Betty Comden
Betty Comden | |
---|---|
New York City, New York , U.S. | |
Occupation(s) | Actress, librettist, lyricist, screenwriter |
Years active | 1944–2005 |
Spouse |
Steven Kyle né Siegfried Schutzman
(m. 1942; died 1979) |
Children | 2 |
Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 – November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spanned six decades: "the longest running creative partnership in theatre history."[1] The musical-comedy duo of Comden and Green collaborated most notably with composers Jule Styne and Leonard Bernstein, as well enjoyed success with Singin' in the Rain, as part of the famed "Freed unit" at MGM.
Early life
Betty Comden was born Basya Cohen
In 1938, mutual friends introduced her to Adolph Green, an aspiring actor. Along with the young Judy Holliday and Leonard Bernstein, Comden and Green formed a troupe called the Revuers, which performed at the Village Vanguard, a club in Greenwich Village.[7] Due to the act's success, the Revuers appeared in the 1944 film Greenwich Village,[8][9] but their roles were so small they were barely noticed, and they returned to New York.
Comden and Green's first Broadway show was in 1944, with
Broadway and film success
Comden and Green headed to California and soon found work at MGM. They wrote the screenplays for Good News and The Barkleys of Broadway (which reunited Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers), and then adapted On the Town for Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, scrapping most of Bernstein's music at the request of Arthur Freed, who did not care for the Bernstein score. The duo reunited with Gene Kelly for their most successful project, the classic Singin' in the Rain, about Hollywood in the final days of the silent film era. Comden and Green provided the story and screenplay; the songs were hits from the late 1920s and early 1930s by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown.[8]
They followed this with another hit, The Band Wagon, in which the characters of Lester and Lily, a husband-and-wife musical-writing team, were patterned after themselves. As with Singin' in the Rain, the real-life team did not write the songs. They were Oscar-nominated twice, for their screenplays for The Band Wagon and It's Always Fair Weather. Both films also received Screen Writers Guild Awards; On the Town did too.[8]
Comden and Green's stage work of the 1950s included Two on the Aisle, starring Bert Lahr and Dolores Gray, with music by Jule Styne; Wonderful Town, a musical adaptation of the play My Sister Eileen, with music by Bernstein; and Bells Are Ringing, which reunited them with Judy Holliday and Jule Styne. The score, including the standards "Just in Time", "Long Before I Knew You", and "The Party's Over", proved to be one of their richest.[11]
The duo contributed additional lyrics to the 1954 musical Peter Pan, translated and streamlined Die Fledermaus for the Metropolitan Opera, and collaborated with Styne on songs for the play-with-music Say, Darling. In 1958, they appeared on Broadway in A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green, a revue that included some of their early sketches. It was a critical and commercial success, and they brought an updated version back to Broadway in 1977.
The pair wrote the screenplay for Auntie Mame in 1958. The New York Times movie review from that year lays it out as follows:
In its superficial racing across several strata of rich society, it does catch some glimpses of behavior that flash a few glints of irony. The picture is every bit as potent, if not a good deal more so, than the play. Actually, the stage play, as written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee from the novel of Patrick Dennis, was more like a movie script in its pile-up of pictorial business and its multiplicity of scenes. The invitation to expansion was hand-engraved in the play. Now it has been accepted by screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green and by the director, Morton DaCosta, who has reveled in the greater physical range.[12]
Comden and Green's Broadway work in the 1960s included four collaborations with Jule Styne. They wrote the lyrics for
Comden and Green wrote the libretto for the 1970 musical
In 1980, Comden was inducted into the
In 1984, filmmaker Sidney Lumet directed a film about Greta Garbo, Garbo Talks, starring Anne Bancroft and Ron Silver. The producers of the film were sure that the real Garbo either could not be located or would refuse flatly to appear in a cameo. They asked a known associate of Garbo to ask the great actress if she would appear in the film, but received no response.[citation needed] So, Comden was asked to appear in the film for the brief, pivotal "over-the-shoulder" scenes.[14][15]
Comden and Green received Kennedy Center Honors in 1991.[16][17][18]
In 1994, Comden and Green were guest callers, "Linda" and "Walter", on the long-running sit-com Frasier in the episode entitled "Burying a Grudge."[19]
Family
Comden and Green were a creative partnership, not a romantic couple. In 1942, Comden married Siegfried Schutzman, a designer and businessman, who changed his name to Steven Kyle. He died in 1979 of acute pancreatitis. They had two children, a daughter, Susanna, and a son, Alan, who died in 1990.[20] [21][22] [23] She never remarried.[6]
Death
Betty Comden died of heart failure following an undisclosed illness of several months at
Awards and nominations
References
- ^ a b "Betty Comden at the Songwriters Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2010-10-23. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
- ^ "Corrections", The New York Times, February 26, 2007.
- ^ Profile theatredb.com; accessed June 10, 2014.
- ^ "2006: A Reinvented Woman Who Would Write 'Singin' in the Rain' Dies". Haaretz. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- ^ "Betty Comden". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- ^ a b c Berkvist, Robert. "Betty Comden, Lyricist for Musicals, Dies at 89", The New York Times, November 23, 2006
- ^ a b "Betty Comden" jewishvirtuallibrary.org, accessed August 25, 2012.
- ^ IMDb
- ^ Greenwich Village (film), tcm.com, accessed May 2, 2016
- ^ "Betty Comden and Adolph Green" pbs.org, accessed August 25, 2012
- ^ a b c d Betty Comden at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ "Screen: Auntie Mame", The New York Times, December 5, 1958.
- ^ "26 Elected to the Theater Hall of Fame", The New York Times, March 3, 1981; accessed June 10, 2014.
- ^ Erickson, Glenn. "'Garbo Talks' ", tcm.com; accessed May 2, 2016.
- ^ Erickson, Hal. Garbo Talks, allmovie.com, accessed May 2, 2016.
- ^ Kilian, Michael. "For Gregory Peck, Oscar Can't Compare To Kennedy Center Honors", Chicago Tribune, December 9, 1991; accessed May 2, 2016.
- ^ Holden, Stephen. "Review/Television; A Big Round of Applause at the Kennedy Center", The New York Times, December 26, 1991; accessed May 2, 2016
- ^ "The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1991)", tcm.com; accessed May 2, 2016.
- ^ title = Burying a Grudge| url = "https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0582358"| website = IMDB| date = Nov 29, 1994| access-date =September 12, 2022
- ^ Ackerman, Alan. "Betty Comden", jwa.org, accessed May 2, 2016
- ^ Clark, Amy. "Broadway Lyricist Betty Comden Dies At 89", cbsnews.com, November 24, 2006.
- ^ Lefkowitz, David. "Betty Comden Getting AIDS-Fighting Award Oct. 16", Playbill.com, October 16, 1996.
- ^ Brozan, Nadine. "Chronicle", The New York Times, October 14, 1996.
- ^ Death of Betty Comden, reuters.com; accessed May 2, 2016.
- ISBN 9781476625997– via Google Books.
- American Academy of Achievement.
External links
- Betty Comden at the Internet Broadway Database
- Betty Comden at IMDb
- Betty Comden at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Betty Comden writes about teaching
- Betty Comden at Find a Grave
- Comden and Green papers, 1933–2003. Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library
- Betty Comden Papers, 1929–2004. Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library
- New York Public Library Blog on Comden and Green's Unproduced Screenplay, Wonderland
Further reading
- Off Stage, a memoir by Betty Comden published in 1995