Fontanne is regarded as one of the American theater's great leading ladies of the 20th century. After 189 performances, The Visit would be their last appearance on Broadway. [9], On 5 May 1958, the former Globe Theatre, at Broadway and 46th Street, originally opened in 1910 and later turned into a motion picture venue after the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was reopened after a massive gut renovation and renamed the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. They also appeared together in films and on television. It had a retractable roof to enable the theatre to stay cool and open during the summer. [16] The couple lived for many years at "Ten Chimneys" in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin. Many of these broadcasts still survive. © 2013-2018, TB ENTERPRISES / TBE THEATRICAL. The heavens aligned when Alfred Lunt (1892-1977) and Lynn Fontanne (1887-1983) met in New York in 1917. They threw away lines, they trod on each others words, they gabbled, they spoke at the same time. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Queen of all the old ones. [citation needed] Fontanne narrated the 1960 television production of Peter Pan starring Mary Martin and received a second Emmy nomination for playing Grand Duchess Marie in the Hallmark Hall of Fame telecast of Anastasia in 1967, two of the few productions in which she appeared without her husband. Dorothy Parker memorialized her performance in verse: Dulcy, take our gratitude, 'Neath the theatre's dome. Lunt and Fontanne were given special Tony Awards in 1970. Lunt was one of 20th century Broadway's leading male stars. The couple performed together eight times on the programme, and each appeared three times without the other. She had two sisters, one of whom later lived in England; the other lived in New Zealand.[3]. Fontanne is regarded as one of the American theater's great leading ladies of the 20th century. Lunt Fontanne Theatre Located on 46th Street, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is one of the most distinct and one of the oldest venues on Broadway and Theatre District. In 1920 she appeared in Chris, an early version of Eugene O’Neill’s Anna Christie, and in 1921, while Lunt was on a road tour with Clarence, Fontanne was a great success in the George S. Kaufman–Marc Connelly comedy Dulcy. Mention to the cosmos, you In 1924 they joined the Theatre Guild and with The Guardsman of that year were celebrated enthusiastically as the bright couple of the Broadway stage. Aug. 3, 1977, Chicago, Ill.) and Lynn Fontanne (original name Lillie Louise Fontanne; b. Dec. 6, 1887, Essex, Eng.—d. Alfred Lunt (b. Aug. 19, 1892, Milwaukee, Wis., U.S.—d. Meanwhile, Fontanne had studied under Ellen Terry in England, made her road-show debut in 1905, and won her first London role in 1909 in the Drury Lane Pantomime and her first New York City role in 1910. Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne are widely considered the greatest acting team in the history of American theatre. In 1916 she returned to New York at the invitation of Laurette Taylor, with whom she appeared in The Harp of Life, Out There, and others. [7] Of her acting style with Lunt, British broadcasting personality Arthur Marshall - having seen her in Caprice St James's Theatre (1929) - observed: "In the plays of the period, actors waited to speak until somebody else had finished; the Lunts turned all that upside down. All your words are gold ones. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Alfred Lunt (b. Aug. 19, 1892, Milwaukee, Wis., U.S.—d. Among their greatest theater triumphs were Design for Living (1933), The Taming of the Shrew (1935–36), Idiot's Delight (1936), There Shall Be No Night (1940), and Quadrille (1952). Updates? Lunt and Fontanne were given special Tony Awards in 1970. Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was named for them. Behrman, and Robert Sherwood. Their superlative performances, especially in comedies focusing on marital infidelity, brought many triumphs for the Theatre Guild, under whose auspices they appeared until 1929. Corrections? "[8], Fontanne made only four films but nevertheless was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1931 for The Guardsman, losing to Helen Hayes. Lunt and Fontanne, American husband-and-wife acting team who performed together in more than two dozen theatrical productions, from Sweet Nell of Old Drury (1923) to The Visit (1958). Like Lunt, Fontanne was a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Lynn Fontanne was a British actress. [10], Twenty years later, on 5 May 1978, Lynn Fontanne, aged ninety, was honored at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, during a revival performance of Hello, Dolly!, by its star Carol Channing. They appeared separately in two O’Neill plays, he in Marco Millions (1928) and she in Strange Interlude (1928). Despite their devotion to each other, their marriage was widely rumoured to be a lavender marriage, or a marriage of convenience. Author Margot Peters provides, in exhaustive detail, the histories of the Lunts many successful stage productions, mostly by now underremembered writers like Noel Coward and Robert Sherwood. She and husband Alfred also were in Hollywood Canteen (1944) in which they had cameos as themselves. Alfred Lunt Alfred Lunt (1892-1977) was one half of the fabled acting team known as Lunt and Fontanne, the “toasts of Broadway”, who eventually became known as the first family of American theatre. In 1922 Fontanne and Lunt were married, and thereafter they appeared on the stage almost invariably together. TBE Theatrical is now accepting inquiries for performances in 2020 and beyond; for more information contact them at 212-946-1214. TBE Theatrical: Aug. 3, 1977, Chicago, Ill.) and Lynn Fontanne (original Powered by WordPress and the Graphene Theme. Some of her costumes are curated in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mount Mary University (formerly known as Mount Mary College) Historic Costume Collection.[15]. Over the years from the 1930s, Lunt himself directed a number of plays, as well as two operas for the Metropolitan Opera Company. [7], Lunt and Fontanne made multiple performances on the 1940s and '50s radio anthology series Theater Guild on the Air (also known as "United States Steel Hour"). Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was originally named The Globe, after Shakespeare’s theatre in England. [17], Asked once how to pronounce her surname, she told the Literary Digest she preferred the French way, but "If the French is too difficult for American consumption, both syllables should be equally accented, and the a should be more or less broad": fon-tahn. [6], Fontanne and Lunt worked together in 27 productions. [14] Fontanne was also a Kennedy Center honoree in 1980. In LUNT AND FONTANNE: THE CELESTIALS OF BROADWAY, Mark E. Lang’s new stage play about the Lunts, today’s audiences get a chance to meet Alfred and Lynn, explore their life on and off the stage, see them perform scenes from their favorite plays– including Shakespeare’s TAMING OF THE SHREW and Molnar’s THE GUARDSMAN; interact with famous friends such as Noel Coward and Laurence Olivier; … They both won Emmy Awards in 1965, and Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was named for them. DESIGN FOR LIVING is a biography of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, extremely popular husband and wife stage actors in the first half of the 20th century. She teamed with her husband, Alfred Lunt. Not willing to simply coast on their extraordinary natural talent, the Lunts were consummate professionals. becoming the first married couple to win the award for playing a married couple. Two years later Fontanne appeared alone in a television production of Anastasia; it was her first performance without Lunt since 1928. [17] She was, in fact, five years older, but continued to deny, long after Lunt's death, that she was born in 1887. Married actor couple Alison Murphy and Mark E. Lang channel the legendary married actor couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in a new play, written by Lang and directed by Owen Thompson. This beautiful theatre has hosted a number of exciting Broadway shows over the years, including audience favorites like Beauty and the Beast, Motown the Musical, and Finding Neverland. Alfred Davis Lunt Jr. (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American stage director and actor who had a long-time professional partnership with his wife, actress Lynn Fontanne. These programmes were hour-long adaptations of famous plays. [12][13], In 1964, Lunt and Fontanne were presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Lyndon Johnson.[7]. 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