The Lambs, Inc. (also known as The Lambs Club) is a social club in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
for actors, songwriters, and others involved in the
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
. It is America's oldest theatrical organization. "The Lambs" is a registered trademark of The Lambs, Inc.; and the club has been commonly referred to as The Lambs Club and The Lambs Theater since 1874.
The club's name honors the essayist
Charles Lamb
Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 β 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764β ...
and his sister
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
, who during the early 19th century played host to actors and
literati at their famed
salon in London.
History
In the spring of 1869, The Lambs was founded in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
by actors led by
John Hare, the first Shepherd, looking to socialize with like-minded people. Several of those, most notably
Henry James Montague
Henry James Montague was the stage name of Henry John Mann, (January 20, 1843 – August 13, 1878), an American actor born in England.
Biography
Montague was born January 20, 1843, in Staffordshire, England.
After playing as an amateur he ...
, came to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and formed The Lambs of New York during Christmas week of 1874. It was incorporated in 1877 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Shortly afterward the London Lambs closed.
![Lambs before Lambs Club 1915 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Lambs_before_Lambs_Club_1915_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The
Actors' strike of 1919 was settled in The Lambs, which was referred to as "Local One." In 1924 they celebrated their
golden jubilee at the
Earl Carroll Theatre
The Earl Carroll Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 753 Seventh Avenue near 50th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built by impresario Earl Carroll and designed by architect George Keister, it opened on Feb ...
.
Historically, The Lambs has been the spawning ground of plays, friendships and partnerships. ''
Mark Twain Tonight
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* F ...
'' (with
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 β January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called '' Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...
) and ''
Stalag 17
''Stalag 17'' is a 1953 American war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen confined with 40,000 prisoners in a World War II German prisoner of war camp "somewhere on the Danube". Their compound holds 630 Sergeants representi ...
'' were first performed at The Lambs prior to their national successes.
Alan J. Lerner and
Frederick Loewe first met at The Lambs, often trying works-in-progress on their fellow Lambs. Loewe left a percentage of his share of ''
Brigadoon
''Brigadoon'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, and music by Frederick Loewe. The song " Almost Like Being in Love", from the musical, has become a standard. It features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, ...
'' royalties to The Lambs' Foundation.
The Lambs was recognized on May 9, 2008, by the Mayor of New York City,
Michael Bloomberg.
The Lambs, the
New York Friars' Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City. Famous for its risquΓ© roasts, the club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Founded in 1904, it is located at 57 East 55th Street, between Park Avenue and Ma ...
, and
The Players in New York are often confused. In 1964 long-time syndicated columnist
Earl Wilson put it this way: "Long ago a New Yorker asked the difference between the Lambs, Friars, and Players, since the membership was, at the time, predominantly from Broadway." It was left to "a wit believed to have been
George S. Kaufman" to draw the distinction: "The Players are gentlemen trying to be actors, the Lambs are actors trying to be gentlemen, and the Friars are neither trying to be both."
Notable Lambs
Since its founding, there have been more than 6,700 Lambs, including:
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 β June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
,
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ΧΧ©Χ¨ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧΧΧ; May 11, 1888 β September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
,
Sid Caesar
Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 β February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950β ...
,
James Cagney,
Eddie Cantor,
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer.
Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...
,
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
,
W.C. Fields
WC or wc may refer to:
* Water closet or flush toilet
Arts and entertainment
* ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film
* WC (band), a Polish punk rock band
* WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California
* Westside Connection, former ...
,
Albert Hague
Albert Hague (born Albert Marcuse, October 13, 1920 – November 12, 2001) was a Germanβborn American songwriter and actor.
Early life
Hague was born to a Jewish family in Berlin, Germany. His father, Harry Marcuse, was a psychiatrist a ...
,
Ken Howard
Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 β March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in '' 1776'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The Wh ...
,
Al Jolson
Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 β October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-billed ...
