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George Abbott

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This article is about the Broadway showman. For others named George Abbott or George Abbot, see George Abbot.
George Abbott (June 25, 1887—January 31, 1995) was a Broadway showman who became one of the most versatile and successful theatre craftsmen in the modern era of American stage. Abbott wrote, produced and directed some of the most notable Broadway plays, including The Pajama Game, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Damn Yankees.

He was born George Francis Abbott in Forestville, New York, near the town of Salamanca, which twice elected his father mayor. At the age of 13 he attended Kearney Military Academy in Cheyenne, Wyoming upon his family's move there in 1898. Within a few years the family was back in New York where Abbott graduated from Hamburg High School in 1907. In 1911 he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester and wrote the play Perfectly Harmless which was performed at the University Dramatic Club.

Abbott then went to Harvard University where he studied play writing under George Pierce Baker. Under Baker's tutelage he wrote the play The Head of the Family, which was performed at the Harvard Dramatic Club in 1912. He then worked for a year as assistant stage manager at the Bijou Theatre in Boston where his The Man in the Manhole won a play contest.

Abbott first appeared as an actor on Broadway in The Misleading Lady in 1913. While acting in several plays in New York City he began to write, with his first successful play being 1925's The Fall Guy. He moved on to work in Hollywood as a writer and director, while continuing with his theatre work. His most notable directorial efforts were the Rodgers and Hart shows Jumbo, On Your Toes, The Boys from Syracuse and Pal Joey, as well as On the Town (with Comden and Green and Leonard Bernstein), High Button Shoes, Where's Charley?, Call Me Madam, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Wonderful Town, The Pajama Game (in which Bob Fosse got his break as a choreographer), Damn Yankees, Fiorello!, The early Stephen Sondheim musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and the team of Kander and Ebb's first musical Flora the Red Menace which presented Liza Minnelli in her Broadway debut at age 19).

In addition to his other activities, Abbott acquired a reputation as an astute (and ruthless) "show doctor" he would be called in to supervise changes when a show was having difficulties in tryouts or previews.

He married his first wife Ednah Levis in 1914 and they had a daughter Judith, who became an actress and married actor Tom Ewell in 1946. Ednah died in 1930 and Abbott married his second wife, Mary Sinclair in April 1946—they divorced in 1951. On November 21, 1983, five months past his 96th birthday, he married his third wife Joy Valderrama.

In 1965 the 54th St. Theater (previously the Adelphi Theater) was named the George Abbott Theater in his honor. The theater was demolished in 1970.

He died of a stroke in Miami Beach, four months and three weeks short of his 108th birthday. While a lifespan of this length is rare, being not only competent but artistically productive at such an age may be unmatched. The New York Times obituary read: "Mrs. Abbott said that a week and a half before his death he was dictating revisions to the second act of Pajama Game with a revival in mind. Last year, at a mere 106 years old, he walked down the aisle on opening night of the Damn Yankees revival and received a standing ovation. He was heard saying to his companion, "There must be somebody important here."

George Abbott stands as one of the most admired men in the history of Broadway and has been inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

Credits

* Year Title Classification Role

Awards and nominations

Abbott won five Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize (for "Fiorello!"). He was Academy Award nominated for All Quiet on the Western Front. Abbott was also honored at the 1982 Kennedy Center Honors. He received an award for his 70+ year dedication to American theater.

 

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