Wesley Addy

Addy was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the second child and only son of John Roy Addy, a minister, and his Danish-born wife, Maren S. Nelson, a nurse.1920 United States Federal Census for Wesley Addy, California > Los Angeles > Los Angeles Assembly District 66 > District 0248, retrieved from [https://www.ancestry.com/ Ancestry.com]{{cite news |title=Omaha Boy Spurns Movie Offer for Stage Experience |work=The Columbus Telegram |date=November 16, 1936 |location=Columbus, Nebraska |page=3 |via = Newspapers.com}} The family had come from Ohio, where Addy's father and older sister were born. The parents were recruited as missionaries bound for China, but his father suffered a nervous breakdown on the way, and the family wound up in Inglewood, California. Addy attended Inglewood Union High School, where he played the oboe.{{cite news |title=Orchestra Gives Annual Concert |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 6, 1930 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=12 |via = Newspapers.com}} He graduated high school in January 1930.{{cite news |title=Graduate Class Holds Exercises |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 25, 1930 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=6 |via = Newspapers.com}}

Addy entered UCLA as an economics major during the spring quarter of 1930, but switched to dramatics after his freshman year.{{cite news |last=Francis |first=Robert |title=Candid Close-Ups |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=March 12, 1939 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=36 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Wesley Addy Is In Cast Of "Hamlet" At Taft |work=Wilmington News Journal |date=January 19, 1937 |location=Wilmington, Ohio |page=2 |via = Newspapers.com}} He was active in the university's Dramatic Society from his sophomore year.{{cite news |last=Newman |first=Dr. W. F. |title=U.C.L.A. Gives Highly Creditable Lonsdale Work |work=Daily News |date=December 5, 1932 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=6 |via = Newspapers.com}} During his junior year he played Orestes in Choephoroe, drawing praise from the Los Angeles Times drama critic.{{cite news |last=Von Blon |first=Katherine T. |title=Greek Drama Well Enacted at University |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 31, 1933 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=7 |via = Newspapers.com}} While a senior, he played Sebastian in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night,{{cite news |title=Students to Give Shakespeare |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 8, 1933 |location=Los Angeles, California |page=32 |via = Newspapers.com}} and the Earl of Essex in Elizabeth the Queen with a cast that included classmates Lloyd Bridges and Russell Zink.{{cite news |title='Elizabeth' Play Put on by Bruins |work=Los Angeles Evening Citizen News |date=April 5, 1934 |location=Hollywood, California |page=11 |via = Newspapers.com}} Addy also reprised his performance of Orestes, this time in Eumenides.{{cite news |title=Wesley Addy Takes Lead in Greek Play |work=Evening Vanguard |date=May 4, 1934 |location=Venice, California |page=7 |via = Newspapers.com}}

After graduating from UCLA, Addy moved to the East Coast at the invitation of a family friend, Phidelah Rice, who owned a theater on Martha's Vineyard.{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Marjory |title="Othello" New to Three Stars at the Boston Summer Theatre |work=The Boston Globe |date=July 11, 1948 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=98 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Has Reversed the Usual Rule |work=The Bangor Daily News |date=July 9, 1938 |location=Bangor, Maine |page=4 |via = Newspapers.com}} He joined the Vineyard Player's summer stock company, which performed at the Rice Playhouse.{{cite news |title=Miss Hook Will Act at Vineyard |work=The Daily Mail |date=August 24, 1934 |location=Hagerstown, Maryland |page=6 |via = Newspapers.com}} Though obscure, it was a professional company which likely secured for Addy his first Equity card.

His first Broadway theatre credit came in March 1935 with Panic.{{cite news |title="Panic" |work=Times Union |date=March 16, 1935 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=15 |via = Newspapers.com}} Directed by John Houseman, the production starred a very young Orson Welles, with Richard Whorf, Paula Trueman, Abner Biberman, and Karl Swenson in supporting roles. Addy had two minor bits, as one of the Unemployed in the Depression-themed work, and as a male chorus member under the direction of Martha Graham. His second Broadway credit was a short-lived fey drama called How Beautiful with Shoes for which he had a minor bit.{{cite news |last=Chapman |first=John |title='How Beautiful with Shoes' Eerie |work=Daily News |date=November 29, 1935 |location=New York, New York |page=206 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/how-beautiful-with-shoes-12035#OpeningNightCast|title=How Beautiful With Shoes – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB}}

Addy then worked at smaller theatres in the outlying New York City area, featuring with Ruth Gordon in a revival of Maxwell Anderson's Saturday's Children,{{cite news |title=Both Sides of the Curtain |work=Times Union |date=July 21, 1936 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=4 |via = Newspapers.com}} and following it with Fresh Fields{{cite news |title=Sixth WPA Play Is 'Fresh Fields' |work=Times Union |date=August 3, 1936 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=7 |via = Newspapers.com}} His first break came with There's Always Juliet, a Federal Theatre revival production.{{cite news |title="There's Always Juliet" Scores Hit at Cedarhurst Playhouse |work=Times Union |date=September 15, 1936 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=17 |via = Newspapers.com}} With only two principals and two minor characters in the work, Addy received prominent attention from the critics, particularly since he joined the cast at the last moment, replacing the leading male.The programs had already been printed with the other actor's name, so Addy's was inserted by hand.

When John Houseman was asked to help direct Leslie Howard's production of Hamlet, he remembered Addy from Panic and suggested him for the role of Marcellus.{{cite news |title=The Stage |work=The Boston Globe |date=October 20, 1936 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=28 |via = Newspapers.com}} After a week's tryout in Boston, it moved to the Imperial Theatre on Broadway in November 1936, where Addy picked up the additional role of Fortinbras.{{cite news |last=Pollock |first=Arthur |title=The Theater |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=November 11, 1936 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=8 |via = Newspapers.com}} Directed by Houseman, with the internal play staged by Agnes de Mille, Howard's portrayal suffered from comparison with the more traditional version of John Gielgud, then running at the Empire Theatre. The production went on the road to Chicago after 39 performances, touring for nine weeks until finishing up in San Francisco in February 1937.{{cite news |last=Collins |first=Charles |title=Leslie Howard Does 'Hamlet' in Notable Style |work=Chicago Tribune |date=December 26, 1936 |location=Chicago, Illinois |page=9 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title='Hamlet' Opens Here Monday |work=San Francisco Examiner |date=February 11, 1937 |location=San Francisco, California |page=23 |via = Newspapers.com}}

His next known performance was in Richard II, which returned to Broadway during September 1937 after a hiatus for the summer months.{{cite news |last=Atkinson |first=Brooks |title=The Play |work=The New York Times |date=September 16, 1937 |location=New York, New York |page=28 |via = nytimes.com}} Addy replaced another actor in two minor roles for this production staged by Margaret Webster that starred Maurice Evans. After a month back on Broadway, the production went to Boston then to Philadelphia.{{cite news |title=On the Boston Stage |work=The Boston Globe |date=October 19, 1937 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=23 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Maurice Evans As 'Richard II' |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=December 7, 1937 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=3 |via = Newspapers.com}}

While still playing in Richard II, Addy began rehearsals for King Henry IV, Part 1, in which he would play Hotspur.{{cite news |title=Evans in Two Works of Bard |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=December 12, 1937 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=67 |via = Newspapers.com}} Two tryout performances were given in Philadelphia during December 1937, with Maurice Evans as Falstaff. Critic Linton Martin of The Philadelphia Inquirer was impressed with Addy's performance:

...Wesley Addy as the hot-blooded Hotspur, headlong, heroic and humorous, came perilously close to stealing the show during his vivid and vigorous appearances.{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Linton |title=Maurice Evans' Falstaff Wins Ringing Ovation |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=December 18, 1937 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=9 |via = Newspapers.com}}

After Richard II continued on to Detroit, two more tryouts of Henry IV, Part I were presented, where again Addy's Hotspur drew praise second only to Evans' Falstaff.{{cite news |last=Shaw |first=Len G. |title=The Theater |work=Detroit Free Press |date=January 7, 1938 |location=Detroit, Michigan |page=6 |via = Newspapers.com}} The pattern was repeated in St. Louis and Chicago as the Richard II tour finished up in March 1938.{{cite news |last=Hynds |first=Reed |title=Falstaff Brought to Vigorous Life by Maurice Evans |work=St. Louis Star-Times |date=February 19, 1938 |location=St. Louis, Missouri |page=4 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |last=Collins |first=Charles |title=Maurice Evans' "King Richard" Gives Playgoers Glimpse of Methods of Older Classical School |work=Chicago Tribune |date=February 27, 1938 |location=Chicago, Illinois |page=73 |via = Newspapers.com}}

For unknown reasons, Evans and Webster decided against taking Henry IV, Part 1 to Broadway in 1938. A rumor appeared in newspapers that Evans was not happy with Addy's acclaim,{{cite news |last=Darst |first=Katharine |title=Here and There |work=St. Louis Globe-Democrat |date=March 30, 1938 |location=St. Louis, Missouri |page=23 |via = Newspapers.com}} but one critic pointed out that American theatregoers, unfamiliar with English history and the larger Henriad, assumed Hotspur was the hero of the play and reacted negatively to his death.{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Linton |title=The Call Boy's Chat of Plays and Players |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=December 26, 1937 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=47 |via = Newspapers.com}}

Addy next appeared in summer stock with the Surry Players in rural Surry, Maine. This was a self-contained "colony" troupe with its own theatre, which provided housing and meals for its cast members, and offered them dancing and fencing instruction.{{cite news |title=Visitors Find Surry Players a Very Busy, Happy Group |work=Bangor Daily News |date=July 30, 1938 |location=Bangor, Maine |page=6 |via = Newspapers.com}} Here Addy performed in four plays during the summer of 1938, while frustrating a local journalist's attempt to get him to open up about himself:

[There's] nothing to tell... I was graduated from the University of California in 1934 and went right to a stock company on Martha's Vineyard, without even waiting for my diploma – and I've been in the theater more or less ever since.

Back on Broadway for the fall season, he played in Evans and Webster's production of Hamlet from October 1938{{cite news |last=Pollock |first=Arthur |title=The Theater |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=October 13, 1938 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=19 |via = Newspapers.com}} thru January 1939,{{cite news |title=Evans Spurns Record |work=Daily News |date=January 16, 1939 |location=New York, New York |page=292 |via = Newspapers.com}} at which time they finally decided to mount Henry IV, Part 1.{{cite news |last=Mantle |first=Burns |title=Evans a Jolly Jack Falstaff in Fine Revival of "Henry IV" |work=Daily News |date=January 31, 1939 |location=New York, New York |page=151 |via = Newspapers.com}} Addy again played Hotspur, to high praise from the reviewers:

Otherwise the performance of the evening is that of Wesley Addy playing Hotspur with such a fine and youthful enthusiasm, and with so determined and understanding a belief in the character, as to score with every scene he has.

Summer stock at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey occupied Addy during August and September 1939,{{cite news |last=Mantle |first=Burns |title=New Jersey to Have Theatre Festival with Irene Castle |work=Daily News |date=August 1, 1939 |location=New York, New York |page=421 |via = Newspapers.com}} however his only known role was in a world premiere of Flight Into China by Pearl S. Buck.{{cite news |title=New Buck Play at Playhouse |work=The Record |date=September 12, 1939 |location=Hackensack, New Jersey |page=19 |via = Newspapers.com}} He returned to Broadway in November 1939 with Summer Night by Vicki Baum and Benjamin Glazer.{{cite news |last=Pollock |first=Arthur |title='Summer Night' at the St. James |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=November 3, 1939 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=11 |via = Newspapers.com}} Directed by Lee Strasberg with a good cast, the play was critically panned for the writing, which sought to present a Grand Hotel story in the setting of a summer park where a marathon dance is taking place.{{cite news |last=Mantle |first=Burns |title="Summer Night", A Melodrama With Its Possibilities Wasted |work=Daily News |date=November 4, 1939 |location=New York, New York |page=183 |via = Newspapers.com}} It closed after just four performances. Flops project an aura onto their unlucky participants; it was five months before Addy found another stage job.

At the time of the 1940 US Census in April, Addy was temporarily staying at a boarding house in San Francisco.1940 United States Federal Census for Robert Addy, California > San Francisco > San Francisco > 38-175, retrieved from [https://www.ancestry.com/ Ancestry.com] Laurence Olivier was producing, directing, and starring in Romeo and Juliet, with Vivien Leigh as his co-star;They had each recently divorced their spouses but would not marry until August 1940. the opening tryout was at the Geary Theater in San Francisco.{{cite news |last=Soanes |first=Wood |title=Curtain Calls: 'Romeo' Cast Is Distinguished |work=Oakland Tribune |date=April 2, 1940 |location=Oakland, California |page=18 |via = Newspapers.com}} Addy, playing Benvolio, performed in the week-long tryouts in San Francisco and Chicago.{{cite news |title=April Brings Five Theatrical Openings to Chicago |work=Chicago Tribune |date=April 7, 1940 |location=Chicago, Illinois |page=89 |via = Newspapers.com}} Oakland Tribune reviewer Wood Soanes praised the supporting cast, including Addy, but found the two stars underwhelming.{{cite news |last=Soanes |first=Wood |title=Shakespeare Given By Expert Cast |work=Oakland Tribune |date=April 9, 1940 |location=Oakland, California |page=20 |via = Newspapers.com}} Cecil Smith of the Chicago Tribune also thought Addy excellent, but was more nuanced about Olivier and Leigh.{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Cecil |title=Vivien Leigh Is Lovely Juliet to Olivier's Romeo |work=Chicago Tribune |date=April 18, 1940 |location=Chicago, Illinois |page=19 |via = Newspapers.com}}

The production went to Broadway on May 9, 1940, at the 51st Street Theater. Addy alone drew praise from critic Arthur Pollock, who was scathing about the two stars and Edmond O'Brien as Mercutio.{{cite news |last=Pollock |first=Arthur |title=Olivier and Leigh Meet Shakespeare |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=May 10, 1940 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=21 |via = Newspapers.com}} Reviewer Burns Mantle called Addy and few others "outstanding", but also expressed disappointment with Olivier and Leigh.{{cite news |last=Mantle |first=Burns |title="Romeo and Juliet", Olivier-Leigh Version Draws 51st St. Crowd |work=Daily News |date=May 10, 1940 |location=New York, New York |page=255 |via = Newspapers.com}} The production closed in early June 1940 after 36 performances.

After doing some summer stock in Locust Valley, New York{{cite news |title=Next at the Red Barn |work=Brooklyn Citizen |date=July 13, 1940 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=8 |via = Newspapers.com}} and Stockbridge, Massachusetts,{{cite news |title=Premiere to End Playhouse Season |work=The North Adams Transcript |date=September 3, 1940 |location=North Adams, Massachusetts |page=2 |via = Newspapers.com}} Addy was cast in a Theatre Guild production of Twelfth Night when Robert Speaight was called up for wartime service in the UK.{{cite news |title=New Plays to Satirize Prominent Show Folk; Speaight Leaves Role |work=Daily News |date=October 10, 1940 |location=New York, New York |page=51 |via = Newspapers.com}} This was another Maurice Evans and Margaret Webster collaboration, with Helen Hayes playing Viola and Addy as Orsino.

Though Addy had taken the role of Orsino at short notice, and performed more than creditably,{{cite news |last=Mantle |first=Burns |title=A New Viola and a New Malvolio |work=Daily News |date=December 1, 1940 |location=New York, New York |page=328 |via = Newspapers.com}} he was to leave it in mid-December 1940. The Theatre Guild had a new work, Battle of Angels, by a then unknown playwright named Tennessee Williams. The play had a leading lady, Miriam Hopkins, but no male lead. Already regarded as a difficult script,In his memoir Magic Curtain (1951), Lawrence Langner says Hopkins became so frustrated with it she threw her copy at him. both the Theatre Guild (specifically Lawrence Langner and Theresa Helburn) and Hopkins settled on Addy "after weeks of desperate searching" and shortly before the scheduled tryout in Boston.{{cite news |title=Conscription and Actors |work=Daily News |date=December 15, 1940 |location=New York, New York |page=428 |via = Newspapers.com}} Lauren Gilbert took over the role of Orsino in Twelfth Night when Addy signed for Battle of Angels.{{cite news |title=Wesley Addy Signed |work=The Brooklyn Citizen |date=December 19, 1940 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=14 |via = Newspapers.com}}

The tryout for Battle of Angels opened at the Wilbur Theatre on December 30, 1940, under the direction of Margaret Webster.{{cite news |title=Two New Plays Here |work=The Boston Globe |date=December 31, 1940 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=7 |via = Newspapers.com}} Initial reviews praised the acting of Hopkins and Addy, but said they were unable to overcome severe problems with the writing: "the play gives the audience the sensation of having been dunked in mire". Boston city officials demanded certain lines be dropped or the play would be closed; Hopkins blasted them for having small minds and praised Williams' writing, but the Theatre Guild decided to shut it down on January 11, 1941.{{cite news |title=Actress Protests Censoring of Play By Boston Officials |work=The Journal Times |date=January 7, 1941 |location=Racine, Wisconsin |page=5 |via = Newspapers.com}}

Having given up a surefire Broadway role for a lead in a brief beleaguered disappointment, Addy was now unemployed. Scant compensation came from columnist George Ross, who noted how successfully Addy had jumped into last-minute roles for Twelfth Night and Battle of Angels.{{cite news |last=Ross |first=George |title=Broadway |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=January 24, 1941 |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |page=21 |via = Newspapers.com}} The Theatre Guild found him work in Somewhere in France, which had a preview at the Guild Theatre during late April 1941.{{cite news |last=Robbins |first=Francis |title=Play on French Theme Previewed Saturday Night in New York |work=The Morning Call |date=April 28, 1941 |location=Patterson, New Jersey |page=3 |via = Newspapers.com}} It then went to the National Theatre for a tryout run, during which the Theatre Guild announced it would be set aside until the fall for rewrites, by which time Addy had enlisted in the US Army.{{cite news |title=Off Until the Fall |work=Brooklyn Citizen |date=May 1, 1941 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=12 |via = Newspapers.com}}

In a 1939 profile by columnist Robert Francis, Addy revealed that he spent mornings at the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), making recordings of plays for their talking book program. He would continue this activity up until he entered military service in 1941.

Addy also used his fine speaking voice for radio programs. While still playing Hotspur on Broadway in March 1939, he also starred in an afternoon WJZ production of Cyrano de Bergerac for its "Great Plays" series, with Martha Scott as his Roxanne.{{cite news |last=Gross |first=Ben |title=Listening In |work=Daily News |date=March 20, 1939 |location=New York, New York |page=36 |via = Newspapers.com}} He and Mady Christians took the leads for another "Great Plays" episode in May 1939, this one for Elizabeth the Queen.{{cite news |last=Ranson |first=Jo |title=Radio Dial Log |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=April 29, 1939 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=20 |via = Newspapers.com}} During November 1939 he played the lead in "Great Plays" version of Romeo and Juliet on WJZ, with Joan Tompkins as his Juliet.{{cite news |last=Ranson |first=Jo |title=Radio Dial Log |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=November 11, 1939 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=16 |via = Newspapers.com}}

On March 8, 1941, Addy temporarily took over the lead in an hour-long dramatic serial on CBS Radio, Honest Abe, replacing Ray Middleton.{{cite news |title=New Lincoln |work=Harrisburg Telegraph |date=March 8, 1941 |location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |page=8 |via = Newspapers.com}} The serial aired Saturday mornings and co-starred Muriel Kirkland. Addy's tenure ended one month later, when Henry Hull took over the part.{{cite news |last=Steinhauser |first=Si |title=Car Radio Valued By Scientist |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=April 4, 1941 |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |page=29 |via = Newspapers.com}} On May 4, 1941, Addy did another "Great Plays" radio program, Prologue to Glory, where he played young Abe Lincoln.{{cite news |title=Radio News and Programs |work=Wisconsin State Journal |date=May 4, 1941 |location=Madison, Wisconsin |page=24 |via = Newspapers.com}}

Addy's first known screen performance came from an hour-long production of Noël Coward's Hay Fever on New York experimental television.{{cite news |title=Thursday's Radio Features |work=Daily News |date=July 27, 1939 |location=New York, New York |page=102 |via = Newspapers.com}} Broadcast on July 27, 1939, on W2XBS, it also featured Isobel Elsom and Dennis Hoey.

During October 1940, Addy registered for the draft, listing his employer as the Theatre Guild (he had just been cast in Twelfth Night).U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 for Robert Wesley Addy, retrieved from [https://www.ancestry.com/ Ancestry.com] The registrar recorded him as being {{convert|6|ft|1|in|cm|abbr=on}}, {{convert|160|lb|kg}}, with blue eyes and blond hair. On July 16, 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York.Robert W. Addy in the U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, retrieved from [https://www.ancestry.com/ Ancestry.com]

The usual disposition of someone with Addy's background would be assignment to one of the specialized units attached to the Signal Corps. However, it appears he wound up as an officer in the 63rd Infantry Division during the Second World War,{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Willa |title=Cornell Comes Back |work=The Charlotte News |date=April 6, 1946 |location=Charlotte, North Carolina |page=19 |via = Newspapers.com}} and was a Major while on terminal leave from the army during February 1946.{{cite news |title=News of Stage, Screen, and Music |work=The Boston Globe |date=February 8, 1946 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=22 |via = Newspapers.com}}

