The Stage Door Canteen was an entertainment venue for American and Allied servicemen that operated in the Broadway theatre district of New York City throughout World War II. Founded by the American Theatre Wing (ATW) in 1942, the entertainers were largely unpaid; volunteering their talents as a way of supporting the morale of American troops during the war. Several women in leadership with the ATW played a critical role in establishing the Stage Door Canteen, including actress

Nedda Harrigan Nedda Harrigan Logan (August 24, 1899 – April 1, 1989) was an American actress. Early life Harrigan was the youngest of 10 children of entertainer Edward Harrigan and his wife, Annie (Braham) Harrigan. Her grandfather was conductor Davi ...

and ATW co-founders Louise Heims Beck and Antoinette Perry. The canteen opened March 2, 1942 and operated seven nights a week in the previously unoccupied Little Club under the

44th Street Theatre The 44th Street Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 216 West 44th Street in New York City from 1912 to 1945. It opened and operated for three years as the Weber and Fields' Music Hall. Its rooftop theatre, the Nora Bayes Theatre, presente ...

at 216 West 44th Street in Manhattan. The official estimate of attendance on the canteen's opening night was 1,250, with 200 "actresses of varying importance" as hostesses and 75 "'name' actors" as busboys. The canteen's popularity led to the establishment of other canteens throughout the United States as well as London and Paris.

Services

In addition to shows, the canteen offered off-duty military personnel opportunities to unwind in various ways, including dancing with hostesses and female entertainers, eating, and writing letters home. Food was provided free. Between 5 p.m. and midnight daily, the canteen served 200 gallons of coffee, and 5,000 cigarettes were smoked.

In media

The original Stage Door Canteen inspired a

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

series (1942–45) and a 1943 film. The film was made by RKO Pathe Studios, using a replica of the New York venue on the studio's Culver City, California, site. The film '' This Is the Army'' (1943) and the Broadway play from which it was adapted include a scene set at the Stage Door Canteen. During that scene, Earl Oxford sang the song "I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen" in both versions. The song "speaks of the fleeting love that many of the men felt when they had to leave the canteen, never to see these beautiful women again." The most popular recorded version of the song was made by Sammy Kaye and his orchestra, with Don Cornell singing. It reached No. 2 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' chart.

Partial list of performers and public speakers who volunteered at the Stage Door Canteen

A-B

Ruth Aarons Ruth Hughes Aarons (June 11, 1918 – June 6, 1980) was a US table tennis player, vaudeville entertainer, and talent manager. Early life Ruth Aarons was born in Stamford, Connecticut, to Leila (née Hughes), an opera singer, and Alfred E. Aaron ...

* Brian Aherne *Vanoye Aixens *

Frank Albanese Frank Albanese (May 16, 1931 – October 5, 2015) was an American actor known for playing mobsters, notably on the HBO hit series ''The Sopranos''. He also appeared in gangster films like ''Goodfellas ''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') ...

* Ellen Albertini Dow * Judith Allen *Pauline Alpert * Adrienne Ames *

Elaine Anderson Steinbeck Elaine Anderson Steinbeck (born Mary Elaine Anderson; August 14, 1914 – April 27, 2003) was an American actress and stage manager. She was the widow of author John Steinbeck. Biography Anderson was born in Austin, Texas, to Libbie Adeli ...

* Eve Arden *

Amy Arnell Amy Arnell was an American singer, best known for her work with Tommy Tucker and his orchestra. Early years Arnell was born in Roanoke, Virginia, and raised in Portsmouth, Virginia. As early as age 3, she would sit on a piano and sing while her ...

* Don Arrès * Jean-Pierre Aumont *

Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...

* Jim Backus *

Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role i ...

* Kenny Baker * Rose Bampton * Tallulah Bankhead * Billy Banks * Margaret Bannerman *Joe Baque * Irina Baronova * Robert R. Barry * Diana Barrymore *

Ethel Barrymore Colt Ethel Barrymore Colt (April 20, 1912 – May 22, 1977) was an American actress and producer and a soprano who sang in more than 100 concerts in the United States, Canada, and South America. She was a member of the ninth generation of the Barrymore ...

* James Barton *

James K. Baxter James Keir Baxter (29 June 1926 – 22 October 1972) was a New Zealand poet and playwright. He was also known as an activist for the preservation of Māori culture. He is one of New Zealand's most well-known and controversial literary figures. H ...

*Frank Behrens * Ralph Bellamy *

Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid ...

* Pauline Betz * Arthur Blake * Joan Blondell *

Ray Bolger Raymond Wallace Bolger (January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian and stage performer (particularly musical theatre) who started in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major Broadway performer in ...

