Hank Ladd
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Henry Ladd (December 12, 1908 – June 9, 1982) was an American actor and writer of radio, film and stage.
Life and career
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
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
- Las Vegas Nights (1941)[11]
- Laffing Time (1959) [12]
- The Errand Boy (1961)[13]
Stage appearances
In the 1940s, he appeared in the following Broadway musicals:
- New Priorities of 1943 (September 15 – October 11, 1942).[14][15]
- Angel in the Wings (December 11, 1947 – September 4, 1948)[16]
- Along Fifth Avenue (January 13 – June 18, 1949).[17]
References
- ^ a b "Hank Ladd – Broadway Cast & Staff". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
- ^ "Program Briefs". The Gazette. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. May 18, 1947. p. 31. Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Chapman, John Ed. (1948). The Burns Mantle Best Plays of 1947-1948. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. p. 368.
- ^ "The Hartmans and Hank Ladd in an Entertaining Musical Revue". The New York Times. December 21, 1947. p. 162.
- ^ "Francetta Malloy – Broadway Cast & Staff |". Internet Broadway Database.
- ^ "Hank Ladd". Los Angeles Times. June 21, 1982. p. 28. Retrieved June 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Arrow Show". IMDb.
- ^ "Waiting for the Break". IMDb.
- ^ "Waiting for the Break".
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Laffing Time". IMDb.
- ^ "The Errand Boy (1961)". 20/20 Reviews. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Bordman, Gerald (1978). American Musical Theatre. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 531.
- ^ "Priorities of 1943 Will Open Tonight". The New York Times. September 15, 1942. p. 18.
- ^ Dietz, Dan (2015). The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 411–413.
- ^ Chapman, John Ed (1949). The Burns Mantle Best Plays of 1948–1949. New York: Dodd,Mead and Company. pp. 406–407.