Lisa Kirk
{{Short description|American actress (1925–1990)}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lisa Kirk
| image = Lisa Kirk 1951 Press Photo Yours Truly Comedy.jpg
| caption = Kirk in 1951
| birth_name = Elsie Kirk
| birth_date = {{birth date|1925|2|25|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Brownsville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1990|11|11|1925|2|25|mf=y}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| resting_place = Locust Valley Cemetery, Locust Valley, New York, U.S.
| occupation = Actress, singer
| spouse = {{Marriage|Robert Wells|1949}}
}}
Lisa Kirk (born Elsie Kirk; February 25, 1925 – November 11, 1990) was an American actress and singer noted for her comic talents and rich contralto (her voice was called a husky alto).Bloom, Ken and Vlastnik, Frank. Broadway Musicals: the 101 Greatest Shows of All Time. Black Dog Publishing, 2004, {{ISBN|1-57912-390-2}}, p. 173
Career
Born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania as Elsie Kirk, she was raised in Roscoe, Pennsylvania. Her Roscoe home later became the Hotel Roscoe. Kirk enrolled as a law student at the University of Pittsburgh but abandoned her studies when she was offered a spot in the chorus line at the Versailles nightclub in Manhattan.[http://www.bigbandsandbignames.com/Kirk.html Lisa Kirk biography], Bigbandsandbignames.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
Kirk studied theatre at HB Studio{{Cite web|url=https://hbstudio.org/about-hb-studio/alumni/|title=HB Studio - Notable Alumni | One of the Original Acting Studios in NYC|website=Hbstudio.org}} in New York City and made her Broadway debut in Allegro in 1947.Blau, Eleanor.[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/13/obituaries/lisa-kirk-cabaret-performer-62-featured-in-broadway-musicals.html?pagewanted=1 Obituary], The New York Times, November 13, 1990 In 1948, she gained critical acclaim for her performance as Lois Lane/Bianca in Kiss Me, Kate,[http://www.playbill.com/production/kiss-me-kate-new-century-theatre-vault-0000006183# Kiss Me, Kate] Playbill (vault), retrieved November 24, 2017 for which Kirk recounted learning the songs (from Cole Porter) and performing them for investors before performing them in the theatre.{{Pop Chronicles 40s|4|B}} The reviewer for CastAlbumReviews.com wrote: "As Lois/Bianca, Lisa Kirk acts and sings her numbers impeccably; her performance of 'Why Can't You Behave?' is unsurpassed as her sultry voice pours over great lines such as, 'There I'll care for you forever/Well, at least till you dig my grave'."[http://castalbumreviews.com/kiss-me-kate/ "Review. 'Kiss Me, Kate'"], castalbumreviews.com. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
In 1950, Kirk's mother, Elsie Kirk, filed suit against her daughter for failing to abide to what she said was an agreement that the two of them share her earnings. Lisa Kirk insisted no such agreement existed."Mother Sues Lisa Kirk for Share of Earnings", New York World-Telegram, January 4, 1950.
In Mack and Mabel (1974), she played an older actress who becomes a star tap dancer, and was noted by Clive Barnes to be "particularly fine".Barnes, Clive. "Mack & Mabel and Silent Film Era", The New York Times, October 7, 1974, p. 54 Additional Broadway credits include Here's Love (1963),[http://www.playbill.com/production/heres-love-shubert-theatre-vault-0000010488# Here's Love] Playbill (vault). Retrieved November 25, 2017. Me Jack, You Jill (closed during previews in 1976),[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-show/me-jack-you-jill-5977 Me Jack, You Jill], ibdb.com. Retrieved November 25, 2017. and a 1984 revival of Noël Coward's Design for Living.[http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=67982 Broadway] ibdb.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
Kirk's only feature film work was done behind-the-scenes, dubbing all of Rosalind Russell's singing in Gypsy (except for ""Mr. Goldstone" and the first half of "Rose's Turn").[http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6386349/a/Gypsy.htm Gypsy] cduniverse.com. Retrieved March 18, 2010.[http://www.sondheimguide.com/gypsyrec.html#OST Gypsy] sondheimguide.com, retrieved March 18, 2010.American Film Institute. The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures. University of California Press, 1997; {{ISBN|0-520-20970-2}}, p. 444 It was rumored that she had also dubbed Lucille Ball's singing voice in Mame,Karol, Michael.[https://books.google.com/books?id=IQTCAOPyYYUC&q=%22Lucille+Ball%22+%22+Lisa-Kirk%22+Mame&pg=PA295]Lucy A to Z: The Lucille Ball Encyclopedia. iUniverse, 2004; {{ISBN|0-595-29761-7}}, p. 295 but Ball denied this on The Merv Griffin Show, saying, "She's not dubbing my voice because no one can."{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo_jb5kcne0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/Jo_jb5kcne0 |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live|title=Lucille Ball on MAME: "I Can't Sing" |publisher=YouTube |date=2008-01-26 |accessdate=2020-04-23}}{{cbignore}}[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/82518/mame#articles-reviews " Mame Article"], tcm.com. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
