John Murray Anderson (September 20, 1886 – January 30, 1954) was a Canadian

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and producer, songwriter, actor, screenwriter, dancer and

lighting designer In theatre, a lighting designer (or LD) works with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create the lighting, atmosphere, and time of day for the production in response to the text while keeping ...

, who made his career in the United States, primarily in New York City and Hollywood. He worked in almost every genre of show business, including

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

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 ...

, and film. He also directed plays in London.

Early life and education

John Murray Anderson was born in 1886 in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, the son of Hon.

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

and his wife. His brother was

Hugh Abercrombie Anderson Captain Hugh Abercrombie Anderson MBE (10 February 1890 – 9 November 1965) was a Newfoundland writer. Born in St. John's, Anderson was the son of politician John Anderson. Following an education at Bishop Feild College and Edinburgh Academy ...

. Anderson received his early education at

Bishop Feild College Bishop Feild College (originally Church of England Academy; formerly Church of England College and Bishop Feild Elementary; currently Bishop Feild School), founded in 1844, is a school in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, Newfou ...

in St. John's. He was sent to Europe for additional studies at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

in Scotland. He entered college at the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; french: links=no, Université de Lausanne) in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second oldest in Switzer ...

in Switzerland. Later, he also studied singing with Sir Charles Stanley and art with

Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous program ...

in London.

Career

After completing studies in Europe, Anderson moved to New York City, where he became an antiques dealer. He sold collections he had accumulated in

.''

Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador ''Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador'' is an Encyclopedia commissioned by Joey Smallwood to capture the people, places, events and history of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Smallwood's view on the purpose of the encyclopedia was ...

'', . This lasted a year; as Anderson said, he had "everything but customers" in his store.J. Ernest Kerr, ''Imprint of the Maritimes'', 1959, Boston: Christopher Publishing, p. 35. In New York, Anderson quickly became involved in theatre, first as a dance instructor. He later became a writer and producer. He made his Broadway debut in 1919 wearing three hats, as writer, director, and producer of ''The

Greenwich Village Follies The ''Greenwich Village Follies'' was a musical revue that played for eight seasons in New York City from 1919 to 1927. Launched by John Murray Anderson, and opening on July 15, 1919, at the newly constructed Greenwich Village Theatre near Christ ...

.'' He subsequently produced new editions of the

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

in each of the five succeeding years. In the 1920s and early 1930s, with Robert Milton, Anderson ran an acting school in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, teaching

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

and

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

, among others. He and Davis remained good friends. When her 1952 Broadway-bound

'' Two's Company'' ran into problems on the road, she hired Anderson to restage it. John Murray Anderson in 1918 (cropped)

Anderson produced the ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

'' in 1934, 1936, and 1943, the

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ...

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

E. Y. Harburg Edgar Yipsel Harburg (born Isidore Hochberg; April 8, 1896 – March 5, 1981) was an American popular song lyricist and librettist who worked with many well-known composers. He wrote the lyrics to the standards "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" ( ...

revue '' Life Begins at 8:40'' (1934),

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainment, with sh ...

's ''

Jumbo Jumbo (about December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and t ...

'' (1935), ''One for the Money'' (1939), '' Two for the Show'' (1940), and ''Three to Make Ready'' (1946), and ''

New Faces of 1952 ''New Faces of 1952'' is a musical revue with songs and comedy skits. It ran on Broadway for nearly a year in 1952 and was then made into a motion picture in 1954. It helped launch the careers of several young performers including Paul Lynde, Alic ...

''. He also directed productions in London; in the West End, he directed ''The League of Notions'', ''Bow Bells'', and ''Fanfare''. Anderson worked as a director at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

in 1933, as director of the Casa Mañana revue at the

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

Frontier Centennial in 1936, and at the Great Lakes Exposition in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

in 1937. He directed

's Diamond Horseshoe from 1938 to 1950, and productions for

Ringling Brothers Circus Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows is a circus founded in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling brothers: Albert, August, Otto, Alfred T., Charles, John, and Henry. The Ringling brothers were sons of a Germa ...

from 1942 to 1951. Anderson worked in Hollywood as well. He directed the film ''

King of Jazz '' King of Jazz'' is a 1930 American pre-Code color musical film starring Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. The film title refers to Whiteman's popular cultural appellation. At the time the film was made, "jazz", to the general public, meant jazz ...

'' (1930), wrote the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

for ''

'' (1946), directed the water ballets in ''

Bathing Beauty ''Bathing Beauty'' is a 1944 musical film starring Red Skelton, Basil Rathbone, and Esther Williams, and directed by George Sidney. Although this was not Williams' screen debut, it was her first Technicolor musical. The film was initially to b ...

'' (1944), and directed the circus sequences in '' The Greatest Show on Earth'' (1952).

Marriage and family

In 1914, Anderson married Genevieve Lyon of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

; she died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1916. They had no children. Anderson regularly visited his family and friends in Newfoundland throughout his life.

Autobiography

In the year before his death, Anderson collaborated with his brother Hugh as writer. He dictated his autobiography, ''Out Without My Rubbers,'' published posthumously in 1954. He died of a heart attack in New York City on January 30, 1954.

In popular media

* ''Out Without My Rubbers'' (autobiography), 1954, New York: Library Publishers * A musical about the life of John Murray Anderson called ''Impresario'' was written by Kyle McDavid and first performed at the LSPU Hall in St. John's, Newfoundland in May 2017.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, John Murray People educated at Edinburgh Academy Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian theatre managers and producers Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Canadian theatre directors Canadian musical theatre librettists Canadian male songwriters Male actors from Newfoundland and Labrador Writers from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Pre-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador people 1886 births 1954 deaths Bishop Feild School alumni Male actors from New York City Writers from New York City University of Lausanne alumni Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers