ANNIVERSARY TODAY:
March 1, 1941: Shirley Booth starred in Duffy’s Tavern on radio.
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Here's some anniversaries connected to Shirley Booth for the month of March...
March 1942: Opening of the famous Broadway location of the Stage Door Canteen in the basement of a 44th Street Theatre to entertain servicemen.
March of 1953: The Daily Mirror, when Booth was 54 years old, stated, "This forty-two-year-old new screen sensation would be the first to admit that if her face or figure were her fortune she would be in the workhouse. BUT WHAT AN ACTRESS."
March 1953: The American Theatre Wing awarded Shirley Booth their Best Actress Award for her performance in The Time of the Cuckoo. She received the prestigious Antoinette Perry Award for "distinguished contributions to the current theatre season." This was Booth’s third Tony Award; the previous were for Goodbye, My Fancy in 1949 (Supporting Actress), and for Come Back, Little Shebain 1950 (Best Actress).
March 1947: Arthur Laurents’ Heartsong appeared briefly at Philadelphia's Walnut Theatre. Shirley played a chatty neighbor named Malloy. The show had a three-week pre-Broadway engagement, but never made it to Broadway. Linton Martin: "Although Heartsong was a flop on Broadway, it was given whatever appeal it possessed by Miss Booth’s individual acting assets in a brief and limited character part."
March 1990: Someone sent a letter to The Globe asking if Shirley Booth was still alive. The paper’s response again perpetuated the age discrepancy. This time she was dated as nine years younger than her actual age.
March 1, 1941: Shirley Booth starred in Duffy’s Tavern on radio.
March 2, 1942: In an article entitled "Shirley Booth is Stubborn," appearing in the New York World-Telegram, Shirley revealed some interesting things about her marriage to Ed Gardner. For instance, "I used to freeze and refuse to argue, until I was married."
March 2, 1942: The Broadway show My Sister Eileen's cast assembled at the Village Barn in Greenwich Village after 500 performances to do a benefit for the American Theater Wing called Strictly for Laughs. The show’s guest stars included Keenan Wynn and Benny Baker.
March 2, 1921: Dancer Frank "Killer Joe" Piro's birthday was born today (died February 5, 1989). He is known for his famous jitterbug contests during World War II. In fact, Shirley Booth was his favorite dancing partner.
March 4, 1943: Shirley Booth was heard on the radio in an episode of Stagedoor Canteen, with guest star Yehudi Menuhin.
March 4, 1945: Shirley was heard on radio on The Kate Smith Show.
March 9, 1959: Juno premiered at the Winter Garden Theatre. Joseph Stein wrote the book based on Sean O’Casey’s tragicomedy classic Juno and the Paycock. Marc Blitzstein wrote the words and music. The short-lived musical show included Jean Stapleton.
March 10, 1953: Look Magazine’s Annual Movie Awards selected Come Back, Little Sheba and The Greatest Show on Earth as the Year’s Best Pictures, Shirley Booth as Best Actress, and Hal Wallis as Producer of the Year for "tackling a story others feared to try and making it a compelling sensitive film."
March 10, 1963: Shirley appeared on television as the mystery guest on What’s My Line (Episode #654).
March 12 1953: A week before the Academy Award ceremonies Joan Crawford wrote to Shirley telling her she was glad to accept one award for Shirley and how happy someone will be to accept the Oscar for her. Interestingly, Crawford was competing for the same Oscar. Of course Shirley managed to accept the award - how she did that is another story...
March 12, 1970: Shirley appeared on NBC television as a guest on The Dean Martin Show.
March 13, 1949: Shirley was heard on radio in The Fred Allen Show.
March 15, 1963: Shirley appeared on NBC television as guest in The Merv Griffin Show.
March 15, 1940: The last episode of the NBC radio show Betty and Bob with Shirley as part of the cast. The show premiered on May 30, 1938. The series was syndicated after March 15, and Shirley was not among the cast from that point on.
March 18, 1945: Shirley was heard on radio in The Kate Smith Show.
March 19, 1951: The musical version of Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn began a one-week trial run at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, after two previews.
March 19, 1953: With a reported 15,000 fans enduring the drizzle outside the RKO Pantages Theater, and Bob Hope as the Master of Ceremonies, the 25th Annual Academy Oscars were first televised. Television paid $100,000 for the rights to broadcast the ninety-minute show. See my blog posts concerning Shirley's winning of the Academy Award.
