Hank Ladd
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Henry (“Hank”) Ladd (December 12, 1908 – June 9, 1982) was an American actor and writer of radio, film and stage.
Life and career[edit]
Ladd was born on December 12, 1908, in Chicago, Illinois.[1] He was an actor and writer, known for Las Vegas Nights (1941), The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950), and The Jackie Gleason Show (1966).[citation needed] He was a comedian and monologist on radio, nightclubs, TV, stage and film, known for his dry, sardonic delivery.[citation needed] He performed in vaudeville, nightclubs and commercials, and wrote books and TV scripts ("The Judy Canova Show").[citation needed] Ladd appeared in USO tours[citation needed] and appeared in the musical revue "Along Fifth Avenue" in 1949. He appeared on Jackie Gleason's show "Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine" and also served as a writer on the show.[citation needed]
On Broadway, he appeared in Angel in the Wings (1947) as a monologist and master of ceremonies and he also wrote some of the sketches for the show.[2] Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times writing about the show said, "To tell the truth, there isn't much else in it except Hank Ladd, a saturnine-looking wag who can make a mildly spoken story sound hilarious and does."[3]
Ladd was married to Francetta Malloy, an actress, who died on July 17, 1978.[4] He died on June 9, 1982, in Redwood City, Near Los Angeles California.[1]
Radio programs[edit]
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He was one of three comedians to play Beetle the ghost on The Phil Baker Show for the CBS and NBC Radio Networks from 1931 to 1939 in Chicago.[citation needed] His other radio shows included Columbia Workshop (#149), a radio play by William Saroyan, which aired August 10, 1939;[citation needed] he was a member of a comedy team with Bert Wheeler that was featured on The New Old Gold Show for NBC-BLUE (1941-1942);[citation needed] Command Performance (#30), starring Bing Crosby, James Cagney, and Larry Adler, which aired August 30, 1942;[citation needed] and The Judy Canova Show episode "A Quiet Christmas Party", which aired December 21, 1946.[citation needed] He was the host of The Arrow Show on NBC-TV (1949)[5] and appeared in Waiting for The Break on NBC-TV (1950).[6][7]
Film[edit]
- Las Vegas Nights (1941)[8]
- Laffing Time (1959) [9]
- The Errand Boy (1961)[10]
Stage appearances[edit]
In the 1940s, he appeared in the following Broadway musicals:
- New Priorities of 1943 (September 15 – October 11, 1942).[11][12]
- Angel in the Wings (December 11, 1947 – September 4, 1948)[13]
- Along Fifth Avenue (January 13 – June 18, 1949).[14]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Hank Ladd – Broadway Cast & Staff". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ Chapman, John Ed. (1948). The Burns Mantle Best Plays of 1947-1948. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. p. 368.
- ^ "The Hartmans and Hank Ladd in an Entertaining Musical Revue". The New York Times. 21 December 1947. p. 162.
- ^ "Francetta Malloy – Broadway Cast & Staff |". Internet Broadway Database.
- ^ "The Arrow Show". IMDb.
- ^ "Waiting for the Break". IMDb.
- ^ "Waiting for the Break".
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (1941-03-20). "Movie Review - Las Vegas Nights - 'Las Vegas Nights' Shown at the Paramount - 'The Monster and the Girl' at Loew's Criterion - 'Sleepers West' at Palace". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
- ^ "Laffing Time". IMDb.
- ^ "The Errand Boy (1961)". 20/20 Reviews. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ^ Bordman, Gerald (1978). American Musical Theatre. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 531.
- ^ "Priorities of 1943 Will Open Tonight". The New York Times. 15 September 1942. p. 18.
- ^ Dietz, Dan (2015). The Complete Book of 1940s Broadway Musicals. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 411–413.
- ^ Chapman, John Ed (1949). The Burns Mantle Best Plays of 1948–1949. New York: Dodd,Mead and Company. pp. 406–407.