George Abbott | |
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Born | George Francis Abbott June 25, 1887 Forestville, New York, United States |
Died | January 31, 1995 (aged 107) Miami Beach, Florida, United States |
Nationality | American |
Spouse | Ednah Levis (1914–1930) Mary Sinclair (1946–1952) Joy Valderrama (1983–1995) |
Information | |
Debut works | The Fall Guy (1925) Love 'em and Leave 'em (1926) |
Magnum opus | Damn Yankees (1955) Fiorello! (1959) |
Works with | Sheldon Harnick Richard Rodgers Jerome Weidman |
Awards | Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director (1983) Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1960) Tony Award Best Direction (1960, 1963) Tony Award Best Musical (1955, 1956, 1960) Special Tony Award (1987) |
George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than eight decades.
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Biography
Early years
Abbott was born in Forestville, New York, near the town of Salamanca, which twice elected his father mayor. In 1898, his family moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he attended Kearney Military Academy. Within a few years, his family returned to New York, and he graduated from Hamburg High School in 1907. Four years later, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester, where he wrote his first play, Perfectly Harmless, for the University Dramatic Club.
Abbott then went to Harvard University, where he studied playwriting under George Pierce Baker. Under his tutelage, he wrote The Head of the Family, which was performed at the Harvard Dramatic Club in 1912. He then worked for a year as assistant stage manager at the Bijou Theatre in Boston, where his play The Man in the Manhole won a contest.
Career
Abbott first appeared as an actor on Broadway in The Misleading Lady in 1913. However, his breakthrough role, the cowboy Tex in Zander the Great, did not come until 1923.[1]
While acting in several plays in New York City, he began to write, with his first successful play being The Fall Guy (1925). Abbott acquired a reputation as an astute "show doctor." He frequently was called upon to supervise changes when a show was having difficulties in tryouts or previews prior to its Broadway opening. His first great hit was Broadway, written and directed in partnership with Philip Dunning, whose play Abbott "rejiggered".[2] It opened on September 16, 1926 at the Broadhurst Theatre and ran for 603 performances. Other successes followed, and it was a rare year that did not have an Abbott production on Broadway.
He also worked in Hollywood as a writer and director while continuing with his theater work.
Among those who crossed paths with Abbott early in their careers are Desi Arnaz, Gene Tierney, Betty Comden, Hal Prince, Adolph Green, Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, Bob Fosse, Stephen Sondheim, John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Liza Minnelli.
Personal life
Abbott married his first wife Ednah Levis in 1914. They had a daughter Judith, who became an actress and married actor Tom Ewell in 1946. Ednah died in 1930 and Abbott married Mary Sinclair in April 1946; they divorced in 1951. On 21 November 1983, five months past his 96th birthday, he married Joy Valderrama.
Abbott died of a stroke in Miami Beach, four months and three weeks short of his 108th birthday. The New York Times obituary read, "Mrs. Abbott said that a week and a half before his death he was dictating revisions to the second act of Pajama Game with a revival in mind. In 1994, at a mere 106 years old, he walked down the aisle on opening night of the Damn Yankees revival and received a standing ovation. He was heard saying to his companion, 'There must be somebody important here.'"[1]
Honors
In 1965, the 54th Street Theatre was rechristened the George Abbott Theater in his honor. The building was demolished in 1970. New York's George Abbott Way, the section of West 45th Street northwest of Times Square, is also named after him.
He received New York City's Handel Medallion in 1976, honorary doctorates from the Universities of Rochester and Miami, and the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award in 1982.[1] He was also inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. In 1990, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.[3]
Work
Stage
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Filmography
Year | Title | Credit |
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1918 | The Imposter | Writer, actor (Lem) |
1926 | Love 'Em and Leave 'Em | Writer |
1927 | Hills of Peril | Playwright, A Holy Terror |
1928 | Four Walls | Playwright, writer |
1929 | Coquette | Playwright |
1929 | The Carnival Man | Director |
1929 | Broadway | Playwright, writer |
1929 | The Bishop's Candlesticks | Director |
1929 | Why Bring That Up? | Director, writer |
1929 | The Saturday Night Kid | Playwright, Love 'Em and Leave 'Em |
1929 | Night Parade | Playwright, Ringside |
1929 | Halfway to Heaven | Director, writer |
1930 | El Dios del mar | Writer |
1930 | All Quiet on the Western Front | Writer |
1930 | The Fall Guy | Playwright |
1930 | Manslaughter | Director, writer |
1930 | The Sea God | Director, writer |
1931 | Der Sprung ins Nichts | Writer |
1931 | Stolen Heaven | Director; writer |
1931 | La Incorregible | Playwright, Manslaughter |
1931 | Sombras del circo | Playwright, Halfway to Heaven |
1931 | À mi-chemin du ciel | Playwright, Halfway to Heaven |
1931 | Secrets of a Secretary | Director, writer |
1931 | My Sin | Director; writer |
1931 | The Cheat | Director |
1932 | Halvvägs till himlen | Writer |
1932 | Those We Love | Playwright |
1933 | Lilly Turner | Playwright |
1934 | Heat Lightning | Playwright |
1934 | Straight Is the Way | Playwright, Four Walls |
1936 | Three Men on a Horse | Playwright |
1938 | Broadway | Writer |
1939 | On Your Toes | Playwright |
1940 | Too Many Girls | Director |
1940 | The Boys from Syracuse | Playwright, director |
1941 | Highway West | Playwright, Heat Lightning |
1942 | Broadway | Playwright |
1947 | Beat the Band | Playwright |
1957 | The Pajama Game | Writer, director, producer |
1958 | Damn Yankees | Writer, director, producer |
Awards and nominations
- Awards
- 1955 Tony Award for Best Musical – The Pajama Game
- 1956 Tony Award for Best Musical – Damn Yankees
- 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Drama – Fiorello!
- 1960 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – Fiorello!
- 1960 Tony Award for Best Musical – Fiorello!
- 1963 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
- 1976 Special Tony Award: The Lawrence Langer Award
- 1982 Kennedy Center Honors
- 1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical – On Your Toes
- 1987 Special Tony Award on the occasion of his 100th birthday
- Nominations
- 1930 Academy Award for Best Achievement in Writing – All Quiet on the Western Front
- 1958 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical – Damn Yankees
- 1958 Tony Award for Best Musical – New Girl in Town
- 1958 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical – The Pajama Game
- 1959 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures – Damn Yankees
- 1963 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – Never Too Late
- 1968 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – How Now, Dow Jones
References
- ^ a b c Berger, Marilyn (February 1, 1995). "George Abbott, Broadway Giant With Hit After Hit, Dead at 107". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/01/obituaries/george-abbott-broadway-giant-with-hit-after-hit-dead-at-107.html?pagewanted=3. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
- ^ "Theater: Director/Writer George Abbott, 1887-1995". Newsweek. February 13, 1995. http://www.newsweek.com/id/106449/page/1. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
- ^ Lifetime Honors - National Medal of Arts
External links
- "George Abbott". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7969880.
- George Abbott at the Internet Broadway Database
- George Abbott at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- George Abbott at the Internet Movie Database
- George Abbot fansite
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