March 21, 1957: Shirley Booth was seen on a live CBS television production of Playhouse 90. The episode entitled "The Hostess with the Mostes’ " told the story of the Washington, D.C. party-giver named Perle Mesta. Shirley starred as Perle in this ninety-minute dramatization program, which chronicled Perle’s true story from her childhood to the current day.
March 21, 1959: After a meager 16 performances, Juno closed on Broadway.
March 22, 1953: Shirley appeared on CBS television in Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town.
March 22, 1961: Shirley appeared in a live television production of The United States Steel Hour. She played a housekeeper named Jenny in N. Richard Nash’s "Welcome Home."
March 23, 1943: One of the two episodes of Duffy's Tavern with Shirley Booth that have been found to still exist. Shirley was on the show from 1940, and left in June of 1943. This particular show has Susan Hayward and Frank Buck as the guest stars.
March 23, 1947: Last broadcast of The Eddie Bracken Show on radio. Shirley played the role of Betty Mahoney. Bracken played his usual bumbling persona on this situation comedy that ran for eighteen weeks on Sundays from January 28 to May 27, 1945. It hopped over to CBS from for an additional 26 weeks beginning September 29, 1946.
March 23, 1954: Letter dated from a physician, Dr. Arthur First, who saw the production of By the Beautiful Sea in Philadelphia. He found the "Lottie Gibson Specialty" number upsetting and in poor taste as contrasted to the nostalgia of the rest of the show. Shirley kept this letter in one of her fourteen scrapbooks, which I examined in researching her biography.
March 25, 1945: Shirley was heard on radio on The Kate Smith Show. She gave her rendition of "Let Me Call You Sweetheart."
March 23, 1943: One of the two episodes of Duffy's Tavern with Shirley Booth that have been found to still exist. Shirley was on the show from 1940, and left in June of 1943. This particular show has Susan Hayward and Frank Buck as the guest stars.
March 23, 1947: Last broadcast of The Eddie Bracken Show on radio. Shirley played the role of Betty Mahoney. Bracken played his usual bumbling persona on this situation comedy that ran for eighteen weeks on Sundays from January 28 to May 27, 1945. It hopped over to CBS from for an additional 26 weeks beginning September 29, 1946.
March 23, 1954: Letter dated from a physician, Dr. Arthur First, who saw the production of By the Beautiful Sea in Philadelphia. He found the "Lottie Gibson Specialty" number upsetting and in poor taste as contrasted to the nostalgia of the rest of the show. Shirley kept this letter in one of her fourteen scrapbooks, which I examined in researching her biography.
March 25, 1945: Shirley was heard on radio on The Kate Smith Show. She gave her rendition of "Let Me Call You Sweetheart."
March 25, 1954: Shirley appeared on television at the 26th Annual Academy Awards as Presenter of Best Actor Award.
March 26, 1950: While doing the play Come Back, Little Sheba on Broadway, Shirley revisited Ford Theater on CBS radio to co-star with Danny Kaye in "The Milky Way."
March 28, 1939: The Philadelphia Story opened on Broadway and closed on March 30, 1940.
March 29, 1970: Previews of Shirley's last musical Look to the Lilies began. The show previewed 31 times before the premiere opening at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater. It then closed after only 25 performances.
March 30, 1953: A letter from Shirley's scrapbooks...From Gritti Palace-Hotel, Venezia novelist Edna Ferber wrote to Shirley. The details are found in my biography.
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THANKS FOR VISITING!
JOIN ME AGAIN TOMORROW!
*****
For purchasing any of my books, you can visit Amazon.com
You can also check www.bookfinder.com
which offers the best prices on new & used copies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Bill, His Pinup Girl: The Shirley Booth & Bill Baker Story
by Jim Manago
Foreword by Leslie Sodaro
Published December 1, 2010
Further details at: http://shirleybooth.blogspot.com
THANKS FOR VISITING!
JOIN ME AGAIN TOMORROW!
*****
For purchasing any of my books, you can visit Amazon.com
You can also check www.bookfinder.com
which offers the best prices on new & used copies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Bill, His Pinup Girl: The Shirley Booth & Bill Baker Story
by Jim Manago
Foreword by Leslie Sodaro
Published December 1, 2010
Further details at: http://shirleybooth.blogspot.com
*****
Love is the Reason for it All: The Shirley Booth Story
by Jim Manago
Radio Research by Donna Manago
Foreword by Ted Key
BearManor Media, May 2008
http://bearmanormedia.bizland.com
by Jim Manago
Radio Research by Donna Manago
Foreword by Ted Key
BearManor Media, May 2008
http://bearmanormedia.bizland.com
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