The Drury Lane Theatre is an historic English theatre in London's West End. The first theatre on the site, the Theatre Royal, opened in 1663. As theatres often did in those days, it burned down nine years later, but was rebuilt again in 1874. From 1746 to 1776, Garrick was the residentstar and co- manager. Richard Brinsley Sheridan succeeded Garrick as manager, and several of his plays were produced there. The theatre burned down again in 1809, was rebuilt in 1812. During the 1800s it was occasionally home to famous stars like Edmund Kean and George MacReady. In the latter 1800s it was associated with spectacular melodramas and stage machinery. Since the 1920s it has featured big, Broadway-style musicals. Research Drury Lane Theatre
The Tony award is an annual award by the League of New York Theatres to dramatists, performers, and technicians in Broadway plays. It is named after the American actress and producer Antoinette Perry. Research Tony Award
James Whale was an English born homosexual Hollywood film director. He was born in 1893 at Dudley and died in 1957, committing suicide by drowning. He is best known for the horror films he directed for the Universal studios during the 1930's. A prisoner of War during the Great War, it was while a prisoner that he learned how to put on plays and after the war he worked on the London stage before moving to work on Broadway and then landing a contract with Paramount as a dialogue director, after which he moved to Universal. Research James Whale
Abbott and Costello were an American comedy film partnership comprising Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Both men had theatrical experience before teaming up as a comedy double act, Costello playing the clown and Abbott his straight man. They began performing on radio in 1938, appeared on Broadway in 1939 and made a number of successful comedy films, beginning with Buck Rivates in 1941. Research Abbott and Costello
Akim Tamiroff was a Russian actor. He was born in 1899 at Tiflis, Georgia and died in 1972 of cancer. Akim Tamiroff was a short and stocky man with dark hair and thick eyebrows over intense eyes, and was often seen with a black moustache. Akim Tamiroff was cast in a variety of ethnic roles as both a hero and 'heavy'. Akim Tamiroff trained for acting at the Moscow Art Theatre Drama School and was touring with his repertory company in the USA in 1923 when he decided to stay in America. With his wife, actressTamara Shayne, Akim Tamiroff joined Balieff's Chauvre Souris troupe and performed Russian nightclub acts. Akim Tamiroff also conducted a makeup academy in New York where he worked on stage and on Broadway productions. With the advent of sound in films Akim Tamiroff was attracted to the screen and performed many 'bit' parts in films which in turn led to a solid career as a character actor. Akim Tamiroff appeared in over 100 films and is perhaps best remembered for his role as Pablo in the film 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' for which he received a best supporting actor nomination. Research Akim Tamiroff
Albert Dekker was an American actor. He was born in 1905 at Brooklyn, New York and died in 1968 of asphyxia. A stage actor from 1927,
Albert Dekker was already an established Broadwaystar when he made his film debut in 1937. Tall and with rugged good looks, he often played aggressive character roles, and was memorable as the double-crossing gang leader in the 1946 film 'The Killers'. From 1945 to 1946 he served a term in the California legislature representing the Hollywood district. As he got older, Dekker, unlike many actors, turned to the stage rather than television, and achieved great success there and on the college lecture circuit. Dekker's last role, in the 1969 western 'The Wild Bunch', was one of his more memorable ones. Research Albert Dekker
Albert Salmi (real name Alfred Salmi) was an American actor. He was born in 1928 at Brooklyn, New York and died in 1990. After serving in the Army during the Second World War, he used the GI Bill to study at the Dramatic Workshop of the American Theater Wing and the prestigious Actors Studio. He became a stage actor, eventually making it to Broadway, where his role as Bo Decker in 'Bus Stop' was his biggest stage success. A compromise between the stage and screen was live televisiondrama, in which he was cast regularly. Salmi's very first film appearance was a choice role in 'The Brothers Karamazov', for which he turned down an Oscar nomination. The National Board of Review succeeded in presenting him with their award for the same picture, however. Salmi came to enjoy film work and actively sought out parts in westerns. He then became a very familiar presence, especially on the TV screen, where he guest starred in many of the westerns and other series of the sixties and seventies. He committed suicide in 1990. Research Albert Salmi
Alexander Granach (real name Jessaja Granach) was a Polish born German actor. He was born in 1893 at Werbowitz, Galizia and died in 1945. A leading stage and film actor in Germany during the 1920's and early 1930's. With the advent of Hitler and Nazism, Granach fled his adopted homeland, eventually to arrive in America in the late 1930's where he became a Broadway and Hollywood character actor, appearing in both venues through the mid-1940's. Research Alexander Granach
Bela Lugosi (real name Be'la Ferenc Dezso Blasko) was a Hungarian-born actor. He was born in 1882 at Lugos and died in 1956 of a heartattack. He began his career in 1901 on the stage in Hungary, and then started appearing in films during the Great War. He later fled to Germany in 1919 as a result of his left-wing political activities and in 1921 emigrated to the USA and made a living as a character actor, shooting to fame when he played the role of 'Count Dracula' in the 1927 Broadway stage adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel of the same name, and appearing in the same role in the 1931 film of the book. Research Bela Lugosi
Bob Hope (real name Leslie Townes) was an English-born American comedian and actor. He was born in 1903 at Eltham, London and died in 2003 of pneumonia. Born in England, Bob Hope moved to Ohio in 1907 with his family and became a US citizen in 1920. His career started as a vaudeville dancer and comedian, making his Broadway debut in 1927 in 'The Sidewalks of New York' and his film debut in 1934. Research Bob Hope
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Abbreviations
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