Zero Mostel
Zero Mostel | |
---|---|
Born | Samuel Joel Mostel February 28, 1915 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
Died | September 8, 1977 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 62)
Alma mater | City College of New York New York University |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1941–1977 |
Spouses |
|
Children | Two, including Josh |
Samuel Joel "Zero" Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as
Mostel was an
Early life
Mostel was born in Brooklyn, to Israel Mostel, who was of
According to his brother, Bill Mostel, their mother coined the nickname "Zero", noting that if he continued to do poorly at school, he would amount to a zero.[5]
Initially living in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, the family moved to Moodus, Connecticut, where they bought a farm. The family's income in those days came from a winery and a slaughterhouse. The farm failed, and the family moved back to New York, where his father obtained work as a wine chemist. Mostel was described by his family as outgoing and lively, and with a developed sense of humor. He showed an intelligence and perception that convinced his father he had the makings of a rabbi,[6] but Mostel preferred painting and drawing, a passion he was to retain for life. According to Roger Butterfield, his mother sent him to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to copy paintings while dressed in a velvet suit. Mostel had a favorite painting, John White Alexander's Study in Black and Green, which he copied every day, to the delight of the gallery crowds. One afternoon, while a crowd was watching over his velvet-clad shoulder, he solemnly copied the whole painting upside down, delighting his audience.[6]
In addition to English, Mostel spoke Yiddish, Italian, and German.[citation needed]
He attended Public School 188, where he was an A student.[
Mostel attended the
In 1939 he married Clara Sverd, and the couple moved to an apartment in Brooklyn. The marriage did not last, however, since Clara could not accept the many hours Mostel spent in his studio with his fellow artists, and he did not seem to be able to provide for her at the level to which she had been accustomed. They separated in 1941 and divorced in 1944, Clara only agreeing to the divorce in return for a percentage of Mostel's earnings for the rest of his life. The arrangement lasted until the mid-1950s.[9]
Career
Early comic routines
Part of Mostel's duty with the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was to give gallery talks at New York's museums. Leading groups of students through the many paintings, Mostel could not suppress his comedic nature, and his lectures were noted less for their artistic content than for his sense of humor. As his reputation grew, he was invited to entertain at parties and other social occasions, earning three to five dollars per performance. Labor union social clubs followed, where Mostel mixed his comic routine with social commentary. These performances played a large role in his eventual blacklisting in the next decade.[citation needed]
In 1941, the Café Society, a downtown Manhattan nightclub, approached Mostel with an offer to become a professional comedian and play a regular spot. Mostel accepted, and in the next few months he became the Café Society's main attraction. It was here that he adopted the stage name Zero (Zee to his friends), created by press agent Ivan Black at the behest of Barney Josephson, the proprietor, who felt that "Sam Mostel" was not appropriate for a comic.[10]
Thus, at the age of 27, Mostel dropped every other job and occupation to start his show business career.[citation needed]
Rise
Mostel's rise professionally was rapid. In 1942, his salary at the Café Society went up from $40 a week to $450; he appeared on radio shows, opened in two
In March 1943, Mostel was drafted by the US Army. Although Mostel gave varying accounts of his Army service, records show he was honorably discharged in August 1943 because of an unspecified physical disability. He subsequently entertained servicemen through the USO until 1945.[12]
Mostel married Kathryn (Kate) Cecilia Harkin, an actress and dancer, on July 2, 1944, after two years of courtship. The pair met at
