Musical comedy fans know that, during its difficult out-of-town tryout in Detroit, the working title for Jerry Herman’s most famous musical was Dolly: A Damned Exasperating Woman. Based on Thornton Wilder’s1955 hit, The Matchmaker, the original story of Hello, Dolly! dates back to a one-act play by John Oxenford entitled A Day Well Spent (1835), which Johann Nestroy developed into a full-length play entitled Einen Jux will er sich machen in 1842. (source: George Heymont, Contributor San Francisco-based arts critic, Maternal Instincts Gone Wild)
That eventually would lead to The Matchmaker. This page is celebrating Shirley Booth and the 1958 American comedy film directed by Joseph Anthony. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the 1955 play of the same name by Thornton Wilder.
Shirley Booth (August 30, 1898 – October 16, 1992) was an American actress.
Primarily a theatre actress, Booth’s Broadway career began in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama Come Back, Little Sheba, for which she received a Tony Award in 1950.
She made her film debut, reprising her role in the 1952 film version, and won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance. Despite her successful entry into films, she preferred stage acting, and made only four more films.
From 1961 until 1966, she played the title role in the sitcom Hazel, for which she won two Emmy Awards, and was acclaimed for her performance in the 1966 television production of The Glass Menagerie. She retired in 1974.
Paramount brought the story of Dolly to the screen for the first time as a non-musical comedy starring Shirley Booth. In “The Matchmaker,” Booth played the meddlesome Dolly “Gallagher” Levi opposite a cast of relative unknowns: Shirley MacLaine as Irene, Anthony Perkins as Cornelius, and Robert Morse as Barnaby.
Paramount brought the story of Dolly to the screen for the first time as a non-musical comedy starring Shirley Booth.
In “The Matchmaker,” Booth played the meddlesome Dolly “Gallagher” Levi opposite a cast of relative unknowns: Shirley MacLaine as Irene, Anthony Perkins as Cornelius, and Robert Morse as Barnaby.
Shirley Booth Tribute