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Jack Gilford
Jack Gilford in 1986
Born	Jacob Aaron Gellman (1908-07-25)July 25, 1908 Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Died	June 4, 1990(1990-06-04) (aged 81) Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actor comedian activist
Years active	1937–1989
Spouse	Madeline Lee Gilford (1949–1990; his death)
Children	3

Jack Gilford (born Jacob Aaron Gellman; July 25, 1908 – 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 and family

Gilford was born 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").

Career

Gilford was discovered working in a pharmacy by Milton Berle, who became his mentor. 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 in which he did his imitations of George Jessel, Rudy Vallee and Harry Langdon. Gilford 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.

In 1938, Gilford worked as the master of ceremonies in the first downtown New York integrated nightclub, Café Society, which was owned and operated by Barney Josephson. His 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.

Gilford was nominated for several Tony Awards, including 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. Beloved 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 Joseph 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. This production was also choreographed by Jerome Robbins, who had previously testified before House Un-American Activities Committee 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 (one of his notable roles was in the 1985 film Cocoon) 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 his death in 1990. The couple raised three children: Lisa Gilford, a producer (from Lee's previous marriage); Joe Gilford, a screenwriter, playwright, and stage director; and Sam Max Gilford, an artist and archivist.

Death

Following a year-long battle with stomach cancer, Gilford died in his Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, home in 1990 at age 81. 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 Outstanding Actress in a Play.

Broadway stage appearances

• 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)

Filmography

Partial discography

• You Don't Have to be Jewish (1965)
• Cole Porter: Anything Goes, conducted by John McGlinn; EMI Records (1989)
• Winnie-The-Pooh: 17 Songs From The Pooh Song Book (1952)

Awards and nominations

References

1. ^ "Actress Madeline Lee Gilford dies: Veteran thesp became a Broadway producer". Variety. April 15, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
2. ^ Shepard, Richard. F. (June 22, 1990). "Jack Gilford Is Given a Memorial With 28 Acts and Fond Ribbing". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
3. "Biography of Jack Gilford". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
4. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Actor Jack Guilford and his funny impressions!". YouTube. 25 May 2017.
5. Briggs, John (January 1, 1959). "Regina Resnik Sings Role of Orlofsky". The New York Times. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
6. "Jack Gilford". Metropolitan Opera Association. Archived from the original on 2018-08-12. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
7. Mandelbaum, Ken (January 6, 2006). "DVDs: Many Moons Ago". Broadway.com.
8. ^ Miller, Stephen (2008-04-18). "Madeline Lee Gilford, 84, Actress and Activist". New York Sun. Archived from the original on 2008-10-12. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
9. Flint, Peter B. (June 5, 1990). "Jack Gilford, Actor, Dead at 81; Veteran of Stage, Screen and TV". The New York Times.
10. "Jack Gilford: Through the Years". mounthebroncemetery.com. Mount Hebron Cemetery. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
11. "Finks, a sweeping tale of love and friendship, trials and tragedy (July 23-August 3) at Vassar College" (Press release). Vassar Collage. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
12. Genzlinger, Neil (8 April 2013). "A Choice to Name Names, or Else". The New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
13. "Miriam Silverman". Brown/Trinity Rep. 8 June 2021.
14. "2013 Winners: Drama Desk Awards". Theatermania. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
15. ^ "Jack Gilford". Playbill Vault. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
16. "The Duck Factory". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-05-25.

External links

• Jack Gilford at IMDb
• 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
• Jack Gilford at Find a Grave

• 1908 births
• 1990 deaths
• American male film actors
• American people of Romanian-Jewish descent
• American male musical theatre actors
• American male television actors
• Hollywood blacklist
• Jewish American male actors
• Musicians from Brooklyn
• People from the Lower East Side
• Deaths from stomach cancer in New York (state)
• American vaudeville performers
• 20th-century American male actors
• 20th-century American singers
• 20th-century American male singers
• Male actors from Brooklyn
• People from Williamsburg, Brooklyn
• Male actors from Manhattan
• People from Greenwich Village
• Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (New York City)
• 20th-century American Jews
• Comedians from Manhattan
• Comedians from Brooklyn
• American male comedians
• Jewish American comedians
• Jewish male comedians