Backstage Pass To Broadway by Susan L. Schulman

Author:Susan L. Schulman [Schulman, Susan L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 2940148637950
Publisher: Heliotrope Books LLC
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Ad that ran in the New York Herald-Tribune on January 4, 1962, using photos and quotes from people with the same names as the major New York theatre critics.

(New York Herald Tribune)

Another of Merrick’s more painful stunts involved the opening night of 42ND STREET on Broadway. Merrick knew director Gower Champion had unexpectedly died earlier that day, but kept the news from the cast. He directed his press agent to tell the critics to remain in their seats during the curtain calls, something they rarely did as they normally rushed back to their papers to file their reviews. The critics were told Merrick said it would be ‘worth it’ to stay and so they did. Merrick appeared at the final curtain call, held up his hands to stop the rapturous applause, and solemnly announced that the creator of the evening they had just enjoyed, Gower Champion, was dead. At first the audience thought he was kidding. He wasn’t. Merrick accomplished a PR coup, because he had every major theatre writer plus TV news crews in the house for his shocking announcement. Many wished he had brought down the curtain before he made the announcement, to save the actors from being so publicly exposed in their grief. Presumably Merrick felt having the shocked and grief-stricken actors standing behind him on stage made it a better story.

When rumors circulated that David Merrick had died in London in 2000, the press called The David Merrick Foundation for confirmation of his death, and to obtain funeral details. They were read the following statement: “We can neither confirm nor deny his death.” It was absolutely perfect. It seemed as if Merrick was trying to manipulate the media from the grave.

Not getting any real info from The Merrick Foundation, hundreds of members of the press then called me, assuming I’d have details of his death and burial. My response, “I don’t know if he is really dead but I’d like to kick the coffin just to be sure.” Cynthia Tornquist ran her footage of the Sardi’s interview on CNN with a tribute to Merrick’s long and distinguished career. There were newspaper reports of Merrick’s deathbed marriage to Natalie by proxy. Many wondered if she found those hidden bank accounts before he died.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.