes and Ale'' (1930) and ''The Razor's Edge'' (1944). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Ross (stage Actor)
Robert Ross may refer to: Academia * Robert Ross (entrepreneur) (1918–2011), founder of Ross University * Robert J. S. Ross (born 1943), American professor of sociology and activist * Robert S. Ross (born 1954), American professor of political science at Boston College Military * Robert Ross (British Army officer) (1766–1814), Anglo-Irish British Army officer * Robert Ross (British Marines officer) (died 1794), commander in the first European settlement of New South Wales * Robert Knox Ross (1893–1951), British Army officer Nobility * Robert Ross, 5th Lord Ross (1563–1595), Scottish nobleman * Robert Ross, 9th Lord Ross (died 1648), Scottish nobleman Politics * Robert Dalrymple Ross (1827–1887), South Australian politician * Robert Beatson Ross (1867–1949), New Zealand politician * Robert Tripp Ross (1903–1981), United States Representative from New York * Robert Max Ross (1933–2009), Republican activist and candidate in Louisiana * Robert Ross (Missouri pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margalo Gillmore
Margaret Lorraine "Margalo" Gillmore (31 May 1897 – 30 June 1986) was an English-born American actress who had a long career as a stage actress on Broadway. She also appeared in films and TV series, mostly in the 1950s and early 1960s. Family Gillmore was the daughter of Frank Gillmore, a founder and former president of Actors' Equity, and the actress Laura MacGillivray, and the sister of actress Ruth Gillmore. Her great-aunt was the British actor-manager Sarah Thorne, and her great-uncles were the actors Thomas Thorne and George Thorne. Career A fourth-generation actor on her father's side, Gillmore trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her stage acting career stretched from ''The Scrap of Paper'' in 1917 through to Noël Coward's musical '' Sail Away'' on Broadway in 1961. She was first noticed by the critics in the 1919 play ''The Famous Mrs. Fair'', in which she appeared with Henry Miller and Blanche Bates. In 1921 she played the tubercular patient Eileen Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Conroy (actor)
Frank Parish Conroy (14 October 1890 – 24 February 1964) was a British film and stage actor who appeared in many films, notably ''Grand Hotel'' (1932), '' The Little Minister'' (1934) and ''The Ox-Bow Incident'' (1943). Career Born in Derby, England, Conroy began acting on stage in 1908. He acted in Shakespearean plays in England from 1910 until he came to the United States in 1915. He was responsible for building the Greenwich Village Theatre which opened in 1917, and he directed productions of the repertory theater there for three years. He appeared in more than 40 Broadway plays, beginning with ''The Passing Show of 1913'' (1913) and ending with ''Calculated Risk'' (1962). He won a Tony Award for best supporting actor for his performance in Graham Greene's ''The Potting Shed'' (1957). Conroy's work on television included appearances on ''Kraft Theater'' and ''The Play of the Week''. Personal life and death Conroy had a wife, Ruth, and a son, Richard. He died of heart di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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'' (1949), the title character in ''Peter Pan'' (1954), and Maria von Trapp in ''The Sound of Music'' (1959). She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989. She was the mother of actor Larry Hagman. Early life Martin was born in Weatherford, Texas. Her autobiography described her childhood as secure and happy. She had close relationships with both of her parents as well as her siblings. As a young actress Martin had an instinctive ear for recreating musical sounds. Martin's father, Preston Martin, was a lawyer, and her mother, Juanita Presley, was a violin teacher. Although the doctors told Juanita that she would risk her life if she attempted to have another baby, she was determined to have a boy. Instead, she had Mary, who later obliged by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American films during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised, in romantic dramas such as '' The Garden of Allah'' (1936), ''Algiers'' (1938), and '' Love Affair'' (1939), as well as the mystery-thriller ''Gaslight'' (1944). He received four Oscar nominations for Best Actor. He also appeared as himself on the CBS sitcom ''I Love Lucy''. Life and career Early years Boyer was born in Figeac, Lot, France, the son of Augustine Louise Durand and Maurice Boyer, a merchant. Boyer (which means "cowherd" in the Occitan language) was a shy small-town boy who discovered the movies and theatre at the age of eleven. Early acting career Boyer performed comic sketches for soldiers while working as a hospital orderly during Wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925. Initially frustrated by the size and quality of her parts, Crawford launched a publicity campaign and built an image as a nationally-known flapper by the end of the 1920s. By the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivaled MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. Crawford often played hardworking young women who find romance and financial success. These "rags-to-riches" stories were well received by Depression-era audiences and were popular with women. Crawford became one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States, but her films began losing money. By the end of the 1930s, she was labeled "box office poison". After an absence of nearly two years fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Lonsdale