Kirk was active in the early days of television, appearing in such anthology series as Studio One, where she co-starred in The Taming of the Shrew on June 5, 1950.{{cite news |title=Television Highlights of the Week |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77119364/the-boston-globe/ |access-date=May 6, 2021 |work=The Boston Globe |date=June 4, 1950 |page=6 - A|via = Newspapers.com}} She appeared on Kraft Television Theatre, The Colgate Comedy Hour, and General Electric Theater. In later years she guested on episodes of sitcoms like Bewitched and The Courtship of Eddie's Father, as well as variety series like The Ed Sullivan Show, The Hollywood Palace, and The Dean Martin Show.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}
Kirk frequently appeared at the Persian Room in the Plaza Hotel. She also appeared at New York City's Rainbow and Stars nightclub. In a review of her act at Rainbow and Stars in April 1989, New York Times critic John S. Wilson wrote that Kirk's "long career has given her polish, presence and a solid foundation of songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter and Jerry Herman with which she is associated. She has maintained such a trim structure that she can do justice to a song called 'Is That Really Her Figure?' And although her voice may not be as full-bodied as it once was, she has a warm, easy projection that gives sensitivity and color to her songs."Wilson, John S.[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/21/arts/review-cabaret-lisa-kirk-sings-and-jokes.html?pagewanted=1 Review/Cabaret; Lisa Kirk Sings and Jokes]The New York Times, April 21, 1989
In addition to Kirk's appearances on original cast albums and compilations of Broadway performances, she recorded a number of solo recordings, including I Feel A Song Comin' On[http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6156003/a/I+Feel+A+Song+Comin'+On.htm Lisa Kirk I Feel A Song Comin' On CD] cduniverse.com, retrieved March 18, 2010 and Lisa Kirk Sings At The Plaza (1959).[http://music.barnesandnoble.com/Sings-at-the-Plaza/Lisa-Kirk/e/5055122111283 Lisa Kirk Sings At The Plaza] barnesandnoble.com, retrieved March 18, 2010Ruhlmann, William. [https://www.allmusic.com/album/sings-at-the-plaza-mw0000815849 "Liza Kirk Sings at the Plaza"] allmusic.com, retrieved November 25, 2017
Kirk may be best known for her roles in the original Broadway productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro and Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate. Bloom and Vlastnik wrote in their book Broadway Musicals: the 101 Greatest Shows of All Time that Kirk "hit the jackpot again", introducing "Why Can't You Behave" and "Always True to You (in My Fashion)".Bloom and Vlastnik, p. 173 Another popular number was the upbeat "Tom, Dick or Harry", performed with Harold Lang as Lucentio, Edwin Clay as Gremio and Charles Wood as Hortensio (suitors to Kirk's Bianca). Lewis Nichols writes: "Having startled the town last season by singing 'The Gentleman is a Dope' as though she meant it, Miss Kirk is captivating ... this year as a fully accredited hoyden with a sense of humor."White, David M. Popular Culture, "Music in the Air" (chapter), Ayer Publishing, 1975, {{ISBN|0-405-06649-X}}, p. 116
Marriage
Kirk was married to sketch artist and famed songwriter Robert Wells from 1949 until her death in 1990. They had no children. Wells co-wrote "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" with Mel Torme.Vosburgh, Dick.[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-robert-wells-1180890.html Obituary: Robert Wells]The Independent, October 27, 1998
Death
A non-smoker, Kirk died of lung cancer at Memorial-Sloan Cancer Center in Manhattan.
Radio appearances
Television
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | The Monkees | Gloria | S1:E21, "The Prince and the Paupers" |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{IMDb name|0456514}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090517094407/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/cityregion/s_603692.html Remembering Lisa Kirk]
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Category:American stage actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:American musical theatre actresses
Category:American cabaret singers
Category:Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state)
Category:Actresses from Pennsylvania
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:20th-century American singers