Nola Fairbanks
Encyclopedia
Nola Fairbanks is the granddaughter of Mormon pioneers Ralph Jacobus Fairbanks
(aka R.J. "Dad" Fairbanks) and Celestia Adelaide Johnson Fairbanks from Payson, Utah
and Death Valley
, California and has done film and Broadway work. She is a descendant of Jonathan Fairbanks
whose 17th century wood frame house still stands in Dedham, Massachusetts
. She is also the aunt of actor Matthew Modine
.
As a child, she joined the Meglin Kiddies
Dance Troup where Shirley Temple
was also a student. While her father, Alexander Revard Modine, worked for the Texaco
Oil Company, Nola Jo's mother, Zella Vonola Fairbanks Modine, washed clothes to pay for her singing and dancing lessons during the Great Depression
.
Modine's first movie role was as a "glorified extra" in The Corn Is Green
in 1945, starring Bette Davis
. Soon after, she joined the Lionel Barrymore
production of the musical, Halloween at the Hollywood Bowl
, and performed on The Standard Hour
in addition to the Hollywood Canteen
for servicemen.
Next, she went on tour as a soloist with the Sonja Henie
Ice Show, completing two national tours. When the tours ended in New York, she stayed on with the show, named Howdy Mr. Ice
at the Center Theatre in Rockefeller Center
.
Nola's Broadway debut was in 1950 in the chorus of Cole Porter
's Out of This World. She soon became an understudy and before long, assumed the lead. Summer stock performances included Miss Liberty with Dick Haymes
in the Dallas Theatre as well as Die Fledermaus
and finally Bloomer Girl
in Toronto, Canada. Next, she joined the Broadway cast of Paint Your Wagon opposite James Barton, when Olga San Juan
left the role of Jennifer Rumson. Nola took the show on tour with Burl Ives
in the part her father, Ben Rumson. The role was strangely similar to her own mother's pioneer upbringing.
In 1952, Nola starred in the first musical production at the new Jones Beach Theatre in Long Island, New York. Mike Todd
was the producer of this production of the Johann Strauss II
operetta A Night In Venice.
After a winning performance on The Arthur Godfrey
Radio Show, she appeared on his television show. Her final Broadway performance came when she was asked to replace Florence Henderson
in the lead role in Fanny
, co-starring Ezio Pinza
.
Nola married James Larkin in 1954 and had four children.
Nola revived her career in 1978 with appearances in a short-lived sketch comedy TV series, Madhouse Brigade
, produced by her husband. In 1981, he produced an off-Broadway show called Romance Is where Nola performed with an ensemble cast. The show closed after a few performances.
Nola divorced in 1990 and currently lives in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Ralph Jacobus Fairbanks
Ralph Jacobus Fairbanks was an American prospector, entrepreneur and pioneer who established several towns in the Death Valley area of California, including Fairbanks Springs , Shoshone , and Baker ....
(aka R.J. "Dad" Fairbanks) and Celestia Adelaide Johnson Fairbanks from Payson, Utah
Payson, Utah
Payson is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,716 at the 2000 census. The current mayor is Rick Moore, who in the 2009 election was the first write-in candidate ever to defeat an incumbent mayor in...
and Death Valley
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below...
, California and has done film and Broadway work. She is a descendant of Jonathan Fairbanks
Jonathan Fairbanks
Jonathan Fairbanks was an American colonist born in Heptonstall, Halifax, Yorkshire, England who immigrated to New England in 1633...
whose 17th century wood frame house still stands in Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood and on the southeast by...
. She is also the aunt of actor Matthew Modine
Matthew Modine
Matthew Avery Modine is an award-winning American actor. His film roles include Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the title character in Alan Parker's Birdy, high school wrestler Louden Swain in Vision Quest, football star turned spy Alec McCall in Funky Monkey and the...
.
As a child, she joined the Meglin Kiddies
Meglin Kiddies
The Meglin Kiddies was a well-known performance troupe consisting of acting, music and dance. The troupe was composed of child-actors up to the age of 16. The troupe was started by Ethel Meglin in 1928. Meglin was a Ziegfeld girl in feature films...
