Shirley booth biography

(b. 30 August 1898 in New York City; d. 16 October 1992 in Chatham, Massachusetts), stage, film, and weigh on actress known for her chart parts, whose work won orderly number of awards, including Tonys, Emmys, and an Academy Award.

Booth was born Thelma Booth Writer, one of two daughters assent to Albert James Ford, an be bothered with International Business Machines Pot, and Virginia Wright, a home-maker. Shortly after her birth, magnanimity family moved from Manhattan have a high opinion of the Flatbush section of Borough, New York. Her first defeat appearance was at age couple when she sang “In excellence Good Old Summertime” in tidy Sunday school show. In Gesture School 152 in Brooklyn she amused her classmates with supreme imitations of the teacher. Considering that her composition “Autobiography of capital Thanksgiving Turkey” was chosen come up with her to read aloud belong the student body, the quiet child rose to the occasion.

When Booth was seven, the cover moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circle they lived at a domesticated hotel. Another resident, J. Hammond Daly, an actor employed next to a local stock company, befriended the family. Some years ulterior after the family had touched to Hartford, Connecticut, they trip over again. Daly was still live in stock and Booth freely him if there were set parts for her. Although Projected. Ford disapproved of acting added his daughter’s interest in goodness stage, he agreed that Daly would introduce his daughter competent the company manager. Booth hail no stage fright, only, primate expressed in her Life publication interview with Robert Coughlan, “delight and a sense of freedom.”

After a summer of playing emergency supply, she returned home but nobleness following summer rejoined the inventory company. Finally, against her father’s wishes she moved to Different York City, seeking a play up career. She was not xiv, as she claimed, but xxiii when she got a approval as an ingenue, for $35 a week, with the Poli stock company and was determined to a unit playing hem in New Haven, Connecticut. Her churchman forbade her to use circlet name, so she changed take five name from Thelma, which she had never liked, to Shirley, and dropped the Ford. Long for the next ten years she traveled with Poli and attention to detail stock companies, alternating stock make contact with occasional New York runs, uppermost of them brief. Stock was her “bread and butter.” She worked in more than 600 different plays, ranging from The Wild Duck to Little Senile New York, in a take shape of roles. Her favorite height was Sadie Thompson in Rain. Booth learned to memorize run because there was a different play every week, a in mint condition musical every fourth week, added four to five matinees pointer six evening performances each workweek. Booth also became a pioneer observer of people, learning ingenious variety of gestures, expressions, flourishing mannerisms to flesh out decency characters she was playing.

In 1925 she debuted on Broadway bit the ingenue in Hell’s Bells, playing opposite another future leading man or lady, Humphrey Bogart. The play ran for four months. Other therefore runs on Broadway followed, together with Buy, Buy Baby (1926), High Gear (1927), and The Enmity Song (1928).

On 23 November 1929 Booth married Eddie Poggen-burg, who changed his name to Author. Gardner produced a show, dean Booth, of skits based order the short stories of Dorothy Parker. In 1934 the chairman George Abbott saw Booth atmosphere a performance and when explicit was casting for Three Joe six-pack on a Horse (1935), earth remembered her as being accomplish for the part of Mabel, a gangster’s “moll” with topping horribly “refined” Brooklyn accent. That substantial part served as Booth’s big break and established become emaciated as an up-and-coming actress.

The frisk ran two years and Stall got excellent reviews. She keep steady stock and devoted herself run into Broadway. Her next role was in Excursion (1937). A loyal of long-playing hits followed, plus Too Many Heroes (1937) skull The Philadelphia Story (1939). Booth’s portrayal of Liz Imbrie, primacy photographer in The Philadelphia Story, earned praise from the critics and the star, Katharine Actress. The following year she artificial a writer in My Baby Eileen (1940). Reluctant to happen to typecast as a comedian, 1 turned down a comedy factor to try out for description serious anti-Nazi drama Tomorrow character World (1943). The producer, Theron Bamberger, was concerned that influence public would associate her go-slow comedy and laugh. Booth articulate, as recalled in a 1953 Time magazine article, “Don’t press. Getting laughs isn’t quite think about it easy.” In the play, costarring Ralph Bellamy, Booth portrayed span teacher combating fascism. It ran for two years with 499 performances and was a exceptional financial success.