,
John F. Madden,
Conrad Nagel
John Conrad Nagel (March 16, 1897 β February 24, 1970) was an American film, stage, television and radio actor. He was considered a famous matinΓ©e idol and leading man of the 1920s and 1930s. He was given an Academy Honorary Award in 1940 and ...
,
Eugene OβNeill,
Donald Pippin,
Cliff Robertson
Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 β September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film '' PT 109'', and won the 19 ...
,
Edward G. Robinson,
Will Rogers,
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa ( ; November 6, 1854 β March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to dis ...
,
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 β June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
,
Abe Vigoda
Abraham Charles Vigoda (February 24, 1921 β January 26, 2016) was an American actor known for his portrayals of Salvatore Tessio in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and Phil Fish in both ''Barney Miller'' (1975β1977, 1982) and '' Fish'' (1977β19 ...
,
Fred Waring
Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 β July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also ...
, and
Jack Whiting.
Current members include:
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. His roles include the Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of the title character in '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), the voice of adult Simba in Disney's ''The Lion King'' (1994) ...
,
Jim Dale
Jim Dale (born James Smith; 15 August 1935) is an English actor, composer, director, narrator, singer and songwriter. In the United Kingdom he is known as a pop singer of the 1950s who became a leading actor at the National Theatre. In Britis ...
, and
Joyce Randolph
Joyce Randolph ( Sirola; October 21, 1924) is an American actress, best known for playing Trixie Norton on the television sitcom ''The Honeymooners''.
Early life and career
Randolph was born in Detroit, Michigan on October 21, 1924. As a teena ...
of ''
The Honeymooners
''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fo ...
''.
The Lambs' website contains a listing of its past and current members.
Presidents
The president of The Lambs is called "The Shepherd". The Club displays the portraits of all its presidents, painted by artists such as
James Montgomery Flagg
James Montgomery Flagg (June 18, 1877 β May 27, 1960) was an American artist, comics artist and illustrator. He worked in media ranging from fine art painting to cartooning, but is best remembered for his political posters, particularly his 1 ...
and
Everett Raymond Kinstler.
#
Henry James Montague
Henry James Montague was the stage name of Henry John Mann, (January 20, 1843 – August 13, 1878), an American actor born in England.
Biography
Montague was born January 20, 1843, in Staffordshire, England.
After playing as an amateur he ...
(1874β1878)
#
John Lester Wallack
John Johnstone Wallack (January 1, 1820, New York City β September 6, 1888, Stamford, Connecticut), was an American actor-manager and son of James William Wallack and Susan Johnstone. He used the stage name John Lester until October 5, 1858, ...
(1878β1879, 1880β1882, 1884β1888)
#
Harry Beckett (actor) (1879β1880)
#
William Jermyn Conlin (1882β1884)
#
John Riker Brady (1888β1890)
#
Edmund Milton Holland (1890β1891)
#
Clay Meredith Greene (1891β1898, 1902β1906)
#
Thomas Benedict Clarke (1898β1900)
#
DeWolf Hopper
William DeWolf Hopper (March 30, 1858September 23, 1935) was an American actor, singer, comedian, and theatrical producer. A star of vaudeville and musical theater, he became best known for performing the popular baseball poem "Casey at the Bat" ...
(1900β1902)
#
Wilton Lackaye (1906β1907)
#
Augustus Thomas
Augustus Thomas (January 8, 1857 β August 12, 1934) was an American playwright.
Biography
Born in St. Louis, Missouri and son of a doctor, Thomas worked a number of jobs including as a page in the 41st Congress, studying law, and gaining some ...
(1907β1910)
#
Joseph Rhode Grismer (1911β1913, 1917β1918)
#
William Courtleigh
William Louis Courtleigh (1867 or 1869 β 1930) was an American stage and film actor who appeared in Broadway productions, vaudeville theatre, and silent films
Courtleigh was born June 28, either 1867 or 1969 in Guelph, Ontario, Canada to Step ...
