Theatre Register

John Cecil Holm

Shows · John Cecil Holm

Book Writer 1904–1981 On stage 19601968

John Cecil Holm (November 4, 1904, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – October 24, 1981, in Westerly, Rhode Island) was an American dramatist, theatre director and actor. He is best known for his 1935 play Three Men on a Horse, co-written with George Abbott. He was often billed as Cecil Holm as an actor, reserving his full name for his writing credits.

On stage 6 productions, 8 years

1960 A Mighty Man Is He Cort Theatre · Original · directed by Reginald Denham 5 perf.
1961 Midgie Purvis Martin Beck Theatre · Original · directed by Burgess Meredith 21 perf.
1962 Mr. President St. James Theatre · Original · directed by Joshua Logan 265 perf.
1963 The Advocate Anta Playhouse · Original · directed by Howard Da Silva 8 perf.
1966 Philadelphia, Here I Come! Helen Hayes Theatre · Original · directed by Hilton Edwards 326 perf.
1968 Forty Carats Morosco Theatre · Original · directed by Abe Burrows 780 perf.

Each row is a staging this name appears in the cast list of, read from the production record rather than from the person record. The person record names works instead, and a work cannot say which run somebody was in — that is how Elaine Stritch ends up filed under Show Boat 1927 when she was in the 1994 revival. No row here says what part was played, because no cast list records it.

Worked with more than once2 names

Polly Rowles 2 productions
Joseph Warren 2 productions

Both names in the same cast list, more than once. It is not evidence of a partnership — a long-running company puts the same forty people together every night — but it is where one would start looking. 1 of these names are not links because we hold no record behind them; the name is set from the identifier and its punctuation may be wrong.

Also credited on1 work

Best Foot Forward

These come off the person record, which names a work and not a production. So we can say this name is attached to the work and we cannot say which staging, or in what capacity. For a composer or a writer that is the whole career we hold; there is no cast list to find them in.

In the literature5 passages

  • Best Foot Forward (1941). Book: John Cecil Holm; music and lyrics: Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. Musical comedy in which Gale Joy, a movie star, bearing in mind the resulting publicity, decides to accept Bud Hooper's invitation to the Winsocki school prom. The souvenirhunting students strip her bare, and a threatened scandal ensues when th…theatre-pdfs/McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama, v. 3 (I-N).txt
  • THREE MEN ON A HORSE by John Cecil Holm, George Abbott; Director, John Pynchon Holms; Set, Tom Warren; Costumes, Ste-theatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1978-79, v. 35 (Willis).txt
  • JOHN CECIL HOLM, 76, Philadclphia-bora actor, director and playwright, died Oct. 24, 1981 in Westerly, RI. As an actor, he made his NY debut in 1925's "Joan of Arkansas," foUowed by "A Mighty Man Is He," "The Front Page," "Whirlpool," "Penal Law 2010," "The Up and Up," "Wonder Boy," "Bloodstream," "Dangerous Corner," "Mary of Scotland," "…theatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1981-82 Season, v. 38 (Willis).txt
  • THREE MEN ON A HORSE By John Cecil Holm and George Abbott; Director, John Tillinger; Sets, Marjorie Bradley Kellogg; Costumes, Ann Hould-Ward; Lighting, Richard Nelson; Sound, T. Richard Fitzgerald; Music Direction, John Kander; Hair-stylist, Robert Fama; Fights, Jerry Mitchell; Casting, Georgianne Walken and Sheila Jaffe; Production Supe…theatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1992-93 Season, v. 49 (Willis).txt
  • MEN ON A HORSE (Jan. 30 ) Comedy by George Abbott and John Cecil Holm. Producer: Alex Yokel. With William Lynn.theatre-pdfs/sim_theatre-arts_1936-01_20_1.txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Any portrait. 1,626 of 7,139 people have one, so this is the usual case rather than the exception.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — book writer — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

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