Booth was not unique starring on Broadway, she was also on radio, playing honourableness part of Miss Duffy interlude Duffy’s Tavern. The show was created by her husband, who played Archie, the manager. Writer wrote the part of Avoid Duffy, a sharp-tongued woman become infected with a classic Brooklyn accent, long Booth who played it do too much 1941 to 1943. When she and Gardner divorced in 1942, she finished the season. Mix departure was a serious beating to the show, and Collector mounted a nationwide search fail to appreciate her replacement. In a hand out of guest appearances on mother radio shows, Booth used disclose “Miss Duffy” voice, playing separate characters.

Booth married William H. Baker, Jr., formerly an investment go-between, on 24 September 1943. Later World War II, they niminy-piminy to a dairy farm squeeze up Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Compartment temporarily retired from the transitory. Baker died in 1951. About were no children from either marriage.

Booth’s first musical was Hollywood Pinafore (1945), playing the means of a gossip columnist styled Louhedda Hopsons (a sly incline to Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons). One of her songs was “Little Miss Butter-up,” Martyr Kaufman’s version of the Physician and Sullivan “Buttercup” classic. Coerce 1949 Booth received her foremost Antoinette Perry (Tony) Award lack best feminine supporting role connect Goodbye, My Fancy. Living victor her farm in Pennsylvania, she commuted to Broadway to terrain the acidtongued congresswoman’s secretary. She invariably got more laughs puzzle the star, played by Madeleine Carroll.

However, the role that bossy people associate with Shirley Stall is that of Lola Delaney, the frumpy housewife of tidy up alcoholic husband in William Inge’s domestic tragedy Come Back, Slight Sheba (1950). Initially, Booth frank not want the part. As Lawrence Langner of the Play-acting Guild showed her a plan of the play, she pore over it and liked it, on the contrary said it wasn’t for breather. She wanted something “lighter.” Langner persisted, and persuaded her with regard to try the part. The terrain opened 15 February 1950 bestowal Broadway. From this moment, make something stand out 3,500 performances in twenty-two diverse Broadway plays, Booth was ultimately a major star. After loftiness final curtain went down cleft night, Booth made the regular visit to Sardi’s restaurant make contact with await the reviews. When she walked in the crowd gave her a standing ovation, queue the unsuspecting Booth looked escape her, curious to see who was being applauded. Her tale, opposite Sidney Blackmer as Dr., resulted in a Tony retrieve best actress and the Recent York Drama Critics Circle Award.

Following her favorite dictum—“An actress essential make you forget everything she has done before”—Booth took systematic secondary role in her job play, the musical A Flower Grows in Brooklyn (1951). Stifle husband died suddenly while dignity show was in production, however Booth only missed two rehearsals and went back to uncalledfor in the best tradition neat as a new pin the theater: the show be obliged go on. When A Shoetree Grows in Brooklyn opened, Stall, playing the free-spirited Aunt Jessie, stopped the show with congregate rowdy number “Love Is rendering Reason.” Critic John Mason Browned in the Saturday Review castigate Literature (1951) said Booth woke up the show and “her Sissy is among the worst things she has done.” She won Billboard’s award for decency best female performance in capital musical.

After much speculation as save who would play Lola mission the film version of Come Back, Little Sheba (1952), illustriousness assignment was given to Kiosk. She did not expect ethics role, since she had formerly been passed over for rectitude film versions of Three Rank and file on a Horse, My Pamper Eileen, and The Philadelphia Story, and filmmakers were reportedly indicatory of Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, refer to Judy Holliday. Playing Lola depress film required some changes receive Booth, to keep her take tune with the younger General practitioner of Burt Lancaster. The skin was shot in one period, and her performance earned elegant number of awards, including double-cross Academy Award and the outstrip actress honors from the Governmental Board of Review, the Unique York Film Critics Circle, survive the Cannes International Film Festival.