Frederick Lonsdale (5 February 1881 – 4 April 1954) was a British playwright known for his librettos to several successful musicals early in the 20th century, including '' King of Cadonia'' (1908), ''The Balkan Princess'' (1910), ''Betty'' (1915), ''The Maid of the Mountains'' (1917), '' Monsieur Beaucaire'' (1919) and ''Madame Pompadour'' (1923). He also wrote comedy plays, including '' The Last of Mrs. Cheyney'' (1925) and '' On Approval'' (1927) and the murder melodrama '' But for the Grace of God'' (1946). Some of his plays and musicals were made into films, and he also wrote a few screenplays. Personal life Lonsdale was born Lionel Frederick Leonard in St Helier, Jersey, the son of Susan (née Belford) and John Henry Leonard, a tobacconist. He began as a private soldier and worked for the London and South Western Railway. His daughters included his biographer Frances Donaldson and Angela Worthington (who was born illegitimately, through his relationship with Muriel Ros ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joshua Logan
Joshua Lockwood Logan III (October 5, 1908 – July 12, 1988) was an American director, writer, and actor. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for co-writing the musical '' South Pacific'' and was involved in writing other musicals. Early years Logan was born in Texarkana, Texas, the son of Susan (née Nabors) and Joshua Lockwood Logan. When he was three years old, his father committed suicide. Logan, his mother, and his younger sister, Mary Lee, then moved to his maternal grandparents' home in Mansfield, Louisiana, which Logan used 40 years later as the setting for his play ''The Wisteria Trees''. Logan's mother remarried six years after his father's death and he then attended Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana, where his stepfather served on the staff as a teacher. At school, he experienced his first drama class and felt at home. After his high school graduation he attended Princeton University. At Princeton, he was involved with the intercollegiate summer stock company, know ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Wing Pinero
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (24 May 185523 November 1934) was an English playwright and, early in his career, actor. Pinero was drawn to the theatre from an early age, and became a professional actor at the age of 19. He gained experience as a supporting actor in British provincial theatres, and from 1876 to 1881 was a member of Henry Irving's company, based at the Lyceum Theatre, London, Lyceum Theatre, London. Pinero wrote his first play in 1877. Seven years later, having written 15 more, three of them highly successful, he abandoned acting and became a full-time playwright. He first became known for a series of farces, of which ''The Magistrate (play), The Magistrate'' (1885) was the longest-running. During the 1890s he turned to serious subjects. ''The Second Mrs Tanqueray'' (1893), dealing with a woman with a scandalous past, was regarded as shocking, but ran well and made a large profit. His other successes included ''Trelawny of the 'Wells', Trelawny of the "Wells"'' (1898), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Loves Mary
''John Loves Mary'' is a 1949 comedy film directed by David Butler and written by Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron. The film stars Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal and Jack Carson. The film was released by Warner Bros. on February 19, 1949. It's based on a Broadway play of the same name written by Norman Krasna, which ran from February 4, 1947, to February 7, 1948, at the Booth Theatre and Music Box Theatre in New York City. Plot John Lawrence ( Ronald Reagan) is a returning GI. Mary McKinley (Patricia Neal, in her film debut) is the woman he left behind. But their reunion will have to wait: John has returned with English war bride Lilly Herbish (Virginia Field) in tow. It seems that John married Lilly as a favor to get her into the U.S., intending to go to Reno, Nevada and divorce her so that she can wed her true love, John's old pal Fred Taylor (Jack Carson). The plan is complicated by the unexpected arrival of Mary's parents, Senator James McKinley ( Edward Arnold) and his wife Phy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
