Jack Gilford

Jack Gilford
175px Jack Gilford in 1986
Born	Jacob Aaron Gellman (1907-07-25)July 25, 1907 New York, New York, U.S.
Died	New York, New York, U.S.
Cause of death	Stomach cancer
Residence	Greenwich Village, New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actor, Comedian, Activist
Years active	1944-1988
Spouse(s)	Madeline Lee Gilford (1949-1990; his death); 3 children

Jack Gilford (July 25, 1907 – June 4, 1990) was an American Broadway, film and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Save the Tiger (1973).

Early life

Gilford was born Jacob Aaron Gellman on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. His parents were Romanian-born Jewish immigrants Sophie "Susksa" (née Jackness), who owned a restaurant, and Aaron Gellman, a furrier. Gilford was the second of three sons, with an older brother Murray ("Moisha") and a younger brother Nathaniel ("Natie").

Gilford was discovered working in a pharmacy by his mentor Milton Berle. While working in amateur theater, he competed with other talented youngsters, including a young Jackie Gleason. He started doing imitations and impersonations. His first appearance on film was a short entitled Midnight Melodies where he did his imitations of George Jessel, Rudy Vallee and Harry Langdon. He 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 a fluorescent light going on in a dark room, John D. Rockefeller Sr. imitating Jimmy Durante, and impressions of animals.

Career

In 1938, Gilford worked as the master of ceremonies in the first downtown New York integrated nightclub, Café Society owned and operated by Barney Josephson. He was a unique blend of the earlier style of the Yiddish theater, vaudeville and burlesque, and started the tradition of monology such as later comedians Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen used. He won numerous industry awards.

He was nominated for several Tony Awards for best supporting actor as Hysterium in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1963), and for his role as Herr Schultz in Cabaret (1966). He was nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor in (1973) for his role as Phil Green in Save the Tiger (his co-star Jack Lemmon won for Best Actor). Sir Rudolf Bing engaged Gilford for the comic speaking role of the tippling jailer Frosch in the operetta Die Fledermaus. Loved in the part, Gilford performed it 77 times between 1950 and 1964.

One of Gilford's specialties was pantomime, and this talent was put to good use by director George Abbott when he cast Gilford as the silent King Sextimus in Once Upon a Mattress (Off-Broadway, 1959). Gilford shared the stage with a young Carol Burnett in this production, and reprised his performance with her in two separate televised versions of the show, in 1964 and in 1972.

Gilford's career was derailed for a time during the 1950s and McCarthyism. He was an activist who campaigned for social change, integration and labor unions. He was quite active both socially and politically in left-wing causes, as was his wife, Madeline Lee. In 1953 Gilford and Lee were called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) regarding their alleged Communist sympathies, after being specifically named by choreographer Jerome Robbins in his own testimony to the committee.The couple had difficulty finding work during much of the rest of the 1950s due to the Hollywood 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 musical A 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. Ironically, this particular production was also choreographed by Jerome Robbins, who had previously testified before HUAC in 1953.

Gilford became successful mostly through roles on the Broadway stage, such as Drink To Me Only, Romanoff and Juliet, and The Diary of Anne Frank. He later enjoyed success in film and television, as well as a series of nationwide television commercials for Cracker Jack.

Personal life

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. She was married at the time and divorced her first husband soon after meeting Gilford. The couple married in 1949, remaining together for 40 years until Jack Gilford's death in 1990. The couple raised three children: Lisa Gilford, a producer (from Lee's previous marriage); Joe Gilford, a screenwriter/playwright/stage director; and Sam Max Gilford, an artist/archivist.

Death

Following a year-long battle with stomach cancer, he died in his Greenwich Village home in 1990, aged 82. His wife, Madeline Lee Gilford, died on April 15, 2008, from undisclosed causes. Gilford is buried in the Yiddish theater section of Flushing, New York's Mount Hebron Cemetery.

Biographical play, Finks

In July 2008, Josh Radnor and Jennifer Westfeldt starred in the premiere of the play Finks, based on the Gilfords experiences with HUAC and the Hollywood blacklist, written by Joe Gilford (their son), and directed by Charlie Stratton for stage and film. The play was produced Off-Broadway at New York's Ensemble 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." Finks was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, with Miriam Silverman nominated for Best Actress.

Broadway stage appearances

Source

Playbillvault

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

TV and filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1944	Hey, Rookie	Specialty
1944	Reckless Age	Joey Bagle
1959	TV: The World of Sholem Aliechem	Bontshe Shveig
1963	TV: Cowboy and the Tiger	Tiger
1963	TV: Car 54, Where Are You? Season #2 Episode #30 (series finale) "The Curse of the Snitkins"	Officer Luther Snitkin
1964	TV: Once Upon a Mattress	King Sextimus
1966	The Daydreamer	Papa Andersen
1966	Mister Buddwing	Mr. Schwartz
1966	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum	Hysterium
1967	Enter Laughing	Mr. Foreman
1967	Who's Minding the Mint?	Avery Dugan
1967	The Incident	Sam Beckerman
1969	TV: Arsenic and Old Lace	Dr. Jonas Salk
1969	Here's Lucy	Driving Examiner
1969	"Get Smart"	Simon The Likeable
1970	Catch-22	"Doc" Daneeka
1971	They Might Be Giants	Wilbur Peabody
1972	TV: Of Thee I Sing	Vice President Throttlebottom
1972	TV: Once Upon a Mattress	King Sextimus
1973	Save the Tiger	Phil Greene
1976	Tubby the Tuba	voice: The Herald
1976	Short: Max	Max
1976	Harry and Walter Go to New York	Mischa
1976	TV: All in the Family	Bernard Bernstein
1977	TV: Seventh Avenue	Finklestein
1977	The Doonesbury Special	voice
1979	TV: Taxi	as Joe Rieger Father of Alex Rieger Honor Thy Father with Joan Hackett playing Alex Rieger sister Charlotte Rieger, 18 Sep. 1979. And Returns as Joe Rieger in November 12, 1981 Taxi Episode Like Father, Like Son.
1979	TV: Soap	Saul
1980	Cheaper to Keep Her	Stanley Bracken
1980	Wholly Moses!	Tailor
1981	TV: Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood	Wally
1981	Caveman	Gog
1981 & 1982	TV: "The Love Boat"	episodes: That Old Gang of Mine (1981); A Honeymoon for Horace (1982)
1983	Anna to the Infinite Power	Dr. Henry Jelliff
1983	TV: Happy	Bernie Nelson
1985	Cocoon	Bernie Lefkowitz
1985	TV: Hostage Flight	Mr. Singer
1985	TV: Night Court - An Old Flame	Marty Ratner
1986	TV: Young Again	The Angel
1988	Arthur 2: On the Rocks	Mr. Butterworth
1988	Cocoon: The Return	Bernie Lefkowitz
1988	TV: The Golden Girls	Max Weinstock

External links

• Jack Gilford at the Internet Movie Database
• Jack Gilford at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jack Gilford at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Jack and Madeline Gilford papers, 1938-2005, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts