Wikipedia

John Murray Anderson: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m wikilink
→Marriage and family: his wife died in 1916 tuberculosis
 
(66 intermediate revisions by 42 users not shown)
Line 1:
[[Image:John{{Short Murray Andersondescription|Canadian theatre director.jpg|thumb|John Murrayand Anderson]]producer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
[[File:J.M. Anderson LOC 29564644715 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Anderson c. 1915–20]]
 
'''John Murray Anderson''' ([[September 20]], [[1886]] – [[January 30]], [[1954]]) was a Canadian [[theatre director]] and [[theatre producer|producer]], [[songwriter]], [[actor, screenwriter]], dancer and [[lighting designer]], who made his career in the United States, primarily in New York City and Hollywood. He worked in almost every genre of show business, including [[vaudeville]], [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], and film. He also directed plays in London.
 
==Early life and education==
BornJohn Murray Anderson was born in 1886 in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]], [[Newfoundland and LabradorColony|Newfoundland]], the son of Hon. [[John Anderson (Newfoundland politician)|John Anderson]] and his wife. His brother ofwas [[Hugh Abercrombie Anderson]],. heAnderson received his early education at [[Bishop Feild College]] in St. John’sJohn's. He was then sent to Europe, wherefor headditional was educatedstudies at [[Edinburgh Academy]] in [[Scotland]]. andHe entered college at the [[University of Lausanne University]] in [[Switzerland]]. HeLater, he also studied singing with [[Charles Stanley|Sir Charles StanleySantley]] and art with [[Herbert Beerbohm Tree|Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree]]. Before beginning his theatrical career, he was an antiques dealer in [[New York City]], where he sold collections he had accumulated in Newfoundland.<ref name="encyclopedia">''[[Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador]]'', ISBN 0-9693422-1-7.</ref> This lasted a year, as he said, because he had "everything but customers" in his store.<ref>J. Ernest Kerr, ''Imprint of the Maritimes'', 1959, Boston: Christopher Publishing, p. 35London.</ref>
 
==Career==
In New York, Anderson quickly became involved in theatre, first as a dance instructor, before becoming a writer and producer. He made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway debut]] wearing three hats, as writer, director, and producer of ''The Greenwich Village Follies'' in 1919. He subsequently produced new editions of the [[revue]] in each of the five succeeding years. He also was responsible for productions of the ''[[Ziegfeld Follies]]'' in 1934, 1936, and 1943, the [[Harold Arlen]]-[[Ira Gershwin]]-[[E. Y. Harburg]] revue ''[[Life Begins at 8:40]]'' (1934), [[Billy Rose]]'s ''[[Jumbo (musical)|Jumbo]]'' (1935), ''One for the Money'' (1939), ''[[Two for the Show (musical)|Two for the Show]]'' (1940), and ''Three to Make Ready'' (1946), and ''[[New Faces of 1952]]''. In the [[West End theatre|West End]] he directed ''The League of Notions'', ''Bow Bells'', and ''Fanfare''.▼
 
After completing studies in Europe, Anderson moved to New York City, where he became an antiques dealer. He sold collections he had accumulated in [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]].<ref name="encyclopedia">''[[Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador]]'', {{ISBN|0-9693422-1-7}}.</ref> This lasted a year; as Anderson said, he had "everything but customers" in his store.<ref>J. Ernest Kerr, ''Imprint of the Maritimes'', 1959, Boston: Christopher Publishing, p. 35.</ref>
In the 1920s and early 1930's, with Robert Milton, he ran an acting school in [[Manhattan]], teaching [[Lucille Ball]] and [[Bette Davis]], among others. He and Davis remained good friends, and when her 1952 Broadway-bound [[revue]] ''[[Two's Company]]'' ran into problems on the road, he was hired to restage it.
 
In New York, Anderson quickly became involved in theatre, first as a dance instructor. He later became a writer and producer. He made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway debut]] in 1919 wearing three hats, as writer, director, and producer of ''The [[Greenwich Village Follies]].'' He subsequently produced new editions of the [[revue]] in each of the five succeeding years. In 1929, he would direct ''[[Murray Anderson's Almanac]]'' (1929).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Murray Anderson's Almanac |url=https://www.playbill.com/production/murray-andersons-almanac-erlangers-theatre-vault-0000004278}}</ref>
Anderson worked as a director at [[Radio City Music Hall]] in 1933, as director of the Casa Manana revue at the [[Fort Worth]] Frontier Centennial in 1936, at the Great Lakes Exposition in [[Cleveland]] in 1937, at Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe from 1938-1950, and for [[Ringling Brothers Circus]] from 1942-1951.▼
 
In the 1920s and early 1930s, with Robert Milton, Anderson ran an acting school in [[Manhattan]], teaching [[Bette Davis]] and [[Lucille Ball]], among others. He and Davis remained good friends. When her 1952 Broadway-bound [[revue]] ''[[Two's Company (musical)|Two's Company]]'' ran into problems on the road, she hired Anderson to restage it. The following year, he would create a new version of his 1929 show with ''[[John Murray Anderson's Almanac]]'' (1953).<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Murray Anderson's Almanac |url=https://www.playbill.com/production/john-murray-andersons-almanac-imperial-theatre-vault-0000006060}}</ref>[[File:John Murray Anderson in 1918 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Anderson in 1918]]
Anderson directed the film ''[[King of Jazz]]'' (1930), wrote the [[screenplay]] for ''[[Ziegfeld Follies (film)|Ziegfeld Follies]]'' (1946), directed the water ballets in ''[[Bathing Beauty]]'' (1944), and directed the circus sequences in ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth]]'' (1952).
▲In New York, Anderson quickly became involved in theatre, first as a dance instructor, before becoming a writer and producer. He made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway debut]] wearing three hats, as writer, director, and producer of ''The Greenwich Village Follies'' in 1919. He subsequently produced new editions of the [[revue]] in each of the five succeeding years. He also was responsible for productions of the ''[[Ziegfeld Follies]]'' in 1934, 1936, and 1943, the [[Harold Arlen]]-[[Ira Gershwin]]-[[E. Y. Harburg]] revue ''[[Life Begins at 8:40]]'' (1934), [[Billy Rose]]'s ''[[Jumbo (musical)|Jumbo]]'' (1935), ''One for the Money'' (1939), ''[[Two for the Show (musical)|Two for the Show]]'' (1940), and ''Three to Make Ready'' (1946), and ''[[New Faces of 1952]]''. InHe also directed productions in London; in the [[West End theatre|West End]], he directed ''The League of Notions'', ''Bow Bells'', and ''Fanfare''.
 
▲Anderson worked as a director at [[Radio City Music Hall]] in 1933, as director of the Casa MananaMañana revue at the [[Fort Worth]] Frontier Centennial in 1936, and at the Great Lakes Exposition in [[Cleveland, Ohio]] in 1937,. atHe directed [[Billy Rose]]'s Diamond Horseshoe from 1938- to 1950, and productions for [[Ringling Brothers Circus]] from 1942- to 1951.
John Murray Anderson married Genevieve Lyon of Chicago in 1914, but she died of tuberculosis in 1916. They had no children. In the year before his death, with his brother, Hugh, as writer, he dictated his autobiography, ''Out Without My Rubbers''. He was a periodic visitor to Newfoundland throughout his life and was hailed there as a local hero. He died of a [[heart attack]] in New York City on January 30, 1954.▼
 
Anderson worked in Hollywood as well. He directed the film ''[[King of Jazz]]'' (1930), wrote the [[screenplay]] for ''[[Ziegfeld Follies (film)|Ziegfeld Follies]]'' (1946), directed the water ballets in ''[[Bathing Beauty]]'' (1944), and directed the circus sequences in ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]'' (1952), as well as wrote the lyrics for the following songs in collaboration with [[Henry Sullivan (composer)|Henry Sullivan]], many of which were performed off camera:<ref>{{Citation |title=The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) - Soundtracks - IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044672/soundtrack/ |access-date=2023-08-18 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=WebVoyage Titles |url=https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search_Arg=Anderson,+John+Murray&Search_Code=NALL&PID=_AJMjJ2dwzkrW1xJrgpQtkPQ13r&SEQ=20230818181932&CNT=25&HIST=1 |access-date=2023-08-18 |website=cocatalog.loc.gov}}</ref>
==Further reading==
{| class="wikitable"
|Song and Authorship
|-
|''Picnic in the Park''. From the film ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]''.
Words: [[John Murray Anderson]], music: Henry Sullivan.
|1951
|-
|''You Can't Say Goodbye to Hawaii''. From the motion picture entitled [[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|''The Greatest Show on Earth'']].
Words: John Murray Anderson, music: Henry Sullivan.
|1951
|-
|''Sing a Happy Song''. From [[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|The Greatest Show on Earth]].
Words: John Murray Anderson, music: Henry Sullivan.
|1952
|-
|''Popcorn and Lemonade''. From [[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|''The Greatest Show on Earth'']].
Words: John Murray Anderson, music: Henry Sullivan.
|1952
|}
 
==Marriage and family==
In 1914, Anderson married Genevieve Lyon of [[Chicago]]; she died of [[tuberculosis]] in 1916.<ref>[https://findagrave.com/memorial/107144725/genevieve_anderson Anderson's wife Genevieve Lyon; died 1916]</ref> They had no children. Anderson regularly visited his family and friends in Newfoundland throughout his life.
 
==Autobiography==
▲John Murray Anderson married Genevieve Lyon of Chicago in 1914, but she died of tuberculosis in 1916. They had no children. In the year before his death, Anderson collaborated with his brother, Hugh, as writer,. heHe dictated his autobiography, ''Out Without My Rubbers,''. Hepublished wasposthumously a periodic visitor to Newfoundland throughout his life and was hailed there as a localin hero1954. He died of a [[heart attack]] in New York City on January 30, 1954.
 
==In popular media==
* ''Out Without My Rubbers'' (autobiography), 1954, New York: Library Publishers
* A musical about the life of John Murray Anderson called ''Impresario'' was written by Kyle McDavid and first performed at the LSPU Hall in St. John's, Newfoundland in May 2017.
 
==References==
Line 22 ⟶ 54:
 
==External links==
{{commonscat}}
*{{ibdb name|id=6874|name=John Murray Anderson}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0026960 John Murray Anderson at IMDB]
*{{IMDb name|0026960}}
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6627791 John Murray Anderson] at Find-A-Grave
*{{Find a Grave|6627791}}
 
{{Authority control}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, John Murray}}
[[Category:People educated at Edinburgh Academy]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Canadian theatre managers and producers]]
[[Category:Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)]]
[[Category:Canadian theatre directors]]
[[Category:Canadian musical theatre librettists]]
[[Category:Canadian male songwriters]]
[[Category:PeopleMale actors from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador]]
[[Category:Writers from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador]]
[[Category:Pre-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador people]]
[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1954 deaths]]
[[Category:Bishop Feild School alumni]]
[[Category:Male actors from New York City]]
[[Category:Writers from New York City]]
[[Category:University of Lausanne alumni]]
[[Category:Canadian male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian male writers]]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Murray_Anderson"