Existing comment:
Alexander Woollcott, 1887-1943
Born Colts Neck Township, New Jersey
From 1933 to 1938, radio's "Town Crier" opened his CBS radio program by ringing a bell and shouting "Hear ye, hear ye. . . . This is Woollcott speaking." What followed was a mélange of gossip about show business and literature that drew on Woollcott's position as a New York Times drama critic, New Yorker columnist, and member of the Algonquin Round Table of wits. Woollcott was a larger-than-life personality, and his "Town Crier" program won a large following because he was such an animated storyteller. He became the inspiration for Sheridan Whiteside, the main character in George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's play The Man Who Came to Dinner, and he even starred in the role himself. One critic said that he "can persuade you there are truffles on his tonsils." In January 1943, Woollcott had a heart attack while broadcasting and collapsed at the microphone; he died four hours later.
Soss Melik, 1938 |