Margaret Bonds Margaret Allison Bonds ( – ) was an American composer, pianist, arranger, and teacher. One of the first Black composers and performers to gain recognition in the United States, she is best remembered today for her popular arrangements of Afric ...

* Victor Borge * Ruthanna Boris * Betty Brewer * Berry Brothers * Betty Bryant * Norman Budd * Billie Burke * Charles Butterworth

C

* Maureen Cannon *

Una Mae Carlisle Una Mae Carlisle (December 26, 1915 – November 7, 1956) was an American jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter. Early life Carlisle was born in Zanesville, Ohio, the daughter of Edward and Mellie Carlisle. She was of African and Native American ...

* John Carradine * Earl Carroll's Revue * Sid Catlett *Stanley Catron *Ethel Cave-Cole * Marguerite Chapman * Carol Channing *

Lucia Chase Lucia Hosmer Chase (24 March 1897 – 9 January 1986) was an American dancer, actress, ballet director and also the co-founder of the American Ballet Theatre. Life and career Chase was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, the daughter of Elizabeth ...

*George Church * Harry Clark *Tiny Clark * Montgomery Clift *Madeleine Clive *

Imogene Coca Imogene Coca (born Emogeane Coca; November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on ''Your Show of Shows''. Starting out in vaudeville as a child acrobat, she studied ballet and wishe ...

*Grant Code *Olga Coelho *

Eddie Cole Edward Bennett Coles (October 29, 1910 – June 18, 1970), known professionally as Eddie Cole, was an American jazz musician and brother to musicians Nat King Cole, Freddy Cole, and Ike Cole. Biography Eddie Cole was born to Rev. Edward J. a ...

* Jack Cole *Emil Coleman and His Orchestra *Blanche Collins * Jack Collins * Ted Collins * Jerry Colonna * Betty Comden *

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

*Frances Comstock * Walter Compton * The Condos Brothers * Billy Conn * Irving Conn *

Nadine Conner Nadine Conner (born Evelyn Nadine Henderson; February 20, 1907 - March 1, 2003) was an American operatic soprano, radio singer and music teacher. Early years She was born in Compton, California as Evelyn Nadine Henderson, and was the descendan ...

* Ann Connolly *

Ray Conniff Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s. Biography Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...

*The Continental Trio * Melville Cooper * John Frederick Coots *

George Copeland George Copeland (April 3, 1882 – June 16, 1971) was an American classical pianist known primarily for his relationship with the French composer Claude Debussy in the early 20th century and his interpretations of modern Spanish piano works. Ca ...

*Peggy Corday * Irwin Corey * Ann Corio *Irene Corlett *

Katherine Cornell Katharine Cornell (February 16, 1893June 9, 1974) was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born in Berlin to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York. Dubbed "The First Lady of the Theatre" by critic A ...

Diosa Costello Juana de Dios Castrello, better known as Diosa Costello (April 23, 1913 – June 20, 2013), was a Puerto Rican entertainer, performer, producer and club owner, *William Cottrell *Alan Courtney *Diane Courtney *

Herbert Cowans Herbert "Kat" Cowans or Cowens (born May 24, 1904 - Jan. 23rd, 1993) was an American jazz drummer born in Texas. Cowans worked as a shoeshine boy as a child. His first professional engagement as a drummer was with the Satisfied Five, a local Texa ...

Jeanne Coyne Jeanne Coyne (February 28, 1923 – May 10, 1973) was an American Broadway dancer, choreographer and actress. Biography With Carol Haney (1924 – 1964), Coyne assisted directors Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, both of whom she married. She app ...

*The Cresta Blanca Carnival *Cyril Critchlow * Harold Cromer *Bob Cronin and his NBC orchestra *Roy Cropper * Milton Cross *Margaret Cuddy * Xavier Cugat * Marion Cumbo *Frank Cunkle

D

*Donald Dame * Lili Damita * Danny Daniels *Helene Daniels * Les Damon *Emery Darcy *Jeanne Darrell *

Colette D'Arville Colette D'Arville (1902 – 16 December 1944) was a French soprano and musical theatre actress who had an international career in operas, concerts, and musicals from the 1920s through the 1940s. Born Marie Marthe Cescosse, she began her care ...

Howard da Silva Howard Da Silva (born Howard Silverblatt, May 4, 1909 – February 16, 1986) was an American actor, director and musical performer on stage, film, television and radio. He was cast in dozens of productions on the New York stage, appeared in mo ...