After Mostel's discharge from the Army, his career resumed. He appeared in a series of plays, musicals, operas, and movies. In 1946 he even made an attempt at serious operatic acting in
Mostel made notable appearances on New York City television in the late 1940s. He had his own show in 1948 called
Blacklist years and HUAC testimony
Mostel had been a leftist since college and his nightclub routine included political jabs at right-wingers. His MGM contract was terminated, and his role in Du Barry Was a Lady was truncated, because studio executives were upset that he participated in protests against another MGM film, Tennessee Johnson, which protesters believed had downplayed the racism of former US President Andrew Johnson.[15] According to biographer Arthur Sainer, "MGM blacklisted Zero Mostel way before the days of the blacklist".[14]: 186
During his Army service he was under investigation for alleged Communist Party membership. The Military Intelligence Division of the U.S. War Department said it was "reliably reported" that he was a Communist Party member.[16] The Post Intelligence Officer at the Army's Camp Croft, where Mostel served, believed that Mostel was "definitely a Communist." As a result of that, his application to be an entertainment director with the US Army Special Services unit was denied. Mostel had lobbied hard to transfer to Special Services, at one point traveling to Washington to request a transfer.[17]
It was not until 1950 that Mostel again acted in movies, for a role in the Oscar-winning film Panic in the Streets, at the request of its director, Elia Kazan. Kazan describes his attitude and feelings during that period, where
- Each director has a favorite in his cast, . . . my favorite this time was Zero Mostel—but not to bully. I thought him an extraordinary artist and a delightful companion, one of the funniest and most original men I'd ever met. . . I constantly sought his company. . . He was one of the three people whom I rescued from the "industry's" blacklist. . . For a long time, Zero had not been able to get work in films, but I got him in my film."[18]
Mostel played supporting roles in five movies for
On January 29, 1952,
His testimony won him admiration in the blacklisted community, and in addition to not naming names he also confronted the committee on ideological matters, something that was rarely done. Among other things, he referred to Twentieth Century Fox as "18th Century Fox" (due to its collaboration with the committee), and manipulated the committee members to make them appear foolish.[21] Mostel later commented: "What did they think I was going to do – sell acting secrets to the Russians?"[citation needed]
MR. JACKSON: Mr. Chairman, may I say that I can think of no greater way to parade one's political beliefs than to appear under the auspices of Mainstream, a Communist publication...
MR. MOSTEL: I appreciate your opinion very much, but I do want to say that – I don't know, you know – I still stand on pay grounds, and maybe it is unwise and unpolitic of me to say this. If I appeared there, what if I did an imitation of a butterfly at rest? There is no crime in making anybody laugh ... I don't care if you laugh at me.
MR. JACKSON: If your interpretation of a butterfly at rest brought any money into the coffers of the Communist Party, you contributed directly to the propaganda effort of the Communist Party.
MR. MOSTEL: Suppose I had the urge to do the butterfly at rest somewhere.
MR. DOYLE: Yes, but please, when you have the urge, don't have such an urge to put the butterfly at rest by putting money in the Communist Party coffers as a result of that urge to put the butterfly at rest.
HUAC Hearing, Oct. 14, 1955.
The admiration he received for his testimony did nothing to take him off the blacklist, however, and the family had to struggle throughout the 1950s with little income. Mostel used this time to work in his studio. Later he said that he cherished those years for the time it had afforded him to do what he loved most. Mostel's appearance before the HUAC (as well as others) was incorporated into Eric Bentley's 1972 play Are You Now or Have You Ever Been...? During this period he also appeared in many regional productions of shows like Peter Pan (as Captain Hook) and Kismet (as the Wazir), with his name seen prominently in the advertising.
