The Lambs

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The Lambs
NicknameThe Lambs Club
Named after Charles Lamb
Formation1874;150 years ago (1874)
Founder Henry James Montague
Founded at Delmonico's
PurposePrivate Social Club for the Arts
Location
  • 3 West 51st Street
    New York City
Coordinates 40°45′23.0″N73°59′7.0″W / 40.756389°N 73.985278°W / 40.756389; -73.985278
Region served
United States
Membership250
Shepherd
 Kevin C. Fitzpatrick
The Boy
Don M. Spiro
Website The-Lambs.org

The Lambs, Inc. (also known as The Lambs Club) is a social club that nurtures those active in the arts, as well as those who are supporters of the arts, by providing activities and a clubhouse for its members. It is America's oldest professional theatrical organization. "The Lambs" is a registered trademark of The Lambs, Inc.; and the club has been commonly referred to as The Lambs Club since 1874. [1]

Contents

The club's name honors the essayist Charles Lamb and his sister Mary, who during the early 19th century played host to actors and literati at their famed salon in London. [2]

History

Wallack's Theatre, 13th Street, from Fourth Avenue Wallack's Theatre, 13th Street, from Fourth Avenue.jpg
Wallack's Theatre, 13th Street, from Fourth Avenue

In 1874 New York theatrical life was centered around Union Square. Wallack's Theatre was on Broadway and 13th Street. During the Yuletide season George H. McLean invited actors of J. Lester Wallack’s company to dinner at Delmonico’s: Edward Arnott, Harry Beckett, Henry James Montague, and Arthur Wallack, the son of Mr. Wallack. They were joined by grocer John E. I. Grainger. [3] In Delmonico's Blue Room it was suggested the men form a supper club. Many names were mentioned. Montague said that he was a member of The Lambs in London that had been established in 1869 by John Hare. The name was unanimously adopted; it came from Charles and Mary Lamb, the English brother and sister who were friendly towards actors in Georgian England.

In 1875 dinners were held in Union Square hotel restaurants; the original six invited their friends. By autumn 1875 the Lambs were meeting in the Union Square Hotel. The Members chose to increase by “sevens.” There were so many applications the Club expanded. On 10 May 1877 the Club incorporated under the laws of the State of New York. There were 60 members. [4]

On 11 August 1878 the Club suffered its first great loss, the death of Shepherd Henry J. Montague in San Francisco. Broadway impresario J. Lester Wallack–who would go on to serve seven terms as Shepherd–gave Montague a space in his family plot in Green-Wood Cemetery; the two rest next to each other today. [5]

In April 1880 The Lambs moved to 34 West 26th Street, the first time under “a roof controlled by the Club.” It would be the Clubhouse for 12 years. It was a period of “prosperity, joy, sorrow and calamity.” In this era The Lambs entertained Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, newspaper editor Charles A. Dana, and English actor Sir Henry Irving.

Cornelia Otis Skinner (1955), elected 1977. Cornelia Otis Skinner.jpg
Cornelia Otis Skinner (1955), elected 1977.

The Actors’ Fund of America (today the Entertainment Community Fund) was formed by Lambs in 1882 at Wallack's Theatre and J. Lester Wallack was the first president. In 1887 it was Lambs with the Actors Fund who established the first Actors’ Burial Ground in the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn. Playwright Clay M. Greene suggested the Club put on its own shows, thus launching decades of Lambs’ Gambols. Notable members of this era were Maurice Barrymore, Nikola Tesla, and Stanford White. In 1895 there were 272 members. [6]

In 1913 The Lambs moved to a larger facility at 128 West 44th St which became known as the Fold. It was used until 1975. [7] The Lambs thrived into the Jazz Age, ultimately reaching more than 1,700 members before the Wall Street crash of 1929. The club would move twelve times during its 150 years. In 1974 it ended gender discrimination and admitted women as full members; the first was Cornelia Otis Skinner, daughter of Lamb Otis Skinner. For fifty years the club has had quarters at 3 West 51st Street. [8]

Milestones

The Actors' strike of 1919 was settled in The Lambs, which was referred to as "Local One." In 1924, it celebrated its 50-year anniversary at the Earl Carroll Theatre. [9]

Historically, The Lambs has been the spawning ground of plays, friendships and partnerships. Mark Twain Tonight (with Hal Holbrook) and Stalag 17 were first performed at The Lambs before their national successes.

Alan J. Lerner and Frederick Loewe first met at The Lambs, often trying works-in-progress on their fellow Lambs. Loewe left a percentage of his share of Brigadoon royalties to The Lambs' Foundation.

The Lambs, Friars, and Players often are confused. In 1964, long-time syndicated columnist Earl Wilson put it this way: "Long ago a New Yorker asked the difference between the Lambs, Friars, and Players, since the membership was, at the time, predominantly from Broadway." It was left to "a wit believed to have been George S. Kaufman" to draw the distinction: "The Players are gentlemen trying to be actors, the Lambs are actors trying to be gentlemen, and the Friars are neither trying to be both." [10]

Its members have been instrumental in the formation of ASCAP, Actors' Equity and The Actors' Fund of America, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and in the merger that created SAG-AFTRA. Of the first 21 council members of Actors' Equity, 20 were members of The Lambs. The meetings to form Actors' Equity were held at The Players, a club similar to The Lambs, because there were too many producer members of The Lambs.

