George Abbott: an amazing playwright and person.
An important playwright that I am going to talk about is George Abbott. He was born on June 25, 1887 in Forestville, New York. He attended military school when he was a child, but ultimately graduated from high school in 1907. He went on to college at the University of Rochester. While there, he wrote his first play Perfectly Harmless.
George first appeared as an actor on Broadway in the play The Misleading Lady in 1913. His breakthrough role was the cowboy Tex in Zander the Great in 1923. He liked to act, but he also liked to write plays. His first successful play was called The Fall Guy. He wrote it in 1925. His first great hit was Broadway. It opened on September 16, 1926 and ran an amazing 603 performances. Some of the famous people he worked with were: Liza Minnelli, Desi Arnaz, Leonard Bernstein, and Fred Ebb.
Abbott married 3 times. He married his first wife, Ednah Levis in 1914. She died in 1930 and Abbott married Mary Sinclair in 1946; they divorced in 1951. In 1983, he married Joy Valderrama, just months after his 96th birthday.
George Abbott died on January 31, 1995, just months before his 108th birthday. He died of a stroke in Miami Beach. He wrote plays and helped direct up to weeks before he died. Can you imagine first, living to the age of 108, and second, still writing and directing plays at that age? I can’t fathom it. He was pretty amazing if you ask me.
Abbott either wrote, directed, or was a playwright for the following works:
• 1915: The Yeomen of the Guard (actor)
• 1918: Daddies (actor)
• 1920: The Broken Wing (actor)
• 1923: Zander the Great (actor)
• 1925: The Fall Guy (playwright)
• 1926: Love 'em and Leave 'em (playwright, director)
• 1926: Chicago (director)
• 1926: Broadway (playwright, director)
• 1928: Gentlemen of the Press (director)
• 1932: Lilly Turner (playwright, director, producer)
• 1932: Twentieth Century (director, producer)
• 1935: Jumbo (director)
• 1936: On Your Toes (book)
• 1937: Room Service (director, producer)
• 1938: The Boys from Syracuse (book, director, producer)
• 1939: Too Many Girls (director, producer)
• 1940: Pal Joey (director, producer)
• 1944: On the Town (director)
• 1947: High Button Shoes (director)
• 1948: Where's Charley? (book, director) • 1949: Mrs. Gibbons' Boys (producer, director)
• 1950: Call Me Madam (director)
• 1951: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (book, director, producer)
• 1953: Wonderful Town (director)
• 1954: The Pajama Game (book, director)
• 1955: Damn Yankees (book, director)
• 1957: New Girl in Town (book, director)
• 1959: Once Upon a Mattress (director)
• 1959: Fiorello! (book, director)
• 1960: Tenderloin (book, director)
• 1962: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (director)
• 1964: Fade Out - Fade In (director)
• 1965: Flora, The Red Menace (book, director)
• 1965: Anya (book, director)
• 1967: How Now, Dow Jones (director)
• 1968: The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N (director)
• 1969: The Fig Leaves Are Falling (director)
• 1970: Norman, Is That You? (director)
• 1976: Music Is (book, director)
• 1987: Broadway (revival, book, director)
• 1994: Damn Yankees (musical) (revival, book, creative consultant, script revisions)
He definitely did more than just those. He also was a big part of the film industry with the following film works:
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
George also received the following nominations or awards:
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
All information from wikipedia.com
I personally thing George Abbott is an amazing playwright. He had such an influence on so many different parts of theater. Like I said earlier, he wrote up until he died at the age of 107. I don’t think I would have strength to do anything at that age. He was brave, well-loved, and obviously a hard worker. I think I like him because he was such a hard worker. I think I can appreciate theater and plays more because of him. He worked so hard for so long at his job, and he truly did love what he was doing. Theater was his life. He loved acting, directing, producing, being a playwright. I think that is why I admire him. He loved his job and it showed. I someday hope to love my job so much that when/if I make it to 107 years old, I’ll still want to be teaching children just like he wanted to still be a playwright.