Ulysses in Nighttown and career revival
In 1957, Toby Cole, a New York theatrical agent who strongly opposed the blacklist, contacted Mostel and asked to represent him. Mostel agreed, and the partnership led to the revival of Mostel's career and made him a household name. Mostel accepted the role of Leopold Bloom in
After the success of Ulysses, Mostel received many offers to appear in classic roles, especially abroad; however, he declined the offers because of artistic differences with the directors and the low salaries associated with the roles. By this time the effects of the blacklist were lessening, and in 1959 and 1961 he appeared in two episodes of TV's The Play of the Week.[citation needed]
1960s and height of career
On January 13, 1960, while exiting a taxi on his way back from rehearsals for the play The Good Soup, Mostel was hit by a number 18 (now the M86) 86th Street crosstown bus, and his leg was crushed. The doctors wanted to amputate the leg, which would have effectively ended his stage career. Mostel refused, accepting the risk of gangrene, and remained hospitalized for four months. The injury took a huge toll; for the rest of his life, the massively-scarred leg gave him pain and required frequent rests and baths. He sought compensation for the injury by retaining the famous Harry Lipsig (the 5'3" self-described "King of Torts") as his attorney. The case was settled for an undisclosed sum. From this time forward, whenever he attended the Metropolitan Opera, Mostel carried a cane to go along with the cape that he also favored.[citation needed]
Later that year Mostel took on the role of
In 1962 Mostel began work on the role of Pseudolus in the Broadway musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which was to be one of his best-remembered roles. The role of Pseudolus was originally offered to Phil Silvers, who declined it, saying he did not want to do this "old shtick". Mostel did not originally want to do the role either, which he thought below his capabilities, but was convinced by his wife and agent. The reviews were excellent, and, after a few slow weeks after which the play was partially rewritten with a new opening song, "Comedy Tonight", which became the play's most popular piece, the show became a great commercial success, running 964 performances and conferring star status on Mostel (he also won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for this role). A film version was produced in 1966, also starring Mostel – and Silvers.
On September 22, 1964, Mostel opened as Tevye in the original Broadway production of
Mostel in 1967 appeared as Potemkin in Great Catherine, and the next year he took the role of Max Bialystock in The Producers. Mostel refused to accept the role of Max at first, but director Mel Brooks persuaded him to show the script to his wife, who then talked Mostel into doing it. His performance originally received mixed reviews, and the film overall was not a great success at the time of its release. The comedy, however, has since achieved classic status in the decades after its premiere. Reflecting on that rising popularity, Roger Ebert, longtime critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote in 2000, "This is one of the funniest movies ever made", adding that Mostel's performance "is a masterpiece of low comedy."[23]
He lived in a large rented apartment in The Belnord on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and built a summer house on Monhegan Island in Maine.[24]
Last years
In his last decade, Mostel's star dimmed as he appeared in movies that were received with indifference by both critics and the general audience. These titles include
His more notable films in these years include the movie version of Rhinoceros (appearing with his Producers costar
Death
In the last four months of his life, Mostel took on a nutritionally unsound diet (later described by his friends as a starvation diet) that reduced his weight from 304 pounds (138 kg) to 215 pounds (98 kg). During rehearsals for Arnold Wesker's new play The Merchant (in which Mostel played a reimagined version of Shakespeare's Shylock) in Philadelphia, he collapsed in his dressing room and was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He was diagnosed with a respiratory disorder, and it was believed he was in no danger and would be released soon. However, on September 8, 1977, Mostel complained of dizziness and lost consciousness. The attending physicians were unable to revive him, and he was pronounced dead that evening. It is believed that he suffered an aortic aneurysm.[27]
Wesker wrote a book chronicling the out-of-town tribulations that beset the play and culminated in Zero's death called The Birth of Shylock and the Death of Zero Mostel.[28]
In accordance with his final requests, his family did not stage any funeral or other memorial service. Mostel was cremated following his death; the location of his ashes is not publicly known.[29]
Professional relationships
Mostel often collided with directors and other performers in the course of his professional career. He was described as irreverent, believing himself to be a comic genius (many critics agreed with him) and showed little patience for incompetence. He often improvised, which was received well by audiences but which often left other performers (who were not prepared for his ad-libbed lines) confused and speechless during live performances. He often dominated the stage whether or not his role called for it. Norman Jewison stated this as a reason for preferring Chaim Topol for the role of Tevye in the movie version of Fiddler on the Roof. Mostel took exception to these criticisms:
There's a kind of silliness in the theater about what one contributes to a show. The producer obviously contributes the money… but must the actor contribute nothing at all? I'm not a modest fellow about those things. I contribute a great deal. And they always manage to hang you for having an interpretation. Isn't [the theater] where your imagination should flower? Why must it always be dull as shit?[30]
Other producers, such as
In his autobiography Kiss Me Like a Stranger, actor Gene Wilder describes being initially terrified of Mostel. However, just after being introduced, Mostel got up, walked over to Wilder, hugged him, and planted a big kiss on his lips. Wilder claims to be grateful to Mostel for teaching him such a valuable lesson, and for picking Wilder up every day so that they could ride to work together. He also tells the story of a dinner celebrating the release of The Producers. Mostel switched Wilder's place card with Dick Shawn's, allowing Wilder to sit at the main table. Mostel and Wilder later worked together in Rhinoceros and the Letterman cartoons for the children's show The Electric Company. The two remained close friends until Mostel's death.[citation needed]
Mostel was the subject of the 2006 retrospective play Zero Hour, written and performed by actor/playwright Jim Brochu. The play recounts events from Mostel's life and career, including his HUAC testimony, his professional relationships, and his theatrical work.
