Monty Woolley | |
|---|---|
 Wooley asSheridan Whiteside, 1942 | |
| Born | Edgar Montillion Woolley (1888-08-17)August 17, 1888 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | May 6, 1963(1963-05-06) (aged 74) Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Greenridge Cemetery,Saratoga Springs,Saratoga County, New York |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1929?–1955 |
| Known for | The Man Who Came to Dinner |
Edgar Montillion "Monty"Woolley[1] (August 17, 1888 – May 6, 1963) was an American film and theater actor.[2] At the age of 50, he achieved a measure of stardom for his role in the 1939 stage playThe Man Who Came to Dinner and its1942 film adaptation. His distinctive white beard was his trademark and he was affectionately known as "The Beard."[3]
Woolley was born in the New York City borough ofManhattan to William Edgar (1845–1927) and Jessie Woolley (1857–1927), née Arms, and grew up in the highest social circles. Woolley received abachelor's degree atYale University, whereCole Porter was an intimate friend and classmate,[4] and master's degrees from Yale andHarvard Universities.[5] He eventually became an assistant professor of English and drama coach at Yale.[6]Thornton Wilder andStephen Vincent Benét were among his students. He served inWorld War I with theU.S. Army as afirst lieutenant assigned to the general staff in Paris.[5][7]
Woolley began directing onBroadway in 1929 withFifty Million Frenchmen,[8] and began acting there in 1936 after leaving his academic career. In 1939 he starred in theKaufman andHart comedyThe Man Who Came to Dinner for 783 performances. It was for this well-reviewed role he was typecast as the wasp-tongued, supercilious sophisticate.[9][10]
Woolley signed with20th Century Fox in the 1940s and appeared in many films through the mid-1950s. His most famous film role, a reprise of his Broadway role, was in 1941'sThe Man Who Came To Dinner in which he plays a cranky radio wag restricted to a wheelchair because of a seemingly injured hip, a caricature of the legendary punditAlexander Woollcott. The film received a good review fromThe New York Times.[10] He played himself[11] inWarner Bros.' fictionalized film biography of Cole Porter,Night and Day (1946), and the role of Professor Wutheridge inThe Bishop's Wife (1947). In the comedyAs Young as You Feel (1951), he played a printer who, fired routinely from his job at the age of 65, poses as an executive to get his job back.
He was also a frequent radio guest performer, first appearing in the medium as a foil toAl Jolson.[12] Woolley became a familiar guest on such shows asThe Fred Allen Show,Duffy's Tavern,The Big Show,The Chase and Sanborn Hour withEdgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and others. In 1950, Woolley landed the starring role in theNBC seriesThe Magnificent Montague. He played a former Shakespearean actor whose long fall onto hard times forced him to swallow his pride and take a role on daily network radio, becoming an unlikely star while sparring with his wife, Lily (Anne Seymour), and his wise-cracking maid, Agnes (Pert Kelton). The show lasted from November 1950 through September 1951.[13]
![Monty Woolley's concrete tile showing, from the top, the words "My beard" adjoining his beard imprint, the inscription "To Sid [Grauman] Wish you were here", his signature, the date "5-28-43", and his handprints](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMonty_Woolley_handprintsignature_at_Graumans_Chinese_Theatre.jpg)
Woolley first appeared on television in cameos, then in his own dramatic play seriesOn Stage with Monty Woolley.[6] He starred in aCBS TV adaptation ofThe Man Who Came to Dinner in 1954,[14] which he and some reviewers lambasted,[15][16] and appeared in other televised dramas in the seriesBest of Broadway.[9][14][17]
After completing his last film,Kismet (1955), he returned to radio for about a year, after which he was forced to retire due to ill health.
Woolley was nominated twice for anAcademy Award, forBest Actor in 1943 forThe Pied Piper and forBest Supporting Actor in 1945 forSince You Went Away. He won a Best Actor award from theNational Board of Review in 1942 for his role inThe Pied Piper.
His hands and beard were impressed in the pavement ofGrauman's Chinese Theatre in 1943.[18][19] Woolley received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, officially listed in the "Motion Picture" category,[20] though his star bears the television emblem.[21] The error of the television emblem was evident, considering his only TV efforts were his classic role as Sheridan Whiteside in a 1954 TV adaptation ofThe Man Who Came to Dinner, and another small role in an episode of a short-lived series calledFive Fingers in 1959.
Woolley andCole Porter enjoyed many adventures together in New York and on foreign travels, although Porter reportedly disapproved of Woolley taking a black man as his lover.[22]Woolley has been described in scholarly and other works as gay andcloseted.[23][24][25]
Starting in 1939, Woolley was living with a gay companion, Cary Abbott, who had also graduated from Yale in 1911. Abbott was discreetly identified publicly as Woolley's "courier-secretary-traveling companion." In 1942, Woolley and Abbott moved into a house inSaratoga Springs, where they lived together until Abbott's death, at age 58, from lung cancer, in 1948.[26]
According toBennett Cerf in his 1944 bookTry and Stop Me, Woolley was at a dinner party and suddenlybelched. A woman sitting nearby glared at him; he glared back and said, "And what did you expect, my good woman? Chimes?" Cerf wrote, "Woolley was so pleased with this line that he insisted it be written into his next role in Hollywood."[18][27]
In 1943,Alfred Hitchcock wrote a mystery story forLook titled "The Murder of Monty Woolley."[28]
Woolley was portrayed byAllan Corduner in the 2004 biopic of Cole Porter,De-Lovely.[29]
On April 6, 1963, Woolley was taken to the Saratoga Springs Hospital with heart problems, and two days later transferred to theAlbany Hospital.[30] He died of complications from kidney and heart ailments on May 6, 1963, inAlbany, New York, aged 74.[3] He is interred at theGreenridge Cemetery,Saratoga Springs,Saratoga County, New York.
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Philip Morris Playhouse | The Man Who Came to Dinner[34] |
| 1943 | Duffy's Tavern | Christmas show 12/21/43 |
| 1950 | The Magnificent Montague | Comedy, 11/10/1950-11/10/1951[35] |
Notes
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