''A Thousand Clowns'' is a 1965 American

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Fred Coe Frederick Hayden Hughs Coe (December 23, 1914 – April 29, 1979) was an American television producer and director most famous for '' The Goodyear Television Playhouse''/''The Philco Television Playhouse'' in 1948-1955 and '' Playhouse 90'' from ...

and starring

Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes ...

, Barbara Harris,

Martin Balsam Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New Y ...

, and

Barry Gordon Barry Gordon (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and political talk show host. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995. He is perhaps best known as the original voice of Donatello ...

. An adaptation of a 1962 play by

Herb Gardner Herbert George Gardner (December 28, 1934 – September 25, 2003), was an American commercial artist, cartoonist, playwright and screenwriter. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, Gardner was the son of a bar owner. His late brother, Robert ...

, it tells the story of an eccentric comedy writer who is forced to conform to society to retain legal custody of his nephew.

starred in both the original

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 Stree ...

version and in the film.

won the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while worki ...

for his performance in the movie.

Plot

Unemployed television writer Murray Burns (

) lives in a cluttered

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

studio apartment with his 12-year-old nephew, Nick (

). Murray has been unemployed for five months after quitting his previous job writing jokes for a children's television show called ''Chuckles the Chipmunk''. Nick, the son of Murray's unwed sister, was left with Murray seven years earlier. When Nick writes a school essay on the benefits of

unemployment insurance Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a comp ...

, his school requests that New York State send

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

s to investigate his living conditions. Investigators for the Child Welfare Board Sandra Markowitz ( Barbara Harris) and her superior and boyfriend, Albert Amundson (

William Daniels William David Daniels (born March 31, 1927) is an American actor, who is best known for his television roles, notably as Mark Craig in the drama series '' St. Elsewhere'', for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards; the voice of KITT in the te ...

), threaten Murray with removal of the child from his custody unless he can prove he is a capable guardian. Charmed by Nick and Murray, Sandra argues with Albert, who goes off without her to their next case. Sandra spends the night with Murray. She urges Murray to find a job so that he can keep his nephew, and Murray agrees to look. But he walks out of his job interviews, treating them as a joke, because he feels that work would make him conventional and conformist and make every day the same. He apologizes to Sandra, but she is so disappointed in him that she walks out. Yet he knows that if he wishes to keep his nephew, he must swallow his pride and go back to work. Murray also feels that he cannot let go of Nick until the boy shows some "backbone". In a confrontation with his brother and agent Arnold (

), Murray expounds his nonconformist worldview: that a person must fight at all costs to retain a sense of identity and aliveness and avoid being absorbed by the homogeneous masses. Arnold retorts that by conforming to the dictates of society, he has become "the best possible Arnold Burns". Murray agrees to meet with his former employer, the detested ''Chuckles'' host Leo Herman (

Gene Saks Gene Saks (born Jean Michael Saks; November 8, 1921 – March 28, 2015) was an American director and actor. An inductee of the American Theater Hall of Fame, his acting career began with a Broadway debut in 1949. As a director, he was nominated ...

). When Nick does not laugh at Leo's pathetic display of comedy, Leo insults Nick, who quietly but firmly puts Leo in his place. Nick becomes upset with Murray for tolerating Leo's insults, and Murray sees the boy has finally grown a backbone. Realizing that Nick has come of age, Murray resigns himself to going back to his old job, Sandra returns, and the next morning Murray joins the crowds of people heading off to work.

Cast

as Murray Burns * Barbara Harris as Dr. Sandra Markowitz *

as Arnold Burns *

as Nick Burns *

as Albert Amundson *

as Leo "Chuckles the Chipmunk" Herman *

Phil Bruns Philip Bruns (May 2, 1931 – February 8, 2012) was an American television and movie actor and writer. He portrayed George Shumway, the father of Mary Hartman on the 1970s comedic series '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,'' and Morty Seinfeld, the f ...

as Sloan *

John McMartin John Francis McMartin (August 21, 1929 – July 6, 2016) was an American actor of stage, film and television. Life and career McMartin was born in Warsaw, Indiana, on August 21, 1929, and raised in St. Cloud, Minnesota. After graduating fro ...

