A history of the club published in 2006.
Many stars were members of The Lambs Theatrical Club which was founded in 1869 in London and named after essayist Charles Lamb. In 1874 the club took up residence in New York.
Members included Fred Astaire, Irving Berlin, Spencer Tracy, Danny Kaye, John Barrymore, Edward G. Robinson, Pat O’Brien.
When Fred Astaire became a member in 1922, he said, “When I was made a Lamb, I felt as if I was knighted.”
- Ten of the 17 founding members of The Screen Actors Guild were Lamb club members, including Boris Karloff, James Gleason, Alan Mowbray.
Motto, “Florient Agni” – “May The Lambs Flourish.”
The chief executive officer of the club is called The Shepherd , and when shows were put on,they were called Gambols.
STALAG 17 was first tried out at the Lambs.
And it still is flourishing in New York, with a great theatrical archive.
Their website is https://the-lambs.org
The website is also of great interest because you can view extensive interviews with Piper Laurie, George Chakiris, Maria Janis Cooper (daughter of Gary Cooper), Constance Towers, Lee Grant.
……….SINUS PROBLEMS: And it’s always the villains, glad to say!
Maybe they were related and it runs in the family.
Richard Widmark, Donald Buka in THE STREET WITH NO NAME (1948)
Gary Merrill, Neville Brand. WHERE THE SIDE WALK ENDS.(1950)
Lee Marvin . VIOLENT SATURDAY. (1955)
……….Due in June, 2021 from Sepia Records in London. (Sepia 1368)
Stars featured include Judy Garland, Ethel Merman, Barbara Stanwyck, Dolores Del Rio. Shirley Temple, Tony Martin, Eddie Cantor.
- ………I recently re-watched BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN(1950) and thought Donald Buka ,as the young villain chased by cops Edmond O’Brien and Mark Stevens ,looked remarkably like one of my favourite character actors, Anthony Caruso.
See what you think:
Donald Buka, Gale Robbins
Donald Buka
Anthony Caruso (1916-2003)
Anthony Caruso
Donald Buka (1920-2009) only made a few movies including WATCH ON THE RHINE in which he played the son of Bette Davis.
Donald Buka , Bette Davis
…………..Dialogue quote: HOLD BACK THE DAWN (1941).
Georges (Charles Boyer) to Emmy (Olivia de Havilland):
“You needn’t be afraid, Miss Brown. Not a bit. You see, we are like two trains halted for a moment at the same station. But we’re going in different directions.
We cannot change our course anymore than we can hold back the dawn.”
Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland
……….Love this scene in the all-star Warners film, IT’S A GREAT FEELING.
Vienna's Classic Hollywood
Great news about the upcoming Sepia release – a varied selection of rare items – and the promise of further volumes too!
Yes indeed. Such a great selection of rare numbers.
It was good to hear about the Lambs, as I was always confused about its current status. In 1980 I recall being there (on I think W. 44th, across from Algonquin Hotel) for an audition, and feeling the nicely furnished room to be dusty and shopworn for so famous a club. More recently I read that its then apparently stylish lounge was where Lorenz Hart wished to introduce his protege Alan Jay Lerner to Frederick Loewe, in the early 40s, when I gather Mr. Lerner was on his way to or from the men’s room and literally ran into Mr. Loewe just before the introduction could actually be made!
Reading its website makes it sound like a somewhat curious place. For example, many recent members listed as “resigned” after only brief memberships, are given laudatory biographies on the site; and others listed as “dropped” (and thus in disgrace?) are nonetheless authors of articles about other members, that are proudly posted on the site!
I wonder why Tony Martin didn’t really make it in films. Most of the songs on the CD are from B films like Thanks For Everything and Kentucky Moonshine which more or less ended his Fox contract. He seemed to have everything going for him. The one genre he didn’t belong in was westerns but he made one which I saw years ago, looking totally out of place!
He was quite busy in the 1930s but very few films in the 40s. And back in musicals in the 50s. Maybe he needed to extend his range beyond musicals.
I’m just glad that many of the Lambs records have been preserved.
How interesting that you have been there. I believe the club has had several different locations.
Yes, I have a feeling that’s perhaps why it felt rather abandoned – that maybe they moved around then, but still owned it which perhaps is why it was still called the Lambs and were renting out space for other uses.
Should have said they may have moved at about that time, to be clearer. Anyway it certainly makes me want to know more about the Lambs and the interviews you mention. Such a diversity of membership: so many for life, and many others for such a short time.
Regarding the “Twentieth Century Fox Years” series of CDs from Sepia,can I add a plug for volume 2 which is now available – another excellent compilation of music from Fox films: link follows:
https://www.sepiarecords.com/sepia1370.html
Wonderful to get this news. Thanks.