The first post-war mention of Addy resuming his performing career comes from February 1946, when he again took over a role on short notice. The play was Antigone and the Tyrant, produced by and starring Katharine Cornell, and directed by her husband Guthrie McClintic. Addy replaced James Monks in the role of Haemon midway through a two-week tryout run in Boston. The production went to Broadway's Cort Theatre on February 18, 1946.{{cite news |last=Price |first=Edgar |title=The Premiere |work=Brooklyn Citizen |date=February 19, 1946 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=10 |via = Newspapers.com}} Cedric Hardwicke played Creon in this adaption by Lewis Galantière of Jean Anouilh's version of the Greek classic, updated with modern slang, tuxedos, cigarettes, and policemen. Beginning April 4, 1946, this play started alternating at the Cort Theatre with a revival of Candida, again produced by Cornell and staged by McClintic.{{cite news |last=Pollock |first=Arthur |title=Theater |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=April 4, 1946 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=10 |via = Newspapers.com}} Candida starred Cornell as the title character, Hardwicke as her father Burgess, with Addy as her husband Rev. Morell, and Marlon Brando playing her suitor Marchbanks. Addy was considered too young for the role, but "being a good actor, makes a good acting job of it". Both productions closed on Broadway during early May 1946 to go on a brief tour, first to Washington, D.C. then finishing in Chicago in early June.{{cite news |last=Cassidy |first=Claudia |title=On the Aisle |work=Chicago Tribune |date=May 28, 1946 |location=Chicago, Illinois |page=17 |via = Newspapers.com}}

While still playing in both Cornell productions, Addy did a Sunday evening radio broadcast for the Theater Guild of Mary of Scotland on April 28, 1946.{{cite news |last=Steinhauser |first=Si |title=Helens Who Rule Stage Are Here for Royal Portrayals on Radio |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=April 28, 1946 |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |page=48 |via = Newspapers.com}} Helen Hayes and Helen Menken reprised their 1933 Broadway roles as Mary Stuart and Elizabeth Tudor respectively.

Addy next turns up as a replacement for Leo Genn in the original Broadway production of Another Part of the Forest in March 1947, finishing the last 10 weeks of its six-month run.{{cite news |title=Broadway Briefs |work=Cincinnati Enquirer |date=February 14, 1947 |location=Cincinnati, Ohio |page=17 |via = Newspapers.com}} He did some summer stock in Ridgefield, Connecticut during June–July 1947{{cite news |title=Summer Theatres List Debut Plays |work=Daily News |date=June 19, 1947 |location=New York, New York |page=701 |via = Newspapers.com}} then picked up with the touring company of Another Part of the Forest in late September 1947. This month-long tour took in Philadelphia, Indianapolis, and Chicago, and like the Broadway production was directed by the playwright, Lillian Hellman.{{cite news |title='Big People', Drama Join Two Musicals |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=September 21, 1947 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=54 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |last=Patrick |first=Corbin |title=Here's a Grand Cast |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=October 10, 1946 |location=Indianapolis, Indiana |page=12 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |last=Cassidy |first=Claudia |title=On the Aisle |work=Chicago Tribune |date=October 14, 1947 |location=Chicago, Illinois |page=27 |via = Newspapers.com}} Corbin Patrick of The Indianapolis Star felt Addy dominated the performance. Claudia Cassidy of the Chicago Tribune also thought Addy's was the driving force, though she emphasized his discretion rather than his power.Cassidy also pointed out the psychological aspects of the play, and almost as an aside, mentioned that Hellman's photo, rather than one of the performers, was on the cover of the Playbill program.

The Experimental Theatre, a project of the American National Theater and Academy, opened its second season with a one-week production of Galileo at Maxine Elliott's Theatre during December 1947,.{{cite news |title=1st Experimental Play in Premiere |work=Daily News |date=December 7, 1947 |location=New York, New York |page=135 |via = Newspapers.com}} It starred Charles Laughton, with Addy, John Carradine, Joan McCracken, and Hester Sondergaard as the other New York leads. Addy's next performing work was a small part in a Theatre Guild radio broadcast of Romeo and Juliet during February 1948.{{cite news |last=Quick |first=Dorothy |title=Quick Look at Things |work=Central New Jersey Home News |date=February 21, 1948 |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey |page=4 |via = Newspapers.com}} He followed it a month later with the speaking role in a performance of Oedipus rex by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.{{cite news |last=Durgin |first=Cyrus |title=Music |work=The Boston Globe |date=March 13, 1948 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=10 |via = Newspapers.com}}

That summer of 1948 Addy played Iago in a week-long Boston production of Othello that starred Canada Lee as Othello and Claire Luce as Desdemona. He also reprised his role in Oedipus rex and narrated Peter and the Wolf when the Boston Symphony Orchestra gave performances at Tanglewood during August 1948.{{cite news |title=Tanglewood |work=Berkshire County Eagle |date=August 4, 1948 |location=Pittsfield, Massachusetts |page=20 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Actor Wesley Addy to Be Narrator for 'Peter and the Wolf' |work=The Berksire County Eagle |date=July 28, 1948 |location=Pittsfield, Massachusetts |page=20 |via = Newspapers.com}} Both performances were broadcast over ABC radio.{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=Jack E. |title=Boston Symphony to Play at Festival |work=Miami Herald |date=August 3, 1948 |location=Miami, Florida |page=34 |via = Newspapers.com}}

The world premiere of The Leading Lady was at the Selwyn Theatre in Chicago on Sept. 13, 1948.{{cite news |last=Cassidy |first=Claudia |title=On the Aisle |work=Chicago Tribune |date=September 15, 1948 |location=Chicago, Illinois |page=31 |via = Newspapers.com}} Ruth Gordon starred in the play she had written, with her husband Garson Kanin directing. The Chicago Tribune critic liked it, though she thought the part handed to Addy was nebulous, and suggested the second and third acts needed work during the three week tryout. After revisions, the producers agreed to a second tryout, scheduled for two weeks in Boston at the Copley Theatre.{{cite news |title='Leading Lady', Once in Doubt, Opens Tonight |work=Daily News |date=October 18, 1948 |location=New York, New York |page=559 |via = Newspapers.com}} Addy's role may have been strengthened, for the Boston reviewer praised his performance, even while suggesting the play relied too much on "character vignettes" and theatrical in-jokes, such as John Carradine's portrayal of a theatre critic ala Aleck Woollcott.{{cite news |title=The Stage |work=The Boston Globe |date=October 4, 1948 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=8 |via = Newspapers.com}} The Leading Lady opened at Broadway's National Theatre on October 18, 1948, was judged to be a "charade" rather than a play,{{cite news |last=Chapman |first=John|title='The Leading Lady' Pleasant but Choppy Charade About the Stage |work=Daily News |date=October 18, 1948 |location=New York, New York |page=691 |via = Newspapers.com}} and closed after just eight performances.

Addy did another speaking role with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in January 1949, narrating A Lincoln Portrait by Aaron Copland.{{cite news |last=Durgin |first=Cyrus |title=Music |work=The Boston Globe |date=January 8, 1949 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=14 |via = Newspapers.com}} He was then to appear in an Equity Library Theatre production of A Highland Fling but left the cast when signed for a part in The Traitor, a new play by Herman Wouk.{{cite news |title=Tracy Joins 'The Traitor' |work=The Wilkes-Barre Record |date=February 26, 1949 |location=Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania |page=12 |via = Newspapers.com}} Produced and staged by the mercurial Jed Harris who disdained tryouts, it had only two performances in Princeton, New Jersey before opening on Broadway on March 31, 1949.{{cite news |title=New Jed Harris Production to Open at McCarter Theatre |work=The Central New Jersey Home News |date=March 24, 1949 |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey |page=9 |via = Newspapers.com}} Critic John Chapman called it "a bit more than plain melodrama", pointing to the ethical debates between Addy's and Walter Hampden's characters, and pronounced it thoroughly enjoyable.{{cite news |last=Chapman |first=John |title=Lee Tracy a Grand Spy-Catcher In A-Bomb Thriller, 'The Traitor' |work=Daily News |date=April 1, 1949 |location=New York, New York |page=329 |via = Newspapers.com}} It ran for 67 performances, a respectable showing but disappointing in light of the good reviews.{{cite news |title='Traitor' Will Surrender |work=Daily News |date=May 24, 1949 |location=New York, New York |page=714 |via = Newspapers.com}}

Addy did a Theatre Guild on the Air radio broadcast during October 1949 of an Arthur Wing Pinero play, The Thunderbolt, which starred Van Heflin and Celeste Holm.{{cite news |title=Holm, Heflin to Star in Guild Radio Show |work=Star Tribune |date=October 23, 1949 |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |page=65 |via = Newspapers.com}} He was then cast in The Enchanted, which opened in Philadelphia for a two-week tryout on January 2, 1950.{{cite news |title=1 Show Opens, 3 Hold Over |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=January 8, 1950 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=87 |via = Newspapers.com}} The play moved to Broadway on January 18, 1950, where critics praised the acting but faulted the play's structure and staging.{{cite news |last=Chapman |first=John |title='The Enchanted', a Hard-Working French Fantasy, Very Well Acted |work=Daily News |date=January 19, 1950 |location=New York, New York |page=765 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |last=Schaeffer |first=Louis |title=Curtain Time |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=January 19, 1950 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=4 |via = Newspapers.com}} It closed a month later in February 1950, from which point on Addy's career momentum shifted to the screen.

New York was the center for early television production, which is why Addy appeared first on the small screen. His post-war screen career started with a live broadcast of Twelfth Night, in which he again played Duke Orsino, on The Philco Television Playhouse during February 1949.{{cite news |title=Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' Billed On KSD-TV at 8:00 O'clock Tonight |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=February 20, 1949 |location=St. Louis, Missouri |page=61 |via = Newspapers.com}} He did another live episode of the same program in September 1949, this time as "John Shand" to Margaret Phillips "Maggie Wylie" in What Every Woman Knows.{{cite news |title='Radio Appreciation' Day, Ball Game Telecast at 2:00 |work=The St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=September 4, 1949 |location=St. Louis, Missouri |page=50 |via = Newspapers.com}}

During 1950 Addy did episodes of The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, Believe It or Not!, and two episodes each for Suspense and The Ford Theatre Hour.{{cite news |last=Stretch |first=Bud |title=Air Waves |work=Courier-Post |date=February 13, 1950 |location=Camden, New Jersey |page=18 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Highlights of Television Programs for the Week |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=August 27, 1950 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=77 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |last=Stretch |first=Bud |title=Air Waves |work=Courier-Post |date=September 8, 1950 |location=Camden, New Jersey |page=5 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Program Notes |work=Evening Sun |date=September 26, 1950 |location=Baltimore, Maryland |page=20 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Television |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=October 6, 1950 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=23 |via = Newspapers.com}} He also made a debut film, The First Legion, though it wouldn't be released until 1951.

Addy opened as Edgar in King Lear on Christmas Day 1950.{{cite news |last=Chapman |first=John |title=Louis Calhern Triumphs in Fine, Majestic Revival of 'King Lear' |work=Daily News |date=December 26, 1950 |location=New York, New York |page=527 |via = Newspapers.com}} The Broadway production starred Louis Calhern, and was staged by John Houseman in three acts instead of five.{{cite news |last=Robb |first=Inez |author-link=Inez Robb |date=December 27, 1950 |title=Curtain Time |page=24 |work=San Francisco Examiner |location=San Francisco, California |via=Newspapers.com}} Columnist Leonard Lyons mentioned that Addy was "taped and bandaged" from the nightly duels he fought in King Lear, his character being the last man standing at play's end.{{cite news |last=Lyons |first=Leonard |title=The Lyons Den |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=January 8, 1951 |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |page=21 |via = Newspapers.com}} The play closed in early February 1951 after 48 performances.{{cite news |title=Theater Notes |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=February 2, 1951 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=9 |via = Newspapers.com}}

For 1951 television again dominated Addy's performing work, as he acted in six episodes of five different dramatic series: The Philco Television Playhouse (2 episodes),{{cite news |title=Violinist Jascha Heifwtz Will Be Soloist |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch |date=March 18, 1951 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=58 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Theater Guild to Present Levy Comedy |work=Richmond Times Dispatch |date=September 23, 1951 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=28 |via = Newspapers.com}} The Web,{{cite news |title=Wismer Is Sports Voice |work=Indianapolis News |date=April 14, 1951 |location=Indianapolis, Indiana |page=7 |via = Newspapers.com}} Ellery Queen,{{cite news |title=Television Highlights Tonight |work=Lancaster Eagle-Gazette |date=October 4, 1951 |location=Lancaster, Ohio |page=27 |via = Newspapers.com}} Out There,{{cite news |title=Sunday's Television Program |work=Newsday (Suffolk Edition) |date=October 27, 1951 |location=Melville, New York |page=16 |via = Newspapers.com}} and Celanese Theatre.{{cite news |title=Television Programs for the Week |work=Chicago Tribune |date=December 22, 1951 |location=Chicago, Illinois |page=30 |via = Newspapers.com}} He also appeared on a CBS television talk show{{cite news |title=Video Highlights |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=May 22, 1951 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=13 |via = Newspapers.com}} and joined Katherine Cornell in reprising their roles in Candida for a Theatre Guild NBC radio broadcast.{{cite news |title=National Family Week To Be Celebrated Over WKRZ |work=The News-Herald |date=May 4, 1951 |location=Franklin, Tennessee |page=9 |via = Newspapers.com}}

Addy's television work took a slight dip in 1952, comprising appearances on two anthology series{{cite news |title=Network to Broadcast Columbus, Ind., Choir |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=May 18, 1952 |location=Indianapolis, Indiana |page=92 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Television KSD-TV |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=June 24, 1952 |location=St. Louis, Missouri |page=42 |via = Newspapers.com}} and two episodes of a narrative series. He also did two CBS Radio dramatic programs.{{cite news |title=Week's TV High Lights |work=Indianapolis News |date=September 20, 1952 |location=Indianapolis, Indiana |page=9 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Television Programs for Week |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=November 23, 1952 |location=St. Louis, Missouri |page=101 |via = Newspapers.com}} He continued doing dramatic radio programs for CBS, one serial{{cite news |title='Cry Wolf' |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=March 9, 1952 |location=Tampa, Florida |page=113 |via = Newspapers.com}} and one anthology.{{cite news |last=Aitchison |first=Marion |title=Hoedowns, Hillbilly Music Featuring Radio Jamboree |work=Miami Herald |date=July 12, 1952 |location=Miami, Florida |page=24 |via = Newspapers.com}} His performing year finished up with a stage benefit to raise funds for the American Shakespeare Theatre project.{{cite news |title=Shakespeare Fine Venture at Parsons |work=Hartford Courant |date=December 6, 1952 |location=Hartford, Connecticut |page=15 |via = Newspapers.com}}

