Gaylord Ravenal
Encyclopedia
Gaylord Ravenal is the leading male character in both Edna Ferber's novel Show Boat and in the famous Jerome Kern
-Oscar Hammerstein II
musical play of the same name
, based on the novel. He is a compulsive riverboat gambler, and he becomes leading man of the show boat Cotton Blossom at the same time that Magnolia Hawks, the captain's daughter, becomes the leading lady. In the novel, this happens after several of the company's leading men and ladies have left, including the illegally married mulatto Julie Dozier
(to whom Magnolia was especially close) and her white husband Steve Baker. In the musical, Magnolia and Ravenal become the leading players on the boat immediately after Julie and Steve are forced to leave the show, and not years later.
In the musical, Magnolia and Ravenal meet in the first scene of the show, and before Julie and Steve ever leave (this was done by Kern and Hammerstein in order to bring Ravenal into the story much earlier). In the novel the two meet right after Ravenal is hired as leading man, and long after Julie and Steve have left.
In the musical, Gaylord Ravenal is a much more sympathetic character. None of the characters in the story die in the musical, and Gaylord remains faithful to Magnolia. The pair move to Chicago with their daughter, as in the novel, but not because of Parthy's nagging - rather, Gaylord wants to show Magnolia the big city. He deserts her after ten years, not because he fears the wrath of Parthy, but because he feels guilty over his gambling losses and his inability to support Magnolia. She gets a job as a nightclub singer (this is made possible by Julie, who, now an alcoholic, secretly quits her job so that Magnolia can have it). She then goes on to become a Broadway star, with the encouragement of her father, Cap'n Andy, all the while raising her daughter alone. Twenty-three years later, when Magnolia retires and she and her now adult daughter (now a Broadway star herself) return to the boat for a family reunion, Gaylord is there waiting. He and Magnolia reconcile, and all is well.
in the original 1927 stage production of Show Boat. However, when producer Florenz Ziegfeld
brought most of the original cast back in his 1932 revival of the show, Marsh was replaced by noted actor-singer Dennis King
. In 1929, Joseph Schildkraut
, complete with Viennese accent, was rather incongruously cast as a non-singing Ravenal in the first, part-talkie film version of Show Boat
. In James Whale's 1936 film version
, which many consider to be a movie musical classic, Allan Jones played the role. In the 1946 stage revival, a version revised to accommodate a shorter running time (because of more modern stagecraft) by Kern and Hammerstein themselves, Charles Fredericks
, a featured actor in B-Westerns, took on the role. In MGM's 1951 highly popular Technicolor remake of the musical
, Howard Keel
portrayed Ravenal.
The 1946 highly fictionalized biopic of Jerome Kern's life, Till the Clouds Roll By
featured a re-enactment of some of the first act of Show Boat, with singer-actor Tony Martin
as Ravenal.
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
-Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
musical play of the same name
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
, based on the novel. He is a compulsive riverboat gambler, and he becomes leading man of the show boat Cotton Blossom at the same time that Magnolia Hawks, the captain's daughter, becomes the leading lady. In the novel, this happens after several of the company's leading men and ladies have left, including the illegally married mulatto Julie Dozier
Julie Dozier
Julie Dozier is a character in Edna Ferber's 1926 novel Show Boat. In Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's classic musical version of it, which opened on Broadway on December 27, 1927, her stage name is Julie La Verne. She is exposed as Julie Dozier in Act I...
(to whom Magnolia was especially close) and her white husband Steve Baker. In the musical, Magnolia and Ravenal become the leading players on the boat immediately after Julie and Steve are forced to leave the show, and not years later.
In the musical, Magnolia and Ravenal meet in the first scene of the show, and before Julie and Steve ever leave (this was done by Kern and Hammerstein in order to bring Ravenal into the story much earlier). In the novel the two meet right after Ravenal is hired as leading man, and long after Julie and Steve have left.