(1913β1917)
#
Robert Hubber Thorne Burnside
Robert Hubber Thorne Burnside (August 13, 1873 β September 14, 1952) was an American actor, director, producer, composer, and playwright. He was artistic director of the 5,200-seat New York Hippodrome from 1908 to 1923. He wrote and staged hu ...
(1918β1921)
#
Albert Oldfield Brown (1921β1924, 1930β1932)
#
Thomas Meighan
Thomas Meighan (April 9, 1879 β July 8, 1936) was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading-man roles opposite popular actresses of the day, including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson. At one point he co ...
(1924β1926)
#
Thomas Alfred Wise
Thomas Alfred Wise (March 23, 1865 - March 21, 1928) was an American actor and president of The Lambs from 1926 to 1928.
Biography
Wise was born on March 23, 1865, in Faversham, England. He emigrated to the United States at the age of three, and m ...
(1926β1928)
#
Fritz Williams
Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridoli ...
(1928β1930)
#
Frank Crumit
Frank Crumit (September 26, 1889 – September 7, 1943) was an American singer, composer, radio entertainer and vaudeville star. He shared his radio programs with his wife, Julia Sanderson, and the two were sometimes called "the ideal coupl ...
(1932β1936)
#
Fred Waring
Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 β July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also ...
(1939β1942)
#
John Lionel Golden (1942β1945)
#
Raymond Wilson Peck Raymond Wilson Peck (July 3, 1874 - March 16, 1950) was a writer, lyricist, and composer. He was the president of The Lambs from 1945 to 1947.
Biography
He was born in Jackson, Mississippi on July 3, 1874.
He joined The Lambs in 1910 and served on ...
(1945β1947)
#
Bert Lytell
Bertram Lytell (February 24, 1885 – September 28, 1954) was an American actor in theater and film during the silent film era and early talkies. He starred in romantic, melodrama, and adventure films.
Background
Born in New York City, Lyt ...
(1947β1952)
#
Walter Noel Greaza (1953β1956)
#
William Gaxton
William Gaxton (nΓ© Arthur Anthony Gaxiola, December 2, 1893 – February 2, 1963) was an American star of vaudeville, film, and theatre. Gaxton was president of The Lambs Club from 1936 to 1939, 1952 to 1953, and 1957 to 1961. He and Victo ...
(1936β1939, 1952β1953, 1957β1959, 1960β1961)
#
Frank Marion Thomas (1962β1963)
#
Martin Begley (1964β1965)
#
Harry Hershfield
Harry Hershfield (October 13, 1885 – December 15, 1974) was an American cartoonist, humor writer and radio personality. He was known as "the Jewish Will Rogers". Hershfield also was a columnist for the ''New York Daily Mirror''. His boo ...
(1966β1969)
#
Jack Waldron (1969)
#
Tom Dillon (actor) (1969β1986
Tom Dillon Bio
#
Richard L. Charles
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rΔ«k-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...
(1986β1997)
#
Agustin James Pocock (1998β2001)
#
Bruce Brown (2002β2008)
#
Randy Phillips (2008β2013)
#
Marc Baron (2013β )
Clubhouses
# 1874: Founded and first dinner at
Delmonico's Restaurant
Delmonico's is the name of a series of restaurants that operated in New York City, with the present version located at 56 Beaver Street in the Financial District of Manhattan. The original version was widely recognized as the United States ...
(NE Corner of 5th Ave & 14th St.)
# 1875:
Morton House (Manhattan) Morton House or Morton Mansion may refer to:
*Asher Morton Farmstead, Paris, IL, listed on the NRHP in Illinois
*Oliver P. Morton House, Centerville, IN, listed on the NRHP in Indiana
*Roberts-Morton House, Newburgh, IN, listed on the NRHP in India ...
(Union Square)
# 1875:
Union Square Hotel
The Zeckendorf Towers, sometimes also called One Irving Place and One Union Square East, is a , 29-story, four-towered condominium complex on the eastern side of Union Square, Manhattan, in New York City. Completed in 1987, the building is loca ...