* Bette Davis * Evelyn Daw *

Martha Deane Mary Margaret McBride (November 16, 1899 – April 7, 1976) was an American radio interview host and writer. Her popular radio shows spanned more than 40 years. In the 1940s the daily audience for her housewife-oriented program numbered from si ...

Deep River Boys The Deep River Boys were an American gospel music group active from the mid-1930s and into the 1980s. The group performed spirituals, gospel, and R&B. Members The original group consisted of Harry Douglass (baritone), Vernon Gardner (first teno ...

* Carol Deis * Albert Dekker *Jack De Leon *

The DeMarco Sisters The DeMarco Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the big-band era who recorded popular music and performed in concerts and on the radio, television, and on film from the 1930s through the 1960s. They first achieved fame as weekly ...

Jacques de Menasce Jacques de Menasce (August 19, 1905 – January 28, 1960) was a composer, pianist, and music criticism, critic of Austrians, Austrian, and later Americans, American, nationality. Jacques de Menasce was born in Bad Ischl, then in the German-speaki ...

*Clark Dennis *Anita de Palma *

Clarence Derwent Clarence may refer to: Places Australia * Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division * Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow * Clarence River (New South Wales) * Clarence Strait (Northern Territory) * City of Clarence, a loca ...

*Romolo de Spirito *

Ragini Devi Esther Luella Sherman (18 August 1893- 23 January 1982), better known as Ragini Devi, was an Indian classical dancer of Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali and Odissi, which she popularised in the west. Early life Ragini Devi (née Esther ...

Annamary Dickey Annamary Dickey (April 11, 1911 – June 1, 1999), also known as Annamary Dickey Laue, was an American soprano and actress in operas, operettas, musicals, night clubs, and concerts who had an active performance career from the 1930s through th ...

*Artella Dickson * Muriel Dickson * Adam and Jane Di Gatano *Tommy Dix *Lee Dixon *Doris Doe * Bill Doggett *

Anton Dolin Anton Dolin may refer to: * Anton Dolin (ballet dancer) Sir Anton Dolin (27 July 190425 November 1983) was an English ballet dancer and choreographer. Biography Dolin was born in Slinfold in Sussex as Sydney Francis Patrick Chippendall Healey ...

Uncle Don ''Uncle Don'' is a children's radio program that aired on WOR radio from 1928 to 1947. The host was Uncle Don Carney, a former vaudeville performer (real name Howard Rice, 1897–1954). The half-hour program was broadcast daily, five or six days ...

Doris Doree Doris Doscher (January 24, 1882 – March 9, 1970) was an American actress and model who appeared in the movie ''The Birth of a Race'' (1915), playing the role of "Eve." She posed as Liberty for the Standing Liberty quarter (1916–1930) by H ...

* Jimmy Dorsey * Tommy Dorsey *Larry Douglas *

Helen Dowdy Helen Dowdy was a Broadway theatre, Broadway actress and singer who played the role of Queenie in the 1946 revival of Jerome Kern, Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, Hammerstein's ''Show Boat'' (a role originally played by Tess Gardella in 1927). She ...

Jessica Dragonette Jessica Valentina Dragonette (February 14, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a singer who became popular on American radio and was active in the World War II effort. Early life Born in Calcutta, India, or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Jessica Valent ...

* Alfred Drake * Ruth Draper * Vernon Duke *

Ralph Dumke Ralph Ernest Dumke (July 25, 1899 – January 4, 1964) was an American comedian and actor who had an active career from the early 1920s up until his death in 1964. He rose to fame as part of a comedy duo with Ed East, performing nationally in ...

* Katherine Dunham *Artie Dunn *

Jack Dunphy John Paul Dunphy (August 22, 1914 – April 26, 1992) was an American novelist and playwright, and partner of American author Truman Capote. Early life and dance career Dunphy was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey,Passenger list of the S. ...

*Bob Dupont *Jack Durant *Ed Durlacher *Eleanor Durkin

E-F

*Ed East *Dan Eckley *Ted Eddy and his Orchestra * Dorothy Edwards * Eddie Edwards * Joan Edwards * Kent Edwards * Leo Edwards * Penny Edwards * Maurice Eisenberg *

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

* Leonard Elliott *

Edwina Eustis Dick Edwina Eustis Dick (1 September 1908 – 3 March 1997) was an American classical contralto and pioneer in the field of music therapy. Born Edwina Eustis in New York City, she won a scholarship to study at the Juilliard School at the age of 16 whe ...

* Nanette Fabray * Lynn Fontanne

G-H

* Betty Garrett *

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

* Dolores Gray *

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur ( Brown; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress whose career spanned 80 years. She eventually received the nickname "First Lady of American Theatre" and was the second person and first woman to have w ...