Character history
Magnolia and Gaylord fall in love and marry after a whirlwind courtship, and here again the novel and the musical differ. In the novel, they stay on the boat until shortly after the accidental drowning of Cap'n Andy during a storm. Because of the incessant nagging of Magnolia's mother, Parthy, they leave the boat with their baby daughter and move to Chicago, where they live off Gaylord's gambling earnings. They are alternately rich and poor, and Gaylord is occasionally unfaithful to his wife and belittles her. Years later, upon hearing that Parthy is coming to visit, and finding himself broke, he borrows money from the local whorehouse madam and returns to the boarding house at which they are living, completely drunk. As he sleeps, Magnolia goes to the whorehouse to return the money, is horrified and saddened to discover that her old friend Julie is working as a secretary there, and comes back to the boarding house to discover that Ravenal has abandoned her (Magnolia). He never returns, and Magnolia brings up her daughter alone. Ravenal eventually dies under unexplained circumstances, in San Francisco. Years later, after Parthy dies, Magnolia returns to Mississippi, to manage the show boat, and gives her daughter all of Parthy's inheritance money.In the musical, Gaylord Ravenal is a much more sympathetic character. None of the characters in the story die in the musical, and Gaylord remains faithful to Magnolia. The pair move to Chicago with their daughter, as in the novel, but not because of Parthy's nagging - rather, Gaylord wants to show Magnolia the big city. He deserts her after ten years, not because he fears the wrath of Parthy, but because he feels guilty over his gambling losses and his inability to support Magnolia. She gets a job as a nightclub singer (this is made possible by Julie, who, now an alcoholic, secretly quits her job so that Magnolia can have it). She then goes on to become a Broadway star, with the encouragement of her father, Cap'n Andy, all the while raising her daughter alone. Twenty-three years later, when Magnolia retires and she and her now adult daughter (now a Broadway star herself) return to the boat for a family reunion, Gaylord is there waiting. He and Magnolia reconcile, and all is well.
Portrayals
Gaylord Ravenal was portrayed by Howard MarshHoward Marsh
Howard Marsh was a leading Broadway tenor of the 1920s. He created the role of Baron Franz Schober in Sigmund Romberg's operetta drawn from Schubert's life and music, Blossom Time, in 1921, and that of Prince Karl Franz in the original 1924 production of Sigmund Romberg's operetta The Student...
in the original 1927 stage production of Show Boat. However, when producer Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. , , was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies , inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat...
brought most of the original cast back in his 1932 revival of the show, Marsh was replaced by noted actor-singer Dennis King
Dennis King (actor)
Dennis King was an English actor and singer.Born in Coventry as Dennis Pratt, King had a stage career in both drama and musicals. He emigrated to the USA in 1921 and went on to a successful career on the Broadway stage. He appeared in two musical films and played non-singing roles in two other...
. In 1929, Joseph Schildkraut
Joseph Schildkraut
Joseph Schildkraut was an Austrian stage and film actor.-Early life:Born in Vienna, Austria, Schildkraut was the son of stage actor Rudolph Schildkraut. The younger Schildkraut moved to the United States in the early 1900s. He appeared in many Broadway productions...
, complete with Viennese accent, was rather incongruously cast as a non-singing Ravenal in the first, part-talkie film version of Show Boat
Show Boat (1929 film)
Show Boat is a film based on the novel by Edna Ferber. This version was released by Universal in two editions, one a silent film for movie theatres still not equipped for sound, and one a part-talkie with a sound prologue...
. In James Whale's 1936 film version
Show Boat (1936 film)
Show Boat is a 1936 film based on the musical play by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II , which the team adapted from the novel by Edna Ferber....
, which many consider to be a movie musical classic, Allan Jones played the role. In the 1946 stage revival, a version revised to accommodate a shorter running time (because of more modern stagecraft) by Kern and Hammerstein themselves, Charles Fredericks
Charles Fredericks (actor)
Charles Fredericks was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He was particularly known for his highly prolific career in B-Western movies and television Westerns during the 1950s and 1960s...
, a featured actor in B-Westerns, took on the role. In MGM's 1951 highly popular Technicolor remake of the musical
Show Boat (1951 film)
Show Boat is a 1951 Technicolor film based on the musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II and the novel by Edna Ferber....
, Howard Keel
Howard Keel
Harold Clifford Keel , known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer. He starred in many film musicals of the 1950s...
portrayed Ravenal.
The 1946 highly fictionalized biopic of Jerome Kern's life, Till the Clouds Roll By
Till the Clouds Roll By
Till The Clouds Roll By is a 1946 American musical film made by MGM. The film is a fictionalized biography of composer Jerome Kern, who was originally involved with the production of the film, but died before it was completed...
featured a re-enactment of some of the first act of Show Boat, with singer-actor Tony Martin
Tony Martin (entertainer)
Tony Martin is an American actor and singer.-Career:Tony Martin was born on Christmas Day, 1913 as Alvin Morris in San Francisco, California to Jewish immigrant parents. He received a saxophone as a gift from his grandmother at the age of ten. In his grammar school glee club, he became an...
as Ravenal.