ebook img

Sitting Pretty: The Life and Times of Clifton Webb PDF

278 Pages·2011·3.11 MB·English
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview Sitting Pretty: The Life and Times of Clifton Webb

Sitting Pretty 5 Hollywood legends series Carl rollyson, general editor This page intentionally left blank Sitting Pretty t He li f e a n d ti m e s o f C l i f t o n we b b Clifton Webb with David L. Smith Foreword by Robert Wagner University Press of MississiPPi • Jackson www.upress.state.ms.us The University Press of Mississippi is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Lyrics from “Picture You Without Me” by Cole Porter, p. 117, reprinted by permission of the Cole Porter Estate. Letter from Noel Coward to Clifton Webb, p. 177, © NC Aventales AG 1946; by permission of Alan Brodie Representation, Ltd, www.alanbrodie.com www.noelcoward.com. Copyright © 2011 by University Press of Mississippi All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America First printing 2011 ∞ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Webb, Clifton, 1893–1966. Sitting pretty : the life and times of Clifton Webb / Clifton Webb with David L. Smith ; foreword by Robert Wagner. p. cm. — (Hollywood legends series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-60473-996-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-60473-997-8 (ebook) 1. Webb, Clifton, 1893–1966. 2. Motion picture actors and actresses—United States—Biography. I. Smith, David L. (David Lee), 1929– II. Title. PN2287.W4549A3 2011 791.4302’8092—dc22 [B] 2010049423 British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available To John and Betsy Neylon, who came to know and love Clifton Webb through his estate collection, and without whose kindness this book would not have been possible 5 This page intentionally left blank Contents Foreword ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction xv Chapter 1. The Noses Have It 3 Chapter 2. First Vision of a Name in Lights 19 Chapter 3. Art and Opera 31 Chapter 4. Making Progress and Moving Up 42 Chapter 5. Dancing into Xanadu 55 Chapter 6. To Europe in Search of Adventure 74 Chapter 7. In Love with Jeanne Eagels 83 Chapter 8. Great Plays, Then the Great War 103 Chapter 9. The War Starts, Blithe Spirit Leads to Laura 130 Chapter 10. More Movies, More Parties, and Garbo 157 Chapter 11. A Top Box-Office Draw 184 Chapter 12. Stars and Stripes Forever 206 Chapter 13. Clifton and Mabelle, Together Forever 223 Stage Appearances 232 Filmography 236 Bibliography 239 Index 245 This page intentionally left blank Foreword I made two pictures with Clifton Webb, Titanic and Stars and Stripes For- ever, but I really got to know him when he invited me into the social circle that centered around the house that he shared with his mother, Mabelle. Mabelle ruled the roost, and Clifton was happy that she did, but he had his own eccentricities. I remember an African gray parrot bundled carefully into a large brandy snifter at dinner parties. Clifton actually had several quite different careers—as a gifted dancer on Broadway during the 1920s, as a theatre star in such plays as Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, as a distinctively acerbic movie star—but to me he will always be remembered as a wonderful host and friend to my family and myself. It was a job he took seriously, because Clifton’s friends were the elite of their time: Jeanne Eagels, Cole Porter, Harpo Marx. It was Clifton who introduced me to Noel Coward. People who read this book will get to know Clifton as an adoring son, as a dancer, as an actor. And to be perfectly honest, they will also get to know him as an endearing snob, for the names drop fast and furiously. After reading the book, I feel honored to have been included in Clif- ton’s circle, for his chapters read as if they were written by Elliot Temple- ton, the character he played so beautifully in The Razor’s Edge. Templeton was supposedly based by Somerset Maugham on an English social but- terfly named “Chips” Channon, but to me Elliott Templeton is Clifton Webb. It’s a loss that Clifton abandoned the writing of his autobiography, but it’s a blessing that David L. Smith has rescued it from the scrap heap and finished Clifton’s story. I’m grateful that Clifton was my friend, and I’m grateful that this book exists. robert w agner ix

Description:
More than any other male movie star, the refined Clifton Webb (1889-1966) caused the movie-going public to change its image of a leading man. In a day when leading men were supposed to be strong, virile, and brave, Clifton Webb projected an image of flip, acerbic arrogance. He was able to play every
See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.