# 1876:
Wallack's Theater 848 Broadway (nicknamed "The Matchbox")
# 1877β78: 6 Union Square
# 1878: 19 East 16th Street
# 1880β1892: 34 West 26th St
# 1891:
Gilsey House
Gilsey House is a former eight-story 300-room hotel located at 1200 Broadway at West 29th Street in the NoMad neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is a New York City landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.
History
...
, 1200 Broadway
# 1892: 8 West 29th St
# 1893β1896: 26 West 31st St
# 1897β1905: 70 West 36th St (formerly and thereafter known as
Keens Chophouse)
# 1905β1975: 130 West 44th Street (expanded in 1907)
# 1975: Guest in
Lotos Club, 5 East 66th St
# 1976: Current:
3 West Club, 3 West 51st Street, 5th Floor
128 West 44th Street
The Lambs has had many Manhattan homes since 1874, beginning with
Delmonico's Restaurant
Delmonico's is the name of a series of restaurants that operated in New York City, with the present version located at 56 Beaver Street in the Financial District of Manhattan. The original version was widely recognized as the United States ...
in
Union Square
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
. Then in 1875 they met at the Maison Doree on the south side of 14th St. opposite Union Square; 1876β77 next to Wallack's theater at 848 Broadway; 1877β78 at the Union Square Hotel, 6 Union Square; 1879 within a brownstone at 19 East 16th St.; 1880β91 at a Brownstone at 34 West 26th St.; 1891 at the Gilsey House, 1200 Broadway; 1892 at 8 West 29th St.; 1893β96 at 26 West 31st St.; 1897β1905 at 70 West 36th St., what was formerly and thereafter
Keen's Chophouse remodeled by
Stanford White
Stanford White (November 9, 1853 β June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in addition ...
to be a clubhouse; in 1905 at 128β130 West 44th St., in a house designed by Stanford White, then doubled in size in 1915.
Until 1974 the Club remained at the building at 128 West 44th St. The building was also designed by Stanford White, and was erected in 1904–1905; it expanded in 1915 to include 132 West 44th St. When the club relocated to its current nine-story quarters at 3 West
51st St. adjacent to
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...
, it sold its own quarters to the
Church of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelicalism, evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, Lenexa within Johnson Cou ...
which intended to use the old building as a mission in
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
. The church leased part of the building for what would become the
Off Broadway Lamb's Theatre
Lamb's Theatre was an Off-Broadway theater located at 130 West 44th Street, Manhattan, New York City inside the Manhattan Church of the Nazarene, near Times Square in New York City. It seated approximately 350 and specialized in musical productio ...
which is not related to the Club except for the name of the building.
The building was designated a New York City Landmark in September 1974; and was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
on June 3, 1982.
In 2006 the Church of the Nazarene sold the building and theatre, which has been renovated by the Chatwal Hotel. They operate a restaurant in the hotel and named it The Lambs Club, although there is no relation between the hotel and The Lambs other than what was left of the building. The hotel itself is now a part of
Marriott's Luxury Collection.
Current activity
The Lambs, Inc., is still active in its nine-story quarters at 3 West
51st St. adjacent to
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...
. Its members have been instrumental in the formation of
ASCAP,
Actors' Equity
The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book ...
and
The Actors' Fund of America, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and in the merger that created
SAG-AFTRA
The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA, stylized as SAGΒ·AFTRA ) is an American labor union representing approximately 160,000 film and television actors, journalists, radio personalities, recordi ...
. Of the first 21 Council members of Actors' Equity, 20 were members of The Lambs. The meetings to form Actors' Equity were held at The Players, a club similar to The Lambs, because there were too many producer members of The Lambs.
References
Citations
Sources
Books
*
*
*
Newspapers
*
*
*
*
Websites
*
*
*
*
External links
The Lambs, Inc. websiteβ the NYC Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
Lambs Club records, 1880β1973 held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambs
1874 establishments in New York (state)
Arts organizations established in 1874
Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
Theatrical organizations in the United States
New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan