Time Out For Ginger
Encyclopedia
Time Out For Ginger is a Broadway comedy by Ronald Alexander that ran 248 performances at the Lyceum Theatre
from November 26, 1952 to June 27, 1953, before becoming hugely popular in regional theatres throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. Jack Benny
starred in a one-hour October 6, 1955 Shower of Stars
television broadcast, and the play was later adapted into the feature film, Billie, starring Patty Duke
.
The Broadway production starred Melvyn Douglas
as Howard Carol, a middle-class husband and father of three girls, one of whom, Ginger (Nancy Malone
), wants to try out for her school's football team. At first supportive of his daughter's goal, he begins to feel pressure from Ed Hoffman (Philip Loeb
), the president of the bank where he works, and the community at large. The setting is the Carol's living room.
In 1954, several of the original cast members, including Melvyn Douglas
, Nancy Malone
and Philip Loeb
, took the play to Chicago, where Steve McQueen
replaced Broadway's Conrad Janis
as Eddie Davis. Loeb had been blacklisted from television and radio several years earlier and the production was his last major role before he committed suicide on September 1, 1955.
Ziv Productions produced a 1960 television pilot, Time Out for Ginger, as part of The Comedy Shop, an anthology of prospective series. Original playwright Alexander wrote the script for the pilot, which starred Candy Moore
(in her first television role) as Ginger, with Roberta Shore
as older sister Joan, Maggie Hayes
as Agnes, former radio star Karl Swenson
as Howard, and Margaret Hamilton
as the Carols' maid, the pilot was not picked up as a regular series. Candy Moore went on to play one of Lucille Ball
's two young children in The Lucy Show
Liza Minnelli
played Ginger at the Bucks County Playhouse
in 1964.
, he appeared in small roles in The Patriots, Light Up the Sky and The Closing Door.
In addition to Time Out For Ginger, Alexander wrote the Broadway comedies Holiday For Lovers, Nobody Loves an Albatross and Grand Prize, the screenplays for Return to Peyton Place
and Billie, the Walt Disney
TV movie, Johnny Shiloh, and several episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show
. He also wrote a sequel to Time Out For Ginger called Time and Ginger in which Ginger is married to Eddie and has to confront her own daughter's sexual rebelliousness.
Alexander died of cancer
on April 24, 1995 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx
. He was 78.
Lyceum Theatre (New York)
The Lyceum Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 149 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.It has the distinction of being the oldest surviving Broadway venue , the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in New York City, and the first Broadway theatre ever to be granted landmark status...
from November 26, 1952 to June 27, 1953, before becoming hugely popular in regional theatres throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
starred in a one-hour October 6, 1955 Shower of Stars
Shower of Stars
Shower of Stars is an American variety television series broadcast in the United States from 1954 to 1958 by CBS. The series was also known as Chrysler Shower of Stars. Unusually at the time for CBS, the series was telecast in color.-Overview:...
television broadcast, and the play was later adapted into the feature film, Billie, starring Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
.
The Broadway production starred Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg , better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor.Coming to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man , Douglas later transitioned into more mature and fatherly roles as in his Academy Award-winning performances in Hud...
as Howard Carol, a middle-class husband and father of three girls, one of whom, Ginger (Nancy Malone
Nancy Malone
Nancy Malone is an American television actress, principally in guest roles from the 1950s to 1970s, who moved into producing and directing in the 1980s and 1990s....
), wants to try out for her school's football team. At first supportive of his daughter's goal, he begins to feel pressure from Ed Hoffman (Philip Loeb
Philip Loeb
Philip Loeb , was an American stage, film, and television actor who was blacklisted under McCarthyism and committed suicide.- Background :...
), the president of the bank where he works, and the community at large. The setting is the Carol's living room.
In 1954, several of the original cast members, including Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Douglas
Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg , better known as Melvyn Douglas, was an American actor.Coming to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man , Douglas later transitioned into more mature and fatherly roles as in his Academy Award-winning performances in Hud...
, Nancy Malone
Nancy Malone
Nancy Malone is an American television actress, principally in guest roles from the 1950s to 1970s, who moved into producing and directing in the 1980s and 1990s....
and Philip Loeb
Philip Loeb
Philip Loeb , was an American stage, film, and television actor who was blacklisted under McCarthyism and committed suicide.- Background :...
, took the play to Chicago, where Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
replaced Broadway's Conrad Janis
Conrad Janis
Conrad Janis is an American jazz musician and also a theatre, film, and television actor. In the fall of 1953, he played eldest son Edward in the Ezio Pinza situation comedy Bonino on NBC...
as Eddie Davis. Loeb had been blacklisted from television and radio several years earlier and the production was his last major role before he committed suicide on September 1, 1955.
Ziv Productions produced a 1960 television pilot, Time Out for Ginger, as part of The Comedy Shop, an anthology of prospective series. Original playwright Alexander wrote the script for the pilot, which starred Candy Moore
Candy Moore
Candy Moore is an American actress from Maplewood, New Jersey. Moore began her career on television series such as Leave It to Beaver and Letter to Loretta. When she was asked to play the role of Chris Carmichael on The Lucy Show, she could not resist...
(in her first television role) as Ginger, with Roberta Shore
Roberta Shore
Roberta Jymme Schourop , better known as Roberta Shore, is an American actress and performer, most famous for her youthful television and movie roles in the 1950s and early 1960s....
as older sister Joan, Maggie Hayes
Maggie Hayes
Maggie Hayes is an Irish actress, originally from Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland.-Selected filmography:* Christopher and His Kind* Nightclubbing* Cherrybomb* Rapunzel* Buy Borrow Steal* Seacht* Maru* Powers* Making Waves...
as Agnes, former radio star Karl Swenson
Karl Swenson
Karl Swenson was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor.-Biography:Born in Brooklyn, New York of Swedish parentage, Swenson made several appearances with Pierre-Luc Michaud on Broadway in the 1930s and 40s, including the title role in Arthur Miller's first production, The Man Who...
as Howard, and Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton was an American film actress known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz...
as the Carols' maid, the pilot was not picked up as a regular series. Candy Moore went on to play one of 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...
's two young children in The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
played Ginger at the Bucks County Playhouse
Bucks County Playhouse
The Bucks County Playhouse is the State Theater of Pennsylvania, and is located in New Hope, Pennsylvania.When the Hope Mills burnt in 1790, the grist mills were rebuilt as the New Hope Mills by Benjamin Parry. ....
in 1964.
Ronald Alexander
Ronald Alexander was born Ronald George Alexander Ungerer in West New York, N.J. on February 16, 1917. He dropped out of school early and worked for a while in a factory, was a boxer, and performed as a singer with a band. He also organized Broadway performers for a unit of the USO run by his sister. On BroadwayBroadway 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...
, he appeared in small roles in The Patriots, Light Up the Sky and The Closing Door.
In addition to Time Out For Ginger, Alexander wrote the Broadway comedies Holiday For Lovers, Nobody Loves an Albatross and Grand Prize, the screenplays for Return to Peyton Place
Return to Peyton Place
Return to Peyton Place is a 1959 novel by Grace Metalious, a sequel to her best-selling 1956 novel Peyton Place.-Plot summary:After the phenomenal success of her first novel, Metalious hastily penned a sequel centering on the life and loves of bestselling author Allison MacKenzie, who ironically...
and Billie, the Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
TV movie, Johnny Shiloh, and several episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
. He also wrote a sequel to Time Out For Ginger called Time and Ginger in which Ginger is married to Eddie and has to confront her own daughter's sexual rebelliousness.
Alexander died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on April 24, 1995 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
. He was 78.
External links
- Time Out For Ginger (Shower of Stars broadcast) at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Billie at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Ronald Alexander at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Ronald Alexander at the Internet Broadway DatabaseInternet Broadway DatabaseThe Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....
- A television pilot based on the play at The Internet Archive
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Theatre