My Sister Eileen
Encyclopedia
My Sister Eileen originated as a series of short stories by Ruth McKenney
that eventually evolved into a book
, a play
, a musical
, a radio
play (and unproduced radio series), two film
s, and a CBS
television series in the 1960-1961 season.
The autobiographical stories originally were published in The New Yorker
, then collected and published as the book My Sister Eileen in 1938. It centers on two sisters from Ohio
who move to a basement apartment
in the Greenwich Village
section of New York City
in order to pursue their careers. Older, sensible Ruth aspires to be a writer, while Eileen dreams of success on the stage. A variety of oddball characters bring color and humor to their lives.
by Joseph Fields
and Jerome Chodorov
. The Broadway
production, directed by George S. Kaufman
, opened on December 26, 1940 at the Biltmore Theatre
and moved three times before finally completing its run of 864 performances on January 16, 1943. The opening night cast included Shirley Booth
as Ruth and Jo Ann Sayers
as Eileen, with Richard Quine
and Morris Carnovsky
in supporting roles.
Eileen McKenney
, the inspiration for the title character, and her husband, novelist and screenwriter
Nathanael West
, were killed in a car accident four days before the Broadway opening, as they traveled to New York to attend the play's premiere.
released by Columbia Pictures
(their biggest hit of 1942/3). Alexander Hall
directed a cast that includes Rosalind Russell
as Ruth and Janet Blair as Eileen, with Brian Aherne
, George Tobias
, Allyn Joslyn
, Elizabeth Patterson
, Grant Mitchell
, and Richard Quine in supporting roles.
and Janet Blair reprised their roles in a half-hour radio adaptation of the 1942 film for the CBS Radio
anthology series Academy Award Theater
. During the closing credits, show announcer Hugh Brundage stated that a radio series, based on the two characters was being prepared by writer Arthur Kurlan. He added that it would star Lucille Ball
and it would premiere in the fall. CBS ultimately turned down the proposed series after an audition record was made.
In 1947, CBS began airing a different radio series, My Friend Irma, which contained the same basic premise and characterizations. In response, Arthur Kurlan sued CBS on behalf of himself and Ruth McKenney, ultimately winning compensation from CBS.
, with lyrics by Betty Comden
and Adolph Green
and music by Leonard Bernstein
, is a musical stage adaptation of the Sherwood stories. Rosalind Russell reprised the part of Ruth for the Broadway production and appeared in a CBS
broadcast of the musical on November 30, 1958.
as a musical comedy with a score by Jule Styne
and Leo Robin
. Richard Quine and Blake Edwards
wrote the screenplay
, and Quine directed. The cast includes Betty Garrett
as Ruth and Janet Leigh
as Eileen, with Jack Lemmon
, Bob Fosse
(who choreographed the musical numbers), Kurt Kasznar
, Dick York
, Arnold Stang
, and Tommy Rall
in supporting roles. The film is well known for its cutting edge (at the time), choreographed, and still fresh dance sequences within the apartment.
based on the short stories and subsequent adaptations premiered on CBS
on October 5, 1960. It was cancelled after one season.
Ruth McKenney
Ruth McKenney was an American author and journalist, best remembered for My Sister Eileen, a memoir of her experiences growing up in Ohio and moving to Greenwich Village with her sister Eileen McKenney. This was later adapted as the musical Wonderful Town by Leonard Bernstein.-Early life:McKenney...
that eventually evolved into a book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
, a play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
, a musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
play (and unproduced radio series), two film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s, and a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television series in the 1960-1961 season.
The autobiographical stories originally were published in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, then collected and published as the book My Sister Eileen in 1938. It centers on two sisters from Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
who move to a basement apartment
Basement apartment
A basement apartment is an apartment located below street level, underneath another structure—usually an apartment building, but possibly a house or a business. Rent in basement apartments is usually much lower than it is in above-ground units, due to a number of deficiencies common to basement...
in the Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
section of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in order to pursue their careers. Older, sensible Ruth aspires to be a writer, while Eileen dreams of success on the stage. A variety of oddball characters bring color and humor to their lives.
1940 play
The stories were adapted for the stageMy Sister Eileen (play)
My Sister Eileen is an American comedy stage production, written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, based on autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney...
by Joseph Fields
Joseph Fields
Joseph Albert Fields was an American playwright, theatre director, screenwriter, and film producer.-Life and career:Fields was born in New York City, the son of vaudevillean Lew Fields...
and Jerome Chodorov
Jerome Chodorov
Jerome Chodorov was an American playwright and librettist.-Biography:He was born in New York City, and entered journalism in the 1930s. He is best known for his 1940 play My Sister Eileen, its 1942 screen adaptation, and the musical Wonderful Town, which based on his play. Joseph A. Fields was...
. The Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production, directed by George S. Kaufman
George S. Kaufman
George Simon Kaufman was an American playwright, theatre director and producer, humorist, and drama critic. In addition to comedies and political satire, he wrote several musicals, notably for the Marx Brothers...
, opened on December 26, 1940 at the Biltmore Theatre
Biltmore Theatre
The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 261 West 47th Street in midtown-Manhattan.-History:...
and moved three times before finally completing its run of 864 performances on January 16, 1943. The opening night cast included Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth was an American actress.Primarily a theatre actress, Booth's Broadway career began in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama Come Back, Little Sheba, for which she received a Tony Award in 1950...
as Ruth and Jo Ann Sayers
Jo Ann Sayers
Jo Ann Sayers is an American actress who was active in Broadway and in Hollywood films. Her film career spanned the 1930s through the 1950s.-Biography:...
as Eileen, with Richard Quine
Richard Quine
Richard Quine was an American stage, film, and radio actor and film director.Quine was born in Detroit. He made his Broadway debut in the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Very Warm for May in 1939 and appeared in My Sister Eileen the following year...
and Morris Carnovsky
Morris Carnovsky
Morris Carnovsky was an American stage and film actor born in St. Louis, Missouri. He worked briefly in the Yiddish theatre before attending Washington University in St. Louis...
in supporting roles.
Eileen McKenney
Eileen McKenney
Eileen McKenney was the sister of the writer Ruth McKenney and the inspiration for Ruth's book My Sister Eileen . It was adapted as a Broadway play in 1940, filmed in 1942 and 1955 by Columbia Pictures, and adapted into the Broadway musical Wonderful Town...
, the inspiration for the title character, and her husband, novelist and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
Nathanael West
Nathanael West
Nathanael West was a US author, screenwriter and satirist.- Early life :...
, were killed in a car accident four days before the Broadway opening, as they traveled to New York to attend the play's premiere.
1942 film
Fields and Chodorov adapted their play for a 1942 filmMy Sister Eileen (1942 film)
My Sister Eileen is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Alexander Hall. The screenplay by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov is based on their 1940 play of the same title, which was inspired by a series of autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney originally published in The New...
released by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
(their biggest hit of 1942/3). Alexander Hall
Alexander Hall
Alexander Hall was an American theatre actor and film director....
directed a cast that includes Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
as Ruth and Janet Blair as Eileen, with Brian Aherne
Brian Aherne
Brian Aherne was a British actor of both stage and screen, who found success in Hollywood.-Early life and stage career:...
, George Tobias
George Tobias
George Tobias was an American character actor.-Early life and career:Born to a Jewish family in New York, he began his acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. He then spent several years in theater groups before moving on to Broadway and, eventually, Hollywood...
, Allyn Joslyn
Allyn Joslyn
Allyn Joslyn was an American stage, film and television actor.-Biography:Allyn Joslyn was born in Milford, Pennsylvania, the son of a mining engineer...
, Elizabeth Patterson
Elizabeth Patterson (actress)
Elizabeth Patterson was an American film and television character actress remembered for her portrayal of elderly neighbor Matilda Trumbull on I Love Lucy.-Career:...
, Grant Mitchell
Grant Mitchell (actor)
Grant Mitchell was an American stage actor on Broadway and character actor in many Hollywood films of the 1930s and 1940s...
, and Richard Quine in supporting roles.
1946 radio play and unproduced radio series
On May 18, 1946, Rosalind RussellRosalind Russell
Rosalind Russell was an American actress of stage and screen, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday, as well as the role of Mame Dennis in the film Auntie Mame...
and Janet Blair reprised their roles in a half-hour radio adaptation of the 1942 film for the CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
anthology series Academy Award Theater
Academy Award Theater
Academy Award was a CBS radio anthology series which presented 30-minute adaptations of plays, novels or films.Rather than adaptations of Oscar-winning films, as the title implied, the series offered "Hollywood's finest, the great picture plays, the great actors and actresses, techniques and...
. During the closing credits, show announcer Hugh Brundage stated that a radio series, based on the two characters was being prepared by writer Arthur Kurlan. He added that it would star Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
and it would premiere in the fall. CBS ultimately turned down the proposed series after an audition record was made.
In 1947, CBS began airing a different radio series, My Friend Irma, which contained the same basic premise and characterizations. In response, Arthur Kurlan sued CBS on behalf of himself and Ruth McKenney, ultimately winning compensation from CBS.
1953 Broadway musical
Wonderful TownWonderful Town
Wonderful Town is a musical with a book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein...
, with lyrics by Betty Comden
Betty Comden
Betty Comden was one-half of the musical-comedy duo Comden and Green, who provided lyrics, libretti, and screenplays to some of the most beloved and successful Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century...
and Adolph Green
Adolph Green
Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for some of the most beloved movie musicals, particularly as part of Arthur Freed's production unit at MGM, during the genre's heyday...
and music by Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
, is a musical stage adaptation of the Sherwood stories. Rosalind Russell reprised the part of Ruth for the Broadway production and appeared in a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
broadcast of the musical on November 30, 1958.
1955 film
In 1955, Columbia made a filmMy Sister Eileen (1955 film)
My Sister Eileen is a 1955 American CinemaScope musical film directed by Richard Quine. It stars Janet Leigh, Betty Garrett and Jack Lemmon....
as a musical comedy with a score by Jule Styne
Jule Styne
Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
and Leo Robin
Leo Robin
Leo Robin was an American composer, lyricist and songwriter. He is probably best known for collaborating with Ralph Rainger on the 1938 Oscar-winning song "Thanks for the Memory," sung by Bob Hope in the film The Big Broadcast of 1938.-Biography:Robin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and...
. Richard Quine and Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
wrote the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, and Quine directed. The cast includes Betty Garrett
Betty Garrett
Betty Garrett was an American actress, comedienne, singer and dancer who originally performed on Broadway before being signed to a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
as Ruth and Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
as Eileen, with Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
, Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
(who choreographed the musical numbers), Kurt Kasznar
Kurt Kasznar
-Early life:Kasznar was born in Vienna, Austria as Kurt Servischer. His father left when Kurt was very young, his mother married a Hungarian restaurateur named Ferdinand Kasznar, and Kurt assumed his surname. He emigrated to the United States in the mid-1930s for The Eternal Road in which he...
, Dick York
Dick York
Richard Allen "Dick" York was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as the first Darrin Stephens on the ABC television fantasy sitcom Bewitched...
, Arnold Stang
Arnold Stang
Arnold Stang was an American comic actor who played a small and bespectacled, yet brash and knowing big-city type.-Career:...
, and Tommy Rall
Tommy Rall
Thomas Edward "Tommy" Rall is an American ballet dancer, tap dancer and acrobatic dancer who was a prominent featured player in 1950s musical comedies...
in supporting roles. The film is well known for its cutting edge (at the time), choreographed, and still fresh dance sequences within the apartment.
1960 television series
A television situation comedyMy Sister Eileen (TV series)
My Sister Eileen is an American situation comedy based on a series of autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney originally published in The New Yorker, as well as the 1940 play and 1942 and 1955 film adaptations they inspired....
based on the short stories and subsequent adaptations premiered on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on October 5, 1960. It was cancelled after one season.