Gertrude Lawrence, a Biography

Sheridan Morley has written an informative and readable book on the life of Gertrude Lawrence. She was present at the beginning of many stellar careers - most notably Leslie Howard, Danny Kaye and Yul Brynner, and she was larger than life herself. In pre-war London, when she was entertaining the West End with Noel Coward in his superb Private Lives and Tonight at 8:30, she was the toast of the town and seen on the arm of a different gorgeous man every night. She continued her fame in the United States with Lady in the Dark and The King and I (which was written for her). She was also generally believed to be the inspiration for All About Eve (though the role of Margo Channing was a bit too close to home for her to be able to accept it). Morley doesn't skimp on the details that make Miss Lawrence less than likable. She was not the most attentive mother, and didn't have any inclination to work at a positive marital relationship until very near the end of her life. Money ran through her fingers like water from a tap - when her accountant questioned the logic of purchasing an estate when she was nearly bankrupt, she responded by instructing him to find out how much it would cost to install a swimming pool. On the other side of that coin, however, she could be generous to a fault, and she was extremely supportive of her friends. Beatrice Lillie and Noel Coward have especially fond memories, and even those who were infuriated by her occasional tantrums remember her with a smile in this volume. Morley does a credible job of putting together a life story that is even-handed, honest and still respectful. The fact that he does this while offering an entertaining, page-turning read is admirable.

Gertrude Lawrence was a transcendental star of the London and New York stages in the earlier 20th century. Her appeal went far beyond sophisticated international elites: she was resident in America through most of her career, and toured the country so widely as to be a front-page figure from coast to coast. The Gershwins wrote "Oh, Kay," for her. Noel Coward wrote "Private Lives," one of the greatest light comedies of the century for her, and together they created the sparkling "Elyot" and "Amanda." Kurt Weill and Moss Hart wrote "Lady in the Dark " for her; Rogers and Hammerstein wrote "The King and I" for her. And most theater people agree that Joe Mankiewicz wrote the movie "All About Eve," about her. In any event, Gertie thought the wickedly theatrical "Eve Channing" cut too close to the bone, and declined to play her, leaving that meaty part to Bette Davis. So Gertie had no great screen success, though she did film opposite Charles Laughton, Rex Harrison, and Laurence Olivier. Never mind; at her death, they dimmed the lights of Broadway, and London's West End, and they don't do that very often. It took 30 years after her early, unexpected death to get this first full-length biography of her from Sheridan Morley, son of the extremely entertaining British actor Robert Morley. The author, who was drama critic and arts editor for "Punch", and London drama critic for "The International Herald Tribune" evidently knew his way around the theatrical world; he previously wrote biographies of Noel Coward and Marlene Dietrich. Furthermore, as an executor of Noel Coward's estate, he had access to a large number of private papers documenting the long Coward/Lawrence relationship. He turned out a smooth, polished, knowledgeable, readable book: however, on the American side of the Atlantic, we might think it rather too English. He skates over various rough spots in his subject's life, and he makes her late marriage to Richard Aldrich, theatrical producer, sound dynastic and institutional, rather like a merger of Twentieth-Century Fox and RKO; not like a personal event at all. In fact, this section of the book has little personal flavor. Aside from these quibbles, Morley presents us with a pretty sharp accounting of a 100% showbiz life. Gertie began her theatrical career at six, when she won a seaside talent contest. At 12, she was one of a hundred-and-fifty kiddie chorus in "The Miracle." Shortly after, she first met Noel Coward, the multi-talented actor-composer-playwright. It was to be an enduring friendship, no more, as Coward was close to openly homosexual, and there were rumors about her: but it had a significant impact on her career. She worked her way up to fame, rising, show-by-show, frequently with Bea Lillie, also a theatrical English star, with whom she also had an enduring association. She was also, at the same time, working her way up socially, finally reaching the heady vicinity of the Prince of Wales; but, unfortunately