* Tiny Hill Orchestra *

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

* Celeste Holm * Miriam Hopkins *

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

Laurel Hurley Laurel Hurley (born February 14, 1927) is an American soprano who had an active performance career in the mid 20th century. She performed a diverse repertoire from musical theatre, operetta and opera; encompassing roles in the lyric soprano and col ...

I-K

* José Iturbi * Chubby Jackson * Dean Jagger * George Jessel *Irene Jordan *Chandra Kaly and His Dancers * William Kapell * Maria Karnilova *

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; yi, דוד־דניאל קאַמינסקי; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and ...

* Sammy Kaye

L-M

* Bert Lahr * Carole Landis * Betty Lawford * Gertrude Lawrence *

Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard A ...

Gypsy Rose Lee Gypsy Rose Lee (born Rose Louise Hovick, January 8, 1911 – April 26, 1970) was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper and vedette famous for her striptease act. Also an actress, author, and playwright, her 1957 memoir was adapted into ...

* Oscar Levant * Ethel Levey * Cappy Lewis * Liberace *

Beatrice Lillie Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Lady Peel (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1989), known as Bea Lillie, was a Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedic performer. She began to perform as a child with her mother and sister. She made her West End debu ...

* Alfred Lunt *Dwight Marfield * George Marsh * Mary Martin * Catherine Mastice * Ethel Merman * Maria Montez

N-O

* Cornelia Otis Skinner

P-R

* Vincent Price * John Raitt *

Gregory Ratoff Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was bes ...

*Marisa Regules

S-T

Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character act ...

Georgie Tapps Georgie Tapps (born Mortimer Alphonse Becker; 1907–1997) was an American tap dancer. He appeared in a number of films and Broadway productions. He was known for his repertoire of ballet-tap and toured the vaudeville circuit during the 1930s and ...

*Marilyn Taylor Gleason * Jean Tennyson *Joyce Terry * Kay Thompson * Lawrence Tibbett *

Sophie Tucker Sophie Tucker (born Sofia Kalish; January 13, 1886 – February 9, 1966) was an American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertaine ...

Frank Tuohy John Francis ("Frank") Tuohy, (2 May 1925 – 11 April 1999) was an English writer and academic. Born in Uckfield, Sussex, he attended Stowe School and went on to read Moral Sciences and English at King's College, Cambridge. On completion of ...

* Kay Twomey

U-W

*Fred Uttal *Margaret Valdi Curtis * Vivian Vance * Astrid Varnay * Ethel Waters * Bert Wheeler * June Winters * Shelley Winters * Barry Wood *

Peggy Wood Mary Margaret Wood (February 9, 1892 – March 18, 1978) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best remembered for her performance as the title character in the CBS television series ''Mama'' (1949–1957), for which sh ...

* Barbara Woodell *

Ilene Woods Jacqueline Ruth Woods (May 5, 1929 – July 1, 2010) better known as Ilene Woods, was an American actress and singer. Woods was the original voice of the title character of the Walt Disney animated feature ''Cinderella'', for which she was nam ...

Monty Woolley Edgar Montilion "Monty" Woolley (August 17, 1888May 6, 1963) was an American film and theater actor.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1963, page 223. At the age of 50, he achieved a measure of stardom for his role in the 1939 stage play ''The Man Wh ...

* WQXR Symphony Orchestra *

Betty Wragge Elizabeth Wragge (September 22, 1918 - October 2002)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 289-290. was an actress who appeared on mo ...

*Sonja Wronkow * Jane Wyman *

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in mos ...

Nan Wynn Nan Wynn, born Masha VatzNew York Times & Arno Press ''The New York Times biographical service, Volume 2'', p. 1013; 1971 (May 8, 1918 – March 21, 1971) was an American big-band singer, and Broadway and film actress. She sang and recorded thro ...

X-Z

*Ben Yost * Roland Young * Henny Youngman *

Alexander Zakin Alexander Zakin (22 January 190316 October 1990) was a Russian-born pianist, best known for being the accompanist of the violinist Isaac Stern between 1940 and 1977. They appeared together in many of the world's most prestigious concert halls and ...

*Don Zelaya * Vera Zorina * George Zoritch

References

External links

{{Commons category, Stage Door Canteen
History of the Stage Door Canteen
United States home front during World War II

Services

In media

Partial list of performers and public speakers who volunteered at the Stage Door Canteen

A-B

C

D

E-F

G-H

I-K

L-M

N-O

P-R

S-T

U-W

X-Z

See also

References

External links