The Lady Said No

Born 105 years ago today, Tennessee Williams was one of the greatest playwrights of the American theater. In the 1950s, when he was near the peak of his success, Shirley Booth was widely regarded as one of Broadway's finest dramatic actresses, with the Tony Awards to prove it. What could be more natural than the idea of teaming them up?

Reportedly, Williams was an admirer of Booth's work, and offered to create a play tailored to her talents. Yet though she recognized the playwright's gifts, saying he "writes beautifully," she discouraged any talk of a collaboration. It wasn't until 1966, when she accepted the role of Amanda Wingfield in a television production of The Glass Menagerie, that she found herself speaking Williams' words. Even then, the experience was not a happy one. To find out why, read Shirley Booth: A Biography and Career Record.

The Two from "A Majority of One"

Recognize this distinguished-looking couple? It's Gertrude Berg and Sir Cedric Hardwicke, who teamed up to star in the 1959-60 Broadway hit A Majority of One, by Leonard Spigelgass. Berg, known to radio and television audiences as the creator and star of The Goldbergs, played an American widow who becomes involved romantically with a Japanese man. She won a Tony for her performance in the show, which ran for more than 500 performances.

As for Hardwicke, who was Tony-nominated for his performance as well, Berg so enjoyed working with him that she wanted him for her co-star when she returned to series television in 1961. Can't quite remember that show? Refresh your memory with my book, Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television, which covers it and twenty-nine other sitcoms that are rarely revived today.