Jack Gilford
Jack Gilford in 1986
Born	Jacob Aaron Gellman (1908-07-25)July 25, 1908 Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Died	June 4, 1990(1990-06-04) (aged 81) Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actor comedian activist
Years active	1937–1989
Spouse	Madeline Lee Gilford[1] ​ ​ (m. 1949)​
Children	3

Jack Gilford (bornJacob Aaron Gellman; July 25, 1908 – June 4, 1990)^[2] was an AmericanBroadway, film, and television actor. He was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor forSave the Tiger (1973).

Gilford was born on theLower East Side of Manhattan, the second of three sons of Romanian-born Jewish immigrants Sophie "Susksa" (née Jackness), who owned a restaurant, and Aaron Gellman, afurrier.^[3] He had an older brother, Murray ("Moisha"), and a younger brother, Nathaniel ("Natie"), and grew up inWilliamsburg, Brooklyn.

Gilford was discovered working in a pharmacy byMilton Berle, who became his mentor. While working in amateur theater, he competed with other talented youngsters, including a youngJackie Gleason. He started doing imitations andimpersonations. His first appearance on film was a short entitledMidnight Melodies in which he did his imitations ofGeorge Jessel,Rudy Vallee andHarry Langdon. Gilford developed some unique impressions that became his trademarks — most notably, one of "split pea soup coming to a furious boil" using only his face. Other unusual impressions he created were afluorescent light going on in a dark room,John D. Rockefeller Sr. imitatingJimmy Durante, and impressions of animals.^{[4][citation needed]}

In 1938, Gilford worked as themaster of ceremonies in the first downtown New Yorkintegrated nightclub,Café Society, which was owned and operated byBarney Josephson. His was a unique blend of the earlier style of theYiddish theater,vaudeville andburlesque, and started the tradition ofmonology such as later comediansLenny Bruce andWoody Allen used. He won numerous industry awards. Gilford became known for his roles on theBroadway stage, such asDrink To Me Only,Romanoff and Juliet, andThe Diary of Anne Frank.

Gilford's career was derailed for a time during the 1950s andMcCarthyism. He was an activist who campaigned forsocial change,integration, and labor unions. He was quite active both socially and politically inleft-wing causes, as was his wife,Madeline Lee.^[1] In 1953 Gilford and Lee were called to testify before theHouse Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) regarding their allegedCommunist sympathies, after being specifically named by choreographerJerome Robbins in his own testimony to the committee.^[1][5] The couple had difficulty finding work during much of the rest of the 1950s due to theHollywood blacklist, and often had to borrow money from friends to make ends meet.

Gilford found work towards the end of the 1950s and during the early 1960s with the end of the McCarthy era. He made his comeback as Hysterium in the 1962 Broadway musicalA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He co-starred in the play with his close friend,Zero Mostel, who was also blacklisted during the McCarthy era. This production was also choreographed byJerome Robbins, who had previously testified before the House Committee in 1953.^[5]

One of Gilford's specialties waspantomime, and this talent was put to good use by directorGeorge Abbott when he cast Gilford as the silent King Sextimus inOnce Upon a Mattress (Off-Broadway, 1959). Gilford shared the stage with a youngCarol Burnett in this production, and reprised his performance with her in two separate televised versions of the show in 1964 and in 1972.^[6]

Gilford was nominated for severalTony Awards, including for best supporting actor as Hysterium inA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1963), and for his role as Herr Schultz inCabaret (1966). He was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor in (1973) for his role as Phil Green inSave the Tiger (his co-starJack Lemmon won for Best Actor). SirRudolf Bing engaged Gilford for the comic speaking role of the tippling jailer Frosch in the operettaDie Fledermaus.^[7] Beloved in the part, Gilford performed it 77 times between 1950 and 1964.^[8]

He appeared in a series of television commercials forCracker Jack in the 1960s, and enjoyed success in films, including a notable role inCocoon (1985).^[5]

Gilford met actress (and later producer)Madeline Lee at progressive political meetings and events during the late 1940s. Gilford entertained at many of these events, some of them produced by Lee.^[1] She was married at the time and divorced her first husband soon after meeting Gilford.^[5] The couple married in 1949,^[1] remaining together for 40 years until his death in 1990. They raised three children: Lisa Gilford, a producer (from Lee's previous marriage); Joe Gilford, a screenwriter, playwright, and stage director; and Sam Max Gilford, an artist and archivist.^[2]

Following a year-long battle withstomach cancer, Gilford died in hisGreenwich Village,Manhattan, New York City, home in 1990 at age 81.^[9] His wife, Madeline Lee Gilford, died on April 15, 2008, from undisclosed causes.^[1] Gilford is buried in theYiddish theater section ofFlushing, New York's,Mount Hebron Cemetery.^[10]

In July 2008,Josh Radnor andJennifer Westfeldt starred in the premiere of the playFinks, based on the Gilfords' experiences with HUAC and theHollywood blacklist, written by Joe Gilford (their son), and directed by Charlie Stratton for stage and film.^[11] The play was producedOff-Broadway at New York'sEnsemble Studio Theatre in April 2013.

The New York Times called it a "bracing play" that "quickly leaves you not caring that you've visited the territory before."^[12]Finks was nominated for aDrama Desk Award forOutstanding Play, with Miriam Silverman^[13] nominated forOutstanding Actress in a Play.^[14]

• Meet the People (1940–1941, musical revue)^[15]
• They Should Have Stood in Bed (1942, play)^[15]
• Alive and Kicking (1950, musical revue)^[15]
• The Live Wire (1950, play)^[15]
• The World ofSholem Aleichem (1953, play,Off-Broadway)^[15]
• The Diary of Anne Frank (1955–1957, play)^[15]
• Romanoff and Juliet (1957–1958, play)^[15]
• Drink to Me Only (1958, play)^[15]
• Look After Lulu (1959, play)^[15]
• Once Upon a Mattress (1959, musical)^[15] – Gilford initially played the role of King SextimusOff-Broadway. When the show moved toBroadway, the role was played byWill Lee instead. Gilford, though, reprised his Sextimus performance for two television productions of the musical.
• The Tenth Man (1959–1961, play)^[15]
• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962–1964, musical)^[15]
• Cabaret (1966–1968, musical)^[15]
• Three Men on a Horse (1969–1970, play, revival)^[15]
• No, No, Nanette (1971, revival, musical)^[15]
• The Sunshine Boys (1973–1974, play, replacement forJack Albertson)^[15]
• Sly Fox (1976–1978, play)^[15]
• The Supporting Cast (1981, play)^[15]
• The World of Sholem Aleichem (1982, play, revival)^[15]

• Winnie-The-Pooh: 17 Songs From The Pooh Song Book (1952)
• You Don't Have to Be Jewish (1965)
• Anything Goes, conducted by John McGlinn; EMI Records (1989)

• Jack Gilford atIMDb
• Jack Gilford at theInternet Broadway Database
• Jack Gilford at theInternet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
• Jack and Madeline Gilford papers, 1938-2005, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
• Jack Gilford atFind a Grave

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