(as "John Macmartin") as Man in office

Awards and nominations

Music

Music in the film ranges from rudimentary drum cadences to

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

arrangements of "

The Stars and Stripes Forever "The Stars and Stripes Forever" is a patriotic American march written and composed by John Philip Sousa in 1896. By a 1987 act of the U.S. Congress, it is the official National March of the United States of America. History In his 1928 autob ...

". The song " Yes Sir, That's My Baby" is used in several places. Judy Holliday wrote the lyrics for the theme song "A Thousand Clowns". This was her last film credit, as the film was released after her death on June 7, 1965.

Stage

''A Thousand Clowns'' premiered on the

stage at the

Eugene O'Neill Theatre The Eugene O'Neill Theatre, previously the Forrest Theatre and the Coronet Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 230 West 49th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and ...

on April 4, 1962 in previews, officially on April 5, 1962, and closed on April 13, 1963, after 428 performances. Directed by Fred Coe, the cast featured Jason Robards, Jr. (Murray Burns), Sandy Dennis (Sandra Markowitz), Gene Saks (Leo Herman), Barry Gordon (Nick Burns),

(Albert Amundson), and

Larry Haines Larry Haines (born Larry Hecht; August 3, 1918 – July 17, 2008) was an American actor. Early years Haines was born on August 3, 1918 in Mount Vernon, New York. (Some sources say August 18, 1918, in the same city). He had been active in dramati ...

(Arnold Burns). Sets and lighting were by George Jenkins, and costumes were by Ruth Morley.

Walter Kerr Walter Francis Kerr (July 8, 1913 – October 9, 1996) was an American writer and Broadway theatre critic. He also was the writer, lyricist, and/or director of several Broadway plays and musicals as well as the author of several books, genera ...

, in his review for the ''New York Herald Tribune'', wrote of Sandy Dennis: "Let me tell you about Sandy Dennis. There should be one in every home." After touring stops in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, ''A Thousand Clowns'' returned to Broadway at the

Longacre Theatre The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theater at 220 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. Opened in 1913, it was designed by Henry B. Herts and was named for Longacre Square, now known ...

on July 4, 2001 in previews, officially on July 11, 2001, and closed on September 23, 2001 after 83 performances. The revival starred

Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations ...

as Murray Burns,

Barbara Garrick Barbara Garrick is an American actress. Garrick has appeared on stage, television and in film. Life and career Garrick was born in Los Angeles, California. A graduate of the Juilliard School of Drama, she has several stage credits, including ' ...

as Sandra Markowitz,

Mark Blum Mark Blum (May 14, 1950 – March 25, 2020) was an American actor who worked in theater, film, and television. He found success with a lead role in the 1985 film '' Desperately Seeking Susan,'' which he followed up the next year with a supporting ...

as Leo Herman, Nicolas King as Nick Burns, Bradford Cover as Albert Amundson, and

Robert LuPone Robert Francis LuPone (July 29, 1946 – August 27, 2022) was an American actor and artistic director. He worked on stage, in film, and in television. He was the brother of actress Patti LuPone. Early life and training LuPone was born in Brook ...

as Arnold Burns."A Thousand Clowns and Tom Selleck Crowd Broadway; Gardner Comedy Opens July 11"
playbill.com. Retrieved March 2, 2020.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
''A Thousand Clowns''
at the

Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade asso ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thousand Clowns 1962 plays American plays adapted into films Broadway plays Plays by Herb Gardner Plays set in New York City 1965 films 1965 comedy-drama films 1965 directorial debut films 1965 independent films American black-and-white films American comedy-drama films American films based on plays American independent films Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award-winning performance Films set in New York City Films shot in New York City United Artists films Films directed by Fred Coe 1960s English-language films 1960s American films

Plot

Cast

Awards and nominations

Music

Stage

Awards and nominations

See also

References

Further reading

External links