Fifteen television performances and a Broadway play kept Addy busy throughout 1953. His schedule was front-loaded, with six TV shows within the first three months of the year.{{cite news |title=Brahms to Be Played by Curzon |work=Richmond Times Dispatch |date=January 11, 1953 |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=38 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Video Highlights |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=January 20, 1953 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=21 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Free Press Television, Radio Guide |work=Detroit Free Press |date=February 8, 1953 |location=Detroit, Michigan |page=22 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Television KSD-TV |work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=February 21, 1953 |location=St. Louis, Missouri |page=16 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |last=Scheuer |first=Steven H. |title=TV Key |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=February 12, 1953 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=27 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Practical Joke Misfires in "The Web" Drama March 15 |work=The Times-Mail |date=March 14, 1953 |location=Bedford, Indiana |page=11 |via = Newspapers.com}} The month of April was particularly crowded, with an anthology episode{{cite news |last=Blackmer |first=Dave |title=Tele-Views |work=The Capital Journal |date=April 3, 1953 |location=Salem, Oregon |page=13 |via = Newspapers.com}} and two major Hallmark Hall of Fame dramas: a hourlong film based on The Other Wise Man and broadcast on Easter;{{cite news |title=Coast-to-Coast Sunrise Services To Celebrate Easter Festival |work=The Indianapolis Star |date=April 5, 1953 |location=Indianapolis, Indiana |page=51 |via = Newspapers.com}} and a live two-hour performance of Hamlet.{{cite news |last=Mishkin |first=Leo |title=Two-Hour 'Hamlet' Is Greatest of Season |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=April 28, 1953 |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |page=24 |via = Newspapers.com}} The latter was staged in a 19th Century setting by Albert McCleery, and starred Maurice Evans, with Sarah Churchill, Barry Jones, Joseph Schildkraut, and Ruth Chatterton. Addy played Horatio opposite Evans's Prince Hamlet. Leo Mishkin reviewed the performance for The Philadelphia Inquirer; he noted that the Gravedigger's scene and the role of Fortinbras were cut for time considerations. He also reported some flaws endemic to live television, such as a stagehand following Hamlet into camera view, but thought the overall production was excellent and Addy "highly effective". Critic Robert Johnson thought Addy and other supporting players "outstanding" while observing the two-hours included both commercials and an intermission, necessitating drastic cuts such as the role of Osric and much of Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern.{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Robert |title=Evans' Hamlet Production Makes T-V History |work=Memphis Press-Scimiter |date=April 27, 1953 |location=Memphis, Tennessee |page=19 |via = Newspapers.com}}

Addy did two television episodes over the summer{{cite news |title=Today on TV |work=The Boston Globe |date=June 22, 1953 |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=11 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Sunday Free Press TV, Radio Guide |work=Detroit Free Press |date=July 19, 1953 |location=Detroit, Michigan |page=53 |via = Newspapers.com}} then joined the cast of The Strong Are Lonely during its Philadelphia tryout in late September 1953.{{cite news |title=Addy Joins 'Strong' |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=September 24, 1953 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=13 |via = Newspapers.com}} This story of Jesuits in conflict with landowners in 19th Century Paraguay went to Broadway but folded after seven performances.{{cite news |title=Drama Closing |work=Daily News |date=October 1, 1953 |location=New York, New York |page=539 |via = Newspapers.com}} Addy then jumped into another major TV drama, a severely condensed version of King Lear starring Orson Welles that was shown live during October 1953.{{cite news |title=Omnibus To Star Welles In Staging Of 'King Lear' |work=Evening Sun |date=October 15, 1953 |location=Baltimore, Maryland |page=28 |via = Newspapers.com}} He finished out his performing year with three more television appearances.{{cite news |last=Collins |first=William |title=Helen Hayes Stars as Mrs. Stowe |work=Cincinnati Enquirer |date=November 10, 1953 |location=Cincinnati, Ohio |page=17 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |last=Scheuer |first=Steven H. |title=TV Key |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=November 15, 1953 |location=Brooklyn, New York |page=28 |via = Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Television Programs / (Ad) |work=Dayton Daily News |date=December 27, 1953 |location=Dayton, Ohio |page=26 |via = Newspapers.com}}

Also on television he played roles on The Edge of Night in the 1950s. He made two guest appearances on Perry Mason: Alton Brent in the 1962 episode, "The Case of the Weary Watchdog", and murderer Joachim DeVry in the 1966 episode, "The Case of the Tsarina's Tiara." Later, during the 1970s-1980s, he played publisher Bill Woodard on Ryan's Hope and patriarch Cabot Alden on the Agnes Nixon-Douglas Marland serial Loving. His television career also includes guest appearances on The Defenders, The Outer Limits, The Fugitive, Ironside, and The Rockford Files.

In motion pictures, Addy's career spanned four decades. Robert Aldrich used him as supporting actor in several pictures, such as Kiss Me Deadly (as Mickey Spillane's regular Mike Hammer character Lt. Pat Murphy), The Big Knife (both 1955), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) and The Grissom Gang (1971). In 1976, Addy appeared in Paddy Chayefsky's Network, directed by Sidney Lumet. They would work together again in The Verdict, in which Addy played one of the individual defendants in Paul Newman's case against a hospital and two doctors for malpractice. Another of Addy's best-remembered roles was that of Lt. Commander Alvin Kramer, who unsuccessfully tries to warn American officials of the impending attack on Pearl Harbor in Tora! Tora! Tora!. He was in The Heat of the Night (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094484/characters/nm0011741)

Addy died at Danbury Hospital{{cite news|last1=Gussow|first1=Mel|title=Wesley Addy, Actor on Broadway, Dies at 83|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/03/theater/wesley-addy-actor-on-broadway-dies-at-83.html|access-date=4 August 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 3, 1997|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804011028/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/03/theater/wesley-addy-actor-on-broadway-dies-at-83.html|archive-date=4 August 2017}} in Danbury, Connecticut. He was cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery.Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More than 14000 Famous Persons, Scott Wilson

He was married to actress Celeste Holm from 1966 until his death. The couple lived at 88 Central Park West in Manhattan then in Washington Township, Morris County, New Jersey.via Associated Press. [http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainment-general/index.ssf/2012/07/celeste_holm_oscar-winning_act.html "Celeste Holm, Oscar-winning actress, dies at 95"], The Express-Times, July 15, 2012. Accessed October 22, 2015. "Celeste Holm married her fourth husband, actor Robert Wesley Addy, in 1966. The couple lived in Washington Township., Morris County, N.J."

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Category:1913 births

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Category:American male film actors

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