Wikipedia

Hank Ladd

Henry Ladd (December 12, 1908 – June 9, 1982) was an American actor and writer of radio, film and stage.

Life and career

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Ladd was born on December 12, 1908, in Chicago, Illinois.[1] He was an actor and writer, known for Las Vegas Nights (1941), The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950), and The Jackie Gleason Show (1966).[citation needed] He was a comedian and monologist on radio, nightclubs, TV, stage and film, known for his dry, sardonic delivery.[citation needed] He performed in vaudeville, nightclubs and commercials, and wrote books and TV scripts (The Judy Canova Show).[2] Ladd appeared in USO tours[citation needed] and appeared in the musical revue Along Fifth Avenue in 1949. He appeared on Jackie Gleason's show Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine and also served as a writer on the show.[3]

On Broadway, he appeared in Angel in the Wings (1947) as a monologist and master of ceremonies and he also wrote some of the sketches for the show.[4] Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times writing about the show said, "To tell the truth, there isn't much else in it except Hank Ladd, a saturnine-looking wag who can make a mildly spoken story sound hilarious and does."[5]

Ladd was married to Francetta Malloy, an actress, who died on July 17, 1978.[6] He died in Los Angeles on June 9, 1982.[1][7]

Radio programs

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He was one of three comedians to play Beetle the ghost on The Phil Baker Show for the CBS and NBC Radio Networks from 1931 to 1939 in Chicago.[citation needed] His other radio shows included Columbia Workshop (#149), a radio play by William Saroyan, which aired August 10, 1939;[citation needed] he was a member of a comedy team with Bert Wheeler that was featured on The New Old Gold Show for NBC-BLUE (1941-1942);[citation needed] Command Performance (#30), starring Bing Crosby, James Cagney, and Larry Adler, which aired August 30, 1942;[citation needed] and The Judy Canova Show episode "A Quiet Christmas Party", which aired December 21, 1946.[citation needed] He was the host of The Arrow Show on NBC-TV (1949)[8] and appeared in Waiting for The Break on NBC-TV (1950).[9][10]

Film

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Stage appearances

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In the 1940s, he appeared in the following Broadway musicals:

References

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  1. ^ a b "Hank Ladd – Broadway Cast & Staff". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  2. ^ "Program Briefs". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. May 18, 1947. p. 31. Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Jackie Gleason Presents 'Gleason's Gaieties' on CBS Television Tonight". Seymour Daily Tribune. May 25, 1963. p. 9. Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Chapman, John Ed. (1948). The Burns Mantle Best Plays of 1947-1948. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. p. 368.
  5. ^ "The Hartmans and Hank Ladd in an Entertaining Musical Revue". The New York Times. December 21, 1947. p. 162.
  6. ^ "Francetta Malloy – Broadway Cast & Staff |". Internet Broadway Database.
  7. ^ "Hank Ladd". Los Angeles Times. June 21, 1982. p. 28. Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "The Arrow Show". IMDb.
  9. ^ "Waiting for the Break". IMDb.
  10. ^ "Waiting for the Break".
  11. ^ Crowther, Bosley (March 20, 1941). "Movie Review - Las Vegas Nights - 'Las Vegas Nights' Shown at the Paramount - 'The Monster and the Girl' at Loew's Criterion - 'Sleepers West' at Palace". The New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  12. ^ "Laffing Time". IMDb.
  13. ^ "The Errand Boy (1961)". 20/20 Reviews. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  14. ^ Bordman, Gerald (1978). American Musical Theatre. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 531.
  15. ^ "Priorities of 1943 Will Open Tonight". The New York Times. September 15, 1942. p. 18.
  16. ^ Dietz, Dan (2015). The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 411–413.
  17. ^ Chapman, John Ed (1949). The Burns Mantle Best Plays of 1948–1949. New York: Dodd,Mead and Company. pp. 406–407.
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