Songwriters and playwrights work on the 1915 Lambs Gambol. Standing: Mark Swan, Edgar Smith, Porter Emerson Browne, Edwin Ellis, Joseph Herbert, Avery Hopwood, Edward Peple, Edward Paulton, Augustus Thomas, Montague Glass; Sitting: Brandon Tynan, Milton Royle, Glen McDonough, George V. Hobart, Edward Kidder, and Rupert Hughes. Song writers and playwrights of the Lambs Club putting the finishing touches to the "bleats" for the Lambs' annual gambol, 1915.jpg
Songwriters and playwrights work on the 1915 Lambs Gambol. Standing: Mark Swan, Edgar Smith, Porter Emerson Browne, Edwin Ellis, Joseph Herbert, Avery Hopwood, Edward Peple, Edward Paulton, Augustus Thomas, Montague Glass; Sitting: Brandon Tynan, Milton Royle, Glen McDonough, George V. Hobart, Edward Kidder, and Rupert Hughes.

Notable Lambs

Since its founding, there have been more than 6,700 Lambs, including: Fred Astaire, Irving Berlin, Henry Blossom, [11] Sid Caesar, James Cagney, Eddie Cantor, George M. Cohan, Cecil B. DeMille, W.C. Fields, Albert Hague, Mark Hart, [12] Silvio Hein, Ken Howard, Al Jolson, John F. Madden, Conrad Nagel, Eugene O'Neill, Donald Pippin, Joyce Randolph Cliff Robertson, Edward G. Robinson, Will Rogers, John Philip Sousa, Spencer Tracy, [13] Abe Vigoda, Fred Waring, and Jack Whiting.

Current honorary members include Matthew Broderick and Jim Dale. The Lambs' website contains a listing of its past and current members.

Presidents

The president of The Lambs is called "The Shepherd". [14] The Club displays the portraits of all its presidents, painted by artists such as James Montgomery Flagg and Everett Raymond Kinstler.

  1. Henry James Montague (1874–1878)
  2. John Lester Wallack (1878–1879, 1880–1882, 1884–1888)
  3. Harry Beckett (actor) (1879–1880)
  4. William Jermyn Conlin (1882–1884)
  5. John Riker Brady (1888–1890)
  6. Edmund Milton Holland (1890–1891)
  7. Clay Meredith Greene (1891–1898, 1902–1906)
  8. Thomas Benedict Clarke (1898–1900)
  9. DeWolf Hopper (1900–1902)
  10. Wilton Lackaye (1906–1907)
  11. Augustus Thomas (1907–1910)
  12. Joseph Rhode Grismer (1911–1913, 1917–1918)
  13. William Courtleigh (1913–1917)
  14. Robert Hubber Thorne Burnside (1918–1921)
  15. Albert Oldfield Brown (1921–1924, 1930–1932)
  16. Thomas Meighan (1924–1926)
  17. Thomas Alfred Wise (1926–1928)
  18. Fritz Williams (1928–1930)
  19. Frank Crumit (1932–1936)
  20. Fred Waring (1939–1942)
  21. John Lionel Golden (1942–1945)
  22. Raymond Wilson Peck (1945–1947)
  23. Bert Lytell (1947–1952)
  24. Walter Noel Greaza (1953–1956)
  25. William Gaxton (1936–1939, 1952–1953, 1957–1959, 1960–1961)
  26. Frank Marion Thomas (1962–1963)
  27. Martin Begley (1964–1965)
  28. Harry Hershfield (1966–1969)
  29. Jack Waldron (1969)
  30. Tom Dillon (actor) (1969–1986)
  31. Richard L. Charles (1986–1997)
  32. Agustin James Pocock (1998–2001) [15]
  33. Bruce Brown (2002–2008)
  34. Randy Phillips (2008–2013)
  35. Marc Baron (2013–2022)
  36. Kevin C. Fitzpatrick (2023-)

Clubhouses

The Lambs has had many Manhattan homes since 1874, beginning with Delmonico's Restaurant in Union Square. Then in 1875 they met at the Maison Doree on the south side of 14th St. opposite Union Square; 1876–77 next to Wallack's theater at 848 Broadway; 1877–78 at the Union Square Hotel, 6 Union Square; 1879 within a brownstone at 19 East 16th St.; 1880–91 at a Brownstone at 34 West 26th St.; 1891 at the Gilsey House, 1200 Broadway; 1892 at 8 West 29th St.; 1893–96 at 26 West 31st St.; 1897–1905 at 70 West 36th St., what was formerly and thereafter Keen's Chophouse remodeled by Stanford White to be a clubhouse.

