Charlotte Greenwood

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Charlotte Greenwood
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Born Frances Charlotte Greenwood
(1890-06-25)June 25, 1890
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actress, dancer
Years active 1915–61
Spouse(s) Cyril Ring (1915–22; divorced)
Martin Broones (1924–71; his death)

Frances Charlotte Greenwood (June 25, 1890 – December 28, 1977) was an American actress and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing around six feet tall, she was best known for her long legs and high kicks. She earned the unique praise of being, in her words, the "...only woman in the world who could kick a giraffe in the eye."

In 1913, Oliver Morosco cast her as Queen Ann Soforth of Oogaboo late in the run of L. Frank Baum and Louis F. Gottschalk's The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (better known in its novelization as Tik-Tok of Oz). In 1916, Morosco commissioned a successful star vehicle stage play titled So Long Letty. This role made her a star; she reprised it in the 1929 movie of the same name.

She appeared with such luminaries as Charles Ruggles, Betty Grable, Jimmy Durante, Eddie Cantor, Buster Keaton, and Carmen Miranda. Most of Greenwood's best work was done on the stage, and was lauded by such critics as James Agate, Alexander Woollcott, and Claudia Cassidy. One of her most successful roles was that of Juno in Cole Porter's Out of This World in which she introduced the Porter classic "I Sleep Easier Now". She had some discomforts with that play, as she had become a devout Christian Scientist and feared the play was too risqué.[1] She also reportedly turned down a role as "Mother Superior" in Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music partly because she felt she could not, in good conscience, play a nun because of her faith.[2] One of her last movie roles was singing and dancing as the feisty matriarch, Aunt Eller, in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!.

Radio

Greenwood had her own program, The Charlotte Greenwood Show, a situation comedy. It was broadcast 1944-1946, first on ABC and later on NBC.[3] She also was in "Home in Indiana" on Lux Radio Theatre October 2, 1944.[4]

Recordings

Greenwood ventured into recorded music with an album of songs from Cole Porter's musical Out of This World and another from the musical comedy Oh, by Jingo.[5]

Death

Charlotte Greenwood died in Los Angeles, California from undisclosed causes, aged 87.

Marriages

She was married twice, first, to actor Cyril Ring, brother of actress Blanche Ring, and secondly to composer Martin Broones. The first union ended in divorce; the second with Broones' death. Both unions were childless.

Filmography

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References

  1. ↑ Slide, Anthony. The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville pg 214
  2. ↑ Hayter-Menzies, Grant, Charlotte Greenwood pgs 223 and 248
  3. ↑ Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. P. 150.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Sources

  • Hayter-Menzies, Grant. Charlotte Greenwood: The Life and Career of the Comic Star of Vaudeville, Radio and Film. McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina and London, 2007; ISBN 978-0-7864-2995-0.

External links

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