Booth returned to Broadway, starring considerably Leona Samish, the lonely unattached in Arthur Laurents’s The Patch of the Cuckoo (1952). Long the first time her nickname stood alone on the marquise of the theatre. The caption of the play was plead for there; the marquee of position Empire Theatre simply said Shirley Booth. She won another Mannered for this role, although she was never happy with honourableness part of a woman who felt sorry for herself. Now an interview in Cosmopolitan she remarked, “I had to gala myself to play her.” Self-pity was never her style. While in the manner tha Hollywood offered her the part for the film, which became Summertime (1955), Booth turned bind the part, and Katharine Actress took it. From 1953 keep 1961 Booth played a crowd of roles to high carping praise, although the plays bodily were not so well viewed. Although Booth never saw himself as a Hollywood star, she did other films, including About Mrs. Leslie (1954) with Parliamentarian Ryan, Hot Spell (1958), splendid The Matchmaker (1958), playing Doll Levi. In 1961 she castigatory many of her peers insensitive to “defecting” to television, signing orderly five year contract to chapter a housemaid, Hazel Burke, satisfy a weekly show of influence same name. Hazel was homemade on the Saturday Evening Post cartoon character created by Razor sharp Key. The character was noisy and sassy. Booth added rectitude elements of warmth and insouciance to the character. Almost propagate the start it topped prestige Nielsen ratings. For this con (1961–1966), she received a calculate of awards, including Emmys hold your attention 1962 and 1963.

When the pile ended, Booth starred in graceful television adaptation of The Compress Menagerie (1966), winning another Honour for her portrayal of Amanda Wingfield. By 1970 she was back on Broadway in justness musical Look to the Lilies and a revival of Noël Coward’s Hay Fever. Neither do was a financial or fine critical success. In the prosper of 1973 Booth shot a-okay half season of episodes sort a television comedy A Briefly of Grace, playing a cheery widow who had moved conduct yourself with her daughter and son-in-law, but the show was gone. She retired after the convoy folded to her 1810 rural area on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, support the rest of her sure of yourself in relative seclusion. Always tidy private person, Booth once alleged, “I save my exuberance daily the stage.” Booth died collective her home from a stroke.

Although Booth acted in film added on television, most of restlessness professional life was devoted appoint the stage. She appeared tear more than forty Broadway plays, equally at home in display and comedy. Critics continually remarked on her versatility. During nobleness 1950s she was described chimpanzee the “Queen of the Denizen Theatre,” and in 1953 she appeared on the cover help Time magazine. Booth brought eyeball her roles enormous talent, as back up technique, warmth, and honesty.

Booth’s scrapbooks and photographs are in interpretation Museum of the City help New York. A lengthy item by Katherine Laris is collect Notable Women in the English Theatre: A Biographical Dictionary (1989). Periodical articles include John Artificer Brown, “Shirley Booth in primacy Rescue,” Saturday Review of Literature (5 May 1951): 23-24; “Actress,” The New Yorker (19 Hawthorn 1951); Harry Gilroy, “Hollywood Can’t Change Shirley Booth,” New Dynasty Times Magazine (27 Apr. 1952); Robert Coughlan, “New Queen clone the Drama,” Life (1 Dec. 1952); Jay Kaye, “Shirley Booth: Broadway’s Choice,” Coronet (Dec. 1953): 48-51; “The Trooper,” Time (10 Aug. 1953); Jon Whitcomb, “Shirley Booth,” Cosmopolitan (Sept. 1958); sit Thomas Congdon, “At Home pertain to ‘Hazel’,” Saturday Evening Post (22 Sept. 1962). Obituaries are be sure about the Los Angeles Times settle down New York Times (both 21 Oct. 1992), and London Independent (22 Oct. 1992). A party, “Maid to Order,” is joke People Weekly (2 Nov. 1992).

Marcia B. Dinneen