Theatre Register

William Tabbert

Shows · William Tabbert

Actor 1919–1974 On stage 19431954

William Tabbert (October 5, 1919 – October 19, 1974) was an American actor and singer primarily remembered as Lieutenant Joseph Cable in the original Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical South Pacific, where he introduced the songs "Younger Than Springtime" and "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught".

On stage 5 productions, 11 years

1943 What’s Up? National Theatre · Original · directed by George Balanchine, Robert H. Gordon 63 perf.
1944 Follow The Girls New Century Theatre · Original · directed by Harry Delmar, Fred Thompson 882 perf.
1945 Billion Dollar Baby Alvin Theatre · Original · directed by George Abbott 220 perf.
1949 South Pacific Majestic Theatre · Revival · directed by Joshua Logan 1,925 perf.
1954 Fanny Majestic Theatre · Revival · directed by Joshua Logan 888 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 once6 names

Pat Finch 2 productions
Mitzi Perry 2 productions
Katherine Graves 2 productions
Henry Michel 2 productions
Ezio Pinza 2 productions
Alan Gilbert 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. 5 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.

In the literature8 passages

  • Cast : Mohammed el Bakkar (Arab Rug Seller), William Tabbert (Marius), Florence Henderson (Fanny), Katherine Graves (Maori Vendor), Betty Carr (Lace Vendor), Toni Wheelis (Customer), Lindsay Kirkpatrick (Customer), Dolores Smith (Customer), Margaret Baxter (Customer), Tani Seitz (Claudette), Dran Seitz (Claudine), Wally Strauss (Charles),…ebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • Cast: Gertrude Niesen, Jackie Gleason, Buster West, Tim Herbert, Irina Baronova, Frank Parker, William Tabbertebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • South Pacific. William Tabbert singing “Younger Than Springtime” to Betta St. John.ebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Cast: Mary Martin, Ezio Pinza, Myron McCormick, Juanita Hall, William Tabbert, Betta St. John, Martin Wolfson, Harvey Stephens, Richard Eastham, Henry Slate, Fred Sadoff, Archie Savageebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Cast: Ezio Pinza, Walter Slezak, Florence Henderson, William Tabbert, Nejla Ates, Gerald Price, Alan Carneyebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • But Fanny employed R & H casting, with one opera singer (Ezio Pinza) and two superb “Broadway” singers for the sweethearts (Florence Henderson, William Tabbert). Even the comic, Walter Slezak, had enjoyed important roles in operettas in the 1930s. This quartet had a lot to deal with, for Fanny ’s source, Marcel Pagnol’s thirties stage-and…ebooks/Mordden, Ethan/Anything Goes_ A History of American Musical Theatre - Ethan Mordden.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 — actor — 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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