  1. 1874: Founded at Delmonico's (NE Corner of 5th Ave & 14th St.)
  2. 1875: Maison Dorée (Morton House)
  3. 1875: Union Square Hotel
  4. 1876: 848 Broadway (“the Matchbox”)
  5. 1878: 6 Union Square (Monument House)
  6. 1879: 19 East 16th Street
  7. 1880: 34 West 26th Street
  8. 1892: 1200 Broadway and 29th Street (Gilsey House)
  9. 1893: 26 West 31st Street
  10. 1897: 70 West 36th Street (formerly and thereafter known as Keens Chophouse)
  11. 1905: 130 West 44th Street
  12. 1975: 5 East 66th Street (Lotos Club) Guests
  13. 1976–present: 3 West Club, 3 West 51st Street, 5th Floor

128-130 West 44th Street

The Lambs on June 27, 1915 at 130 West 44th Street Lambs before Lambs Club 1915 (cropped).jpg
The Lambs on June 27, 1915 at 130 West 44th Street

In 1905, the club moved to 128–130 West 44th Street, designed by Lamb Stanford White and doubled in size in 1915. The club remained at 44th Street until 1975, when it lost the building to foreclosure. It was purchased from a bank by the Church of the Nazarene, which leased part of the building for what would become the Off Broadway Lamb's Theatre. [16] The building was designated a New York City Landmark [17] in September 1974 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 3, 1982. The church sold the building in 2006 to Hampshire Hotels, which renovated the building into the Chatwal New York hotel. The Chatwal Hotel contains the Lambs Club restaurant although there is no relation between the hotel and The Lambs. [18]

Current activity

Since 1976, The Lambs' Clubhouse has been leased space at 3 West 51st St., adjacent to Rockefeller Center. [19]

The Lambs has elected more than 6,700 members over the decades, counting actors and theater owners, playwrights and painters, singers and sculptors, and today’s podcasters and comedy writers. Over the decades it was at The Lambs that hit shows and songs were launched, partnerships and friendships formed, and bonds of fellowship made. [20]

The Lambs is also a historical society, preserving and promoting entertainment history stretching back to the 19th century. The club’s art collection of oil paintings, theatrical memorabilia, and playbills, together with a private research library, is a museum of American entertainment history. The Lambs are currently digitizing its collection to make it available to the public. Starting in 1974, the Lambs has donated thousands of important historic documents to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. [21]

As the club prepared to celebrate its sesquicentennial in 2024, it undertook a program to grow its membership. In 2023 author Kevin C. Fitzpatrick was elected the 36th Shepherd of The Lambs, and producer Don M. Spiro elected The Boy (vice president). The Lambs celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2024 by reaching 250 members, the most since the 1960s.

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References

Citations

  1. ↑ The Lambs Disclaimer.
  2. ↑ Hardee 2010.
  3. ↑ Hardee 2010, p. 21.
  4. ↑ Hardee 2010, p. 23.
  5. ↑ "The Lambs, Our Heritage". The Lambs . November 28, 2024. p. 2.
  6. ↑ "The Lambs, Our Heritage". The Lambs . November 28, 2024. p. 2.
  7. ↑ Fisher & Londré 2009, p. 268.
  8. ↑ "The Lambs, Our Heritage". The Lambs . November 28, 2024. p. 10.
  9. ↑ NY Times, 1924.
  10. ↑ Wilson 1964, pp. 49–50.
  11. ↑ "H.M. Blossom, Author, Dies; Playwright and Librettist of Many Famous Broadway Shows". The New York Times. March 24, 1919. p. 13.
  12. ↑ "MARK HART, ACTOR, DIES; Veteran of 50 Years on Stage Was Former Officer of Lambs". The New York Times . November 28, 1950. p. 30.
  13. ↑ Curtis 2011.
  14. ↑ The Lambs Governance.
  15. ↑ LA Times, 2012.
  16. ↑ NY Times, 2006.
  17. ↑ LPC LP-0859, 1974.
  18. ↑ NY Times, 2012.
  19. ↑ "The Lambs, Our Heritage". The Lambs . November 9, 2024. p. 1.
  20. ↑ "The Lambs, Our Heritage". The Lambs . November 9, 2024. p. 1.
  21. ↑ "The Lambs, Our Heritage". The Lambs . November 9, 2024. p. 1.

Sources

Books

  • Hardee, Lewis J. Jr. (2010) [1st pub. 2006]. The Lambs Theatre Club (softcover) (2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7864-6095-3 – via archive.org.
  • Wilson, Earl (1964). Earl Wilson's New York. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Newspapers

Websites

  • "The Lambs History". the-lambs.org. The Lambs, Inc. November 9, 2024. (Member Roster). Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  • "About the Lambs". the-lambs.org/. The Lambs, Inc. (Disclaimer). Retrieved November 9, 2024. The Lambs, Inc., is America's oldest professional theatrical club. ... The Lambs ® is a registered trademark of The Lambs, Inc., and has been known as The Lambs club for 150 years.
  • "Governance". The Lambs. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  • The Lambs Club (PDF) (Report). New York, NY: Landmarks Preservation Commission. September 24, 1974. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
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