1960s Timeline

Latest Podcasts

Politics | Culture | Entertainment | Sports

Feb 21

Actor Jason Robards Jr. On the Rise

Feb. 21, 1963 - Jason Robards Jr., now sought after for stage and screen starring roles, spent six years playing mediocre parts before he achieved recognition. “I did just one horrible job after another,” he said today, including the hindquarters of a cow in a production of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” As a youth, Robards witnessed firsthand the decline of his father's acting career. The elder Robards had enjoyed considerable success during the era of silent films but he fell ou

Feb 5

Mrs. Kennedy Enjoys Broadway Play

Feb. 5, 1963 - Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy (pictured with Prince Stanislas Radziwill, Princess Lee Radziwill, and Clayton Fritshie] spent the day in New York City yesterday visiting friends and family before joining the Broadway throngs to see a hit comedy featuring pretty girls and a Roman slave trying to buy his freedom. Mrs. Kennedy, her brother-in-law, Prince Stanislas Radziwill, and her sister, Princess Lee Radziwill chose to see the show, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way

Oct 25, 2022

Rex Harrison Signed for Film Version of “My Fair Lady”

Oct. 25, 1962 - Rex Harrison (left) has been signed to recreate his original role of Professor Higgins in the film version of “My Fair Lady.” He will play opposite Audrey Hepburn in the Warner Brothers musical, which starts production in London early next year under the direction of George Cukor. In the story, snobbish phonetics professor Henry Higgins agrees to a wager that he can make crude flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, presentable in high society. #classicmovies #1960s #OT

Sep 25, 2022

Mr. President Sees “Mr. President”

Sept. 25, 1962 - Mr. President teamed with “Mr. President” tonight to provide theatergoers with one of the most exciting opening nights in Washington’s history. President and Mrs. Kennedy joined more than 1,600 of the political and social elite of Washington and New York at the pre-Broadway showing of the Irving Berlin musical in the National Theater. “Mr. President” will play in Washington for 3 weeks before opening at the St. James Theater in New York on Oct. 20. Mrs. Kenne

Sep 3, 2022

“The Fantasticks” Is Longest-Running Off-Broadway Show

Sept. 3, 1962 - With Sunday night’s closing of “Little Mary Sunshine,” “The Fantasticks” became the longest-running off-Broadway show of the present crop. Since May 3, 1960, “The Fantasticks” has been presented at the Sullivan Street Playhouse. The original cast is pictured below. Alice Cannon, who succeeded Eileen Fulton on Aug. 25, is the fifth leading lady in the Tom Jones-Harvey Schmidt musical. Others who held the role were Rita Gardner, Carla Huston, and Liza Stuart. #b

Aug 12, 2022

Sammy Davis to Star in Theatrical Version of “The Desperate Hours”

Aug. 12, 1962 - Sammy Davis Jr. will make his New York area dramatic debut next Monday at the Mineola Playhouse in “The Desperate Hours.” He will play the role originated on Broadway by Paul Newman. The play by Joseph Hayes was the basis for the 1955 film starring Humphrey Bogart. Commenting on the melodrama, which deals with a group of escaped convicts who terrorize a family, Mr. Davis said: “I wanted to do something off-beat. Well, this is it. I’m the mastermind of the esca

Jun 10, 2022

Irving Berlin's "Mr. President" To Open Oct. 18

June 10, 1962 - Irving Berlin’s next show, “Mr. President,” with a plot by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, will open at the St. James Theatre on Oct. 18. Robert Ryan (left) and Nanette Fabray (right) will co-star in the show. The director is Joshua Logan. The plot deals with a fictional President of the United States and his family — wife, son, and daughter. It will recount their activities, anxieties, and frustrations during the last four months of his second term and in t

Jun 9, 2022

Faye Dunaway Joins Cast of "A Man for All Seasons"

June 9, 1962 - Faye Dunaway (pictured with William Roderick), 22 years old, will play Margaret More in the Broadway production of Robert Bolt’s play “A Man for All Seasons” starting June 25. She replaces Olga Bellin. The play is based on the historical events leading up to the execution of Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century Chancellor of England, who refused to endorse Henry VIII’s wish to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon, who did not bear him a son, so that he could marry

Jun 4, 2022

Broadway Actor Flees the Country

June 4, 1962 - Jon Voight (pictured), a young actor who took off last Saturday for Greece, where his wife is making a film, caused the producers of a Broadway musical hit some anxious moments today. Mr. Voight’s departure came to light when Herman Bernstein, general manager of “The Sound of Music,” received a letter from the 23-year-old actor, who plays the role of the young Nazi in the show. “By the time you receive this letter, I’ll be in Greece,” Mr. Voight wrote. The acto

May 16, 2022

Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Headed for Broadway

May 16, 1962 - Edward Albee’s first full-length work, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, will come to Broadway this fall. In contrast with the short plays (all put on in the off-Broadway area) which brought him into prominence, the new one runs about three hours. Only four players — two couples — are required to develop the plot, and only one setting is needed — the living room of a professor’s cottage. The story involves a belligerent couple who refuse to desert each other d

Apr 20, 2022

Surviving Dolly Sister Attempts Suicide

Apr. 20, 1962 - Roszika Dolly Netcher, one of the two Dolly sisters (pictured in 1926) of musical comedy four decades ago, was found unconscious today in her New York apartment. She was reported in poor condition at Roosevelt Hospital. The police said Mrs. Netcher, 69 years old, who appeared on stage as Rosie Dolly, had apparently taken an overdose of barbiturates or other medicine. She was found by a maid in her apartment at 470 Park Avenue. Mrs. Netcher and her late twin si

Apr 10, 2022

Broadway Actresses Prefer Male Directors

Apr. 10, 1962 - Six of the theatre’s leading ladies who had assembled to discuss the question of whether Broadway had become a “woman’s world” skirted the issue yesterday, but they all agreed emphatically that they liked men as directors. “I have a great fear of being directed by a woman,” said Diahann Carroll (pictured), star of “No Strings.” “It is easier to accept criticism from a man.” “My first experience with a woman director 10 years ago was loathsome,” said Colleen De

Apr 3, 2022

Tony Nominees Announced

Apr. 3, 1962 - Nominees for the American Theatre Wing’s 1962 Tony Awards, presented for “Distinguished Achievement in Theatre,” were announced today. The winners will be disclosed April 29 at the 16th annual ceremonies, to be held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Plays nominated are “A Man for All Seasons,” “Gideon,” “The Caretaker,” and “Night of the Iguana.” The musicals are “Carnival,” “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” “Milk and Honey,” and “No Strings.” The

Dec 20, 2021

Moss Hart is Dead

Dec. 20, 1961 - Moss Hart (pictured with new wife Kitty Carlisle in 1946), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, stage director, and screenwriter, died today of a heart attack. He was 57. Mr. Hart had been suffering a severe pain in his jaw for several days. He was getting into an automobile to go to a dentist when he collapsed. Attempts at artificial respiration failed. Mr. Hart and the late George S. Kaufman collaborated on “You Can’t Take It With You,” which won the Pulitzer