Acting credits
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1943 | Du Barry Was a Lady | Rami, the Swami/Taliostra | |
1950 | Panic in the Streets |
Raymond Fitch | |
1951 | The Enforcer | Big Babe Lazick | |
Sirocco | Balukjiaan | ||
Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell | Emmett | ||
The Guy Who Came Back | Boots Mullins | ||
The Model and the Marriage Broker | George Wixted | ||
1966 | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Pseudolus | |
1967 | Children of the Exodus | Narrator | short film |
Monsieur Lecoq | Max Lecoq | ||
The Producers | Max Bialystock | ||
1968 | Great Catherine | Potemkin | |
1969 | The Great Bank Robbery |
Rev. Pious Blue | |
1970 | The Angel Levine | Morris Mishkin | |
1972 | The Hot Rock | Abe Greenberg | |
1973 | Marco | Kublai Khan | |
1974 | Rhinoceros | John | |
Once Upon a Scoundrel | Carlos del Refugio | ||
1975 | Fore Play | President/Don Pasquale | |
Journey into Fear | Kopelkin | ||
1976 | Mastermind | Inspector Hoku Ichihara | |
The Front | Hecky Brown | ||
Hollywood on Trial | Himself | Documentary | |
1978 | Watership Down | Kehaar (voice) | Final film role; released posthumously |
1979 | Best Boy | Himself | Documentary |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1948 | Off the Record | Performer | 2 episodes |
1949 | Ford Theatre | Banjo | Episode: The Man Who Came to Dinner |
1959 | Zero Mostel | Various Characters | Television Movie |
1959 | The Play of the Week | Melamed | The World of Sholom Aleichem |
1961 | The Play of the Week | Estragon | Waiting for Godot |
1970 | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | Guest Performer | 2 episodes |
1971 | The Flip Wilson Show | Guest Performer | 1 episode |
1972 | The Electric Company | Spell Binder (voice) | 650 episodes |
1976 | The Little Drummer Boy, Book II |
Brutus (voice) | Television Special |
1977 | The Muppet Show | Himself – Guest Star | Season 2 Episode 2 aired posthumously released[26] |
Stage
Year | Title | Role | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
1942 | Cafe Crown | Patron | Cort Theatre , Broadway
|
1942 | Keep 'em Laughing | Performer | 44th Street Theatre, Broadway |
1942 | Top-Notchers | Performer | |
1945 | Concert Varieties | Performer | Ziegfeld Theatre, Broadway |
1946 | Beggar's Holiday | Hamilton Peachum | Broadway Theatre, Broadway |
1952 | Flight into Egypt | Glubb | Music Box Theatre, Broadway |
1954 | Lunatics and Lovers | Dan Cupid (replaced Buddy Hackett) |
Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway |
1956 | The Good Women of Szechwan | Mr. Shu Fu | Phoenix Theatre, Off-Broadway |
1957 | Good as Gold | Doc Penny | Belasco Theatre, Broadway |
1958 | Ulysses in Nighttown | Leopold Bloom | Rooftop Theatre, Off-Broadway |
1960 | The Good Soup | The Croupier | Plymouth Theatre, Broadway |
1961 | Rhinoceros | John | Longacre Theatre, Broadway |
1962 | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Prologus/Pseudolus | Alvin Theatre , Broadway
|
1964 | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye | Imperial Theatre, Broadway |
1971 | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye | Majestic Theatre, Broadway |
1974 | Ulysses in Nighttown | Leopold Bloom | Rooftop Theatre, Off-Broadway |
1976 | Fiddler on the Roof | Tevye | Winter Garden Theatre, Broadway |
Bibliography
- Zero Mostel Reads A Book Photographs by Robert Frank (New York Times, 1963)
- Zero Mostel's Book of Villains [with Israel Shenker, photographs by Alex Gotfryd] (Doubleday, 1976)
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1961 | Tony Award
|
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play | Rhinoceros | Won |
1963 | Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | Won | |
1965 | Fiddler on the Roof | Won | ||
Outer Critics Circle Award
|
Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Won | ||
1967 | Laurel Awards | Male New Face | 7th place | |
1969 | Golden Globe Awards
|
Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | The Producers | Nominated |
1974 | Tony Award
|
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play | Ulysses in Nighttown | Nominated |
Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Won | ||
1978 | British Academy Film Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | The Front | Nominated |
References
- ^ Heller, Brad. "Approach". The Heller Approach. Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- ^ Brennan, Sandra. "Don Richardson". amctv.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- ^ Schlosberg III, Richard. "Don Richardson; Director, Acting Teacher". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- ^ "Theater Hall of Fame Enshrines 51 Artists". The New York Times. November 19, 1979. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ Jim A. Cohen[who?]
- ^ a b Butterfield, Roger (January 18, 1943). "Zero Mostel". LIFE. Henry Luce. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ a b c McFadden, Robert D. (September 9, 1977). "Zero Mostel Dies of Heart Failure at 62". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
- ^ Brown, p. 12
- ^ Brown, p. 50
- ^ Brown, pp. 23–24
- ^ Butterfield, Roger (January 18, 1943). "Zero Mostel". Life. p. 61. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
- ^ Brown, pp. 36–39
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
- ^ a b Sainer, Arthur. Zero Dances: a Biography of Zero Mostel, Hal Leonard Corp. (1998)
- ^ Brown, pp. 35–36
- ^ Brown, pp. 41–44
- ^ Brown, p. 38
- ^ Kazan, Elia. Elia Kazan: A Life, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. (1988) p. 383
- ^ Brown, pp.98–99
- ^ Brown, pp. 127–131
- ISBN 978-0-7391-9560-4.
- ^ Taubman, Howard (October 4, 1964). "For Better of For Worse: Unaware of Limitations, Popular Musical Theater Turns To Unusual Themes — 'Fiddler' Brings One Off". The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (July 23, 2000). "The Producers movie review & film summary (1968)". Roger Ebert. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ Carter B. Horsley (March 30, 2010). "The Upper West Side Book: The Belnord". Archived from the original on May 3, 2004. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
- ^ "The Front". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7864-4259-1.
- ^ Weil, Martin. "Actor Zero Mostel Dies" The Washington Post, September 10, 1977
- ^ Kaufman, David. "Review. The Birth Of Shylock And The Death Of Zero Mostel by Arnold Wesker" The New York Times, August 29, 1999
- ^ "Mostel cremated at secret site" The Ottawa Journal, p. 5, September 10, 1977
- ^ "PBS.org". PBS. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
Sources
- Zero Mostel: a Biography (1989), Jared Brown, Atheneum, NY (ISBN 0-689-11955-0)
- Isenberg, Barbara (2014). Tradition!: The Highly Improbable, Ultimately Triumphant Broadway-to-Hollywood Story of Fiddler on the Roof, the World's Most Beloved Musical. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-59142-7.
External links
- Zero Mostel at IMDb
- Zero Mostel at the Internet Broadway Database
- Zero Mostel at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Zero Mostel at Playbill Vault
- Zero Mostel at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection
- Zero Mostel at the TCM Movie Database
- "Zero Mostel". Archived from the original on December 11, 2002. Retrieved March 18, 2006.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - "Zero Mostel interview". Esquire. February 1, 1962. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020.
- Playbill article including a Mostel Who's Who entry
- Mostel Testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee