Thomas S. Hischak is an internationally recognized author and
teacher in the performing arts. He is the author of more than
twenty books about film, popular music, and theatre, including The
Oxford Companion to the American Musical, The Oxford Companion to
American Theatre, The Disney Song Encyclopedia, and The
Encyclopedia of Film Composers.
Jack Macauley is the great nephew and godson of John C. Wilson and
the executor of the John C. Wilson Archive. Macauley has worked
extensively as a senior executive advisor in international
corporate communications and corporate affairs strategy,
representing individuals and companies throughout the world.
Noel Coward. Cole Porter. Tallulah Bankhead. These are the known
names of Broadway's glory days. But there's one name missing from
that list: John C. Wilson. The mover-and-shaker's new autobiography
unearths juicy revelations about the Golden Age and the people who
made theatre history. . . .Spanning three decades of theatrical
glory, weaving in and out of the lives of greats and near-greats,
it's quite a carpet ride — all from the perspective of someone with
a fixed position in the thick of things. Theatre buffs know how
rare it is to discover new nuggets of knowledge in the much-mined
fields of Broadway lore, let alone fresh slants on established
giants. Still, Wilson succeeds on both counts, coming at it from a
lofty, learned position. This is why this book is a great save and
glows like a Golden Age treasure trove.
*Playbill*
You want legendary? John C. Wilson directed the premiere production
of Kiss Me, Kate, and, shortly after that, Gentlemen Prefer
Blondes. Those credits alone made me jump into Wilson's memoir . .
. One is privileged to read Wilson's own accounting of a career
that touched all the major stars and many productions of a golden
age of Broadway. . . .Most saliently, Wilson writes about the many
legendary performers and productions in the first person and
present tense. If Wilson's writing has a decidedly old-fashioned
cast — that of a gentleman at leisure taking a calm stroll through
his career — that is not criticism. Indeed, that quality is to be
savored. You want a cliche? They don't make them like this
anymore.
*Bay Area Reporter*
It really is quite spectacular—and something that everyone who
loves Broadway should read!
*The Theatre Guild Newsletter*
Those of us who love musical theatre are always looking for that
next amazing book that offers us a special look into the making of
Broadway musicals and the exciting lives that help create them. An
unlikely book has emerged that I am confident that many of you are
going to want to read. . . .This book should be on your essential
reading list if you are interested in hearing many an untold story
about theatre past. . . .Row[m]an & Littlefield Publishers should
be congratulated for their courage to bring a book of this caliber
to print. . . .I found the book to be a fascinating read, augmented
by some particularly wonderful, never-before-seen, pictures that
will make you feel like you spending some magical, candid moments
with some of the greatest stars of theatre and film past. It is
worth every dime for the enjoyment you will find within its
pages.
*Mark Robinson Writes*
John C. Wilson’s Memoir of Broadway’s Golden Age, is an engrossing,
engaging, and entertaining journal of anecdotes by a veteran
Broadway producer and director, whose relationships with the
Broadway elite were unique. . . . Noel, Tallulah, Cole and Me
represents a remarkable documentation of theater history that
informs and entertains.
*NewsNotes Dance Blog*
The previously unpublished autobiography provides a wealth of
anecdotes. . . .The glamour and excitement of Broadway in its
heyday comes alive in these pages. And Wilson’s great nephew Jack
Macauley, along with theatre historian Thomas S. Hischak, have
inserted welcome commentary to put the shows and stars into
context. If you’re interested in this rich, colorful era of theatre
history, this book is a true treasure.
*Pop Culture Classics*
This is the best theatre book I have ever read—great stories about
the Golden Age of Theatre! All the glorious stars from that
era—such wonderful memories and in-depth looks behind the scenes.
Simply amazing!
*Philip Langner, President of The Theatre Guild, Inc.*
Not since Alice in Wonderland have readers been introduced to such
a wacky and colorful band of characters. The fact that these are
all true stories about the movers and shakers of theatre and film
elevates this book to a must-read status for anyone who loves the
ins and outs of the entertainment industry.
*Mark A. Robinson, author of The World of Musicals and the musical
theatre blog "The Music That Makes Me Dance"*
Readers of Broadway history might well remember the name John C.
Wilson: longtime manager, gatekeeper and comrade of Noël Coward;
producer of plays with Gertie, Kit, Tallulah and the Lunts, as well
as Olivier and Gielgud; and director, within a year, of the
original "Kiss Me, Kate" and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." Little has
been known of Jack Wilson until now, with the discovery of his
unpublished and forgotten 1958 autobiography, "Noël, Tallulah,
Cole, and Me." Thomas Hischak has put the pages in order and filled
in the gaps, resulting in an absorbing and fascinating description
of thirty years of Broadway and West End history, guided by an
unassuming fellow from Trenton who was thrilled and surprised to be
in the center of it all.
*Steven Suskin, author of Show Tunes and The Sound of Broadway
Music*
In the 1930s, '40s and '50s, ‘Produced by John C. Wilson’ was a
credit that denoted quality, star-power and theatrical innovation.
His memoir is an essential document of the English-speaking
theater—and highly entertaining, too.
*Richard Somerset-Ward, author of An American Theatre: The Story of
Westport Country Playhouse*
John Wilson's memoir is a fascinating, revealing, and
engagingly-written account of his work with almost every prominent
figure in twentieth-century theater—from Marlon Brando, Carol
Channing, and Noel Coward, through Greta Garbo, Laurence Olivier,
and Cole Porter, to Gloria Swanson, Tennessee Williams, and Florenz
Ziegfeld—all of it adroitly edited and contextualized for
contemporary readers by Thomas S. Hischack and Jack Macauley.
*Philip Furia, author of The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History of
America's Great Lyricists*
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