Jack Waldron (actor) explained
Jack Waldron |
Birth Name: | Jack Kestenbaum |
Birth Date: | February 3, 1893 |
Birth Place: | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
Death Place: | New York City, U.S. |
Years Active: | 1920s–1950s |
Jack Waldron (born Jack Kestenbaum; February 3, 1893 – November 21, 1969) was an American actor-comedian, singer and dancer.
Early life
As a boy, his two passions were baseball and the theatre, and he began his career as a dancer in vaudeville. During the Meuse–Argonne offensive in World War I, he entertained the troops as a member of the "Argonne Players".
Career
After the war, he played in Chicago nightclubs during the Prohibition years: the Chez Paris, Colosimo, the Paramount, and the Follies; he knew many of the racketeers of the period, including Al Capone. After the repeal of Prohibition, Waldron returned to New York to entertain in cafes.
On Broadway, he played the role of Tommy in Flossie (1924), an unspecified role in The Great Temptations (1926), one of the Boys of the Chorus in Hello Daddy! (1928–1929) and again in Woof Woof (1929–1930). In the 1950s, he played Mike Spears in the revival of Pal Joey (1952–1953), a salesman in The Pajama Game (1954–1956), Myron H. Hubbard in The Vamp (1955), and Schatzie Harris in Say, Darling (1959).
As a comedic actor, he was known for his short films for Vitaphone Varieties: A Breath of Broadway (#2691, September 5, 1928) and Radio and Relatives (December 30, 1938). He also played a bartender in a 1951 episode of Martin Kane, Private Eye.
The Lambs
Waldron was elected to The Lambs Theatre Club in 1949 and was later made an Honorary Life member. He was elected to Council 1960-1969 and became Shepherd in 1969, six months before his death.
Death
Waldron died of cardiac arrest, suddenly and quietly during the night on November 21, 1969, in the arms of his wife Harriet.
References
Sources
Books
- Book: Dietz
, Dan
. The Complete Book of 1920s Broadway Musicals . 2019 . 1st . hardcover . Lanham, MD . . 978-1-5381-1281-6.
- Book: Dietz
, Dan
. The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals . 2014 . 1st . hardcover . Lanham, MD . Rowman & Littlefield Publishers . 978-1-4422-3504-5.
- Book: Green
, Stanley
. Broadway Musicals Show by Show . 2019 . 9th . softcover . Lanham, MD . Rowman & Littlefield Publishers . 978-1-4930-4769-7.
- Book: Hardee
, Lewis J. Jr.
. The Lambs Theatre Club . 2010 . 1st pub. 2006 . 2nd . softcover . Jefferson, North Carolina . . 978-0-7864-6095-3 . books.google.co.uk.
Newspapers
- News: Lyons . Leonard . Lyons Den . . 19 . November 26, 1969 . . registration . November 27, 2021 . .
Websites
- Web site: Flossie (1924) . (Opening night cast) . Internet Broadway Database . ibdb.com . November 21, 2021 . .
- Web site: The Great Temptations (1924) . (Opening night cast) . Internet Broadway Database . ibdb.com . November 21, 2021 . .
- Web site: Hello Daddy! (1928–1929) . (Opening night cast) . Internet Broadway Database . ibdb.com . November 21, 2021 . .
- Web site: Woof Woof (1929–1930) . (Opening night cast) . Internet Broadway Database . ibdb.com . November 21, 2021 . .
- Web site: Pal Joey (1952–1953) . (Opening night cast) . Internet Broadway Database . ibdb.com . November 21, 2021 . .
- Web site: The Pajama Game (1954–1956) . (Opening night cast) . Internet Broadway Database . ibdb.com . November 21, 2021 . .
- Web site: The Vamp (1955) . (Opening night cast) . Internet Broadway Database . ibdb.com . November 21, 2021 . .
- Web site: The Lambs . (Member Roster) . . the-lambs.org . November 6, 2015 . November 18, 2021 . . May 31, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220531032150/https://the-lambs.org/history/roster/ . dead .