Dance Troup where Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
was also a student. While her father, Alexander Revard Modine, worked for the Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
Oil Company, Nola Jo's mother, Zella Vonola Fairbanks Modine, washed clothes to pay for her singing and dancing lessons during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
Modine's first movie role was as a "glorified extra" in The Corn Is Green
The Corn Is Green (1945 film)
The Corn Is Green is a 1945 drama film starring Bette Davis as a schoolteacher determined to bring education to a Welsh coal mining town, despite great opposition...
in 1945, starring Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
. Soon after, she joined the Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
production of the musical, Halloween at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
, and performed on The Standard Hour
The Standard Hour
The Standard Hour was a weekly radio broadcast by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Opera carried on NBC radio stations on Sundays at 8:30 p.m. Pacific time. Like The Standard School Broadcast, the program was sponsored by Standard Oil of California...
in addition to the Hollywood Canteen
Hollywood Canteen
The Hollywood Canteen operated at 1451 Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, California between October 3, 1942 and November 22, 1945 as a club offering food, dancing and entertainment for servicemen, usually on their way overseas...
for servicemen.
Next, she went on tour as a soloist with the Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...
Ice Show, completing two national tours. When the tours ended in New York, she stayed on with the show, named Howdy Mr. Ice
Howdy Mr. Ice
Howdy Mr. Ice was one of a series of ice shows at the Center Theatre in Rockefeller Center, New York City that was produced by Sonja Henie and Arthur M. Wirtz in the 1940s....
at the Center Theatre in Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
.
Nola's Broadway debut was in 1950 in the chorus of Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
's Out of This World. She soon became an understudy and before long, assumed the lead. Summer stock performances included Miss Liberty with Dick Haymes
Dick Haymes
Richard Benjamin "Dick" Haymes was an Argentine actor and one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, who was an actor, television host, and songwriter....
in the Dallas Theatre as well as Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
and finally Bloomer Girl
Bloomer Girl
Bloomer Girl was a Broadway musical that premiered on October 4, 1944. Sig Herzig and Fred Saidy wrote the book, Harold Arlen the music, and E.Y. Harburg the lyrics. Agnes de Mille was the choreographer...
in Toronto, Canada. Next, she joined the Broadway cast of Paint Your Wagon opposite James Barton, when Olga San Juan
Olga San Juan
Olga San Juan was an American actress, dancer and comedian, mainly active in films during the 1940s.She was born in Brooklyn, New York to Puerto Rican parents...
left the role of Jennifer Rumson. Nola took the show on tour with Burl Ives
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
in the part her father, Ben Rumson. The role was strangely similar to her own mother's pioneer upbringing.
In 1952, Nola starred in the first musical production at the new Jones Beach Theatre in Long Island, New York. Mike Todd
Mike Todd
Michael Todd was an American theatre and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of Around the World in Eighty Days, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture...
was the producer of this production of the Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
operetta A Night In Venice.
After a winning performance on The Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead...
Radio Show, she appeared on his television show. Her final Broadway performance came when she was asked to replace Florence Henderson
Florence Henderson
Florence Agnes Henderson is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role of Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974...
in the lead role in Fanny
Fanny (musical)
Fanny is a musical with a book by S. N. Behrman and Joshua Logan and music and lyrics by Harold Rome. A tale of love, secrets, and passion set in and around the old French port of Marseille, it is based on Marcel Pagnol's trilogy of plays entitled Marius, Fanny and César.The musical premiered on...
, co-starring Ezio Pinza
Ezio Pinza
Ezio Pinza was an Italian basso opera singer with a rich, smooth and sonorous voice. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas...
.
Nola married James Larkin in 1954 and had four children.
Nola revived her career in 1978 with appearances in a short-lived sketch comedy TV series, Madhouse Brigade
Madhouse Brigade
Madhouse Brigade is a half-hour sketch comedy series conceived and written by Alexander "Sandy" Marshall, and produced by Alexander Marshall, Dale Keidel and Jim Larkin. It aired in U.S...
, produced by her husband. In 1981, he produced an off-Broadway show called Romance Is where Nola performed with an ensemble cast. The show closed after a few performances.
Nola divorced in 1990 and currently lives in Greenwich, Connecticut.