Helen Ford was born Helen Isabel Barnett in Troy on June 6, 1894. Helen’s father was a manufacturer in Troy, and she was considered a musical prodigy as a child. She studied voice and piano at a conservatory of music in Troy.
Helen was a Broadway musical comedy star and was known as “the tiny, perky soprano who lit up the stage.” She was on the stage as a child and later appeared in a production of The Heart of Annie Wood in New York in 1918 and in Sometime shortly thereafter. In 1920, she had the role of Toinette in Always You, Oscar Hammerstein’s first musical.
She became a stage actress in musicals in the 1920s and became a star in 1922 as the enterprising Mary Thompson in The Gingham Girl. A ” Rodgers, Hart, and Fields’ favorite,” she starred in three of their Broadway productions: Dearest Enemy (1925), Peggy-Ann (1926) and Chee-Chee (1928). She also starred in the touring production of Dearest Enemy.
In Dearest Enemy one reviewer said: “Helen Ford is without doubt one of the most charming musical comedy stars considering that she can sing well, dance delightfully and act really dramatic as well as comedy scenes and is ever a beautiful picture — a rare treat to the eye. Women like her just as well as men — which is the test.”
Helen went on to appear in movies and television programs, including The Raid, a 1954 western set during the Civil War. But she is best known for her performances in The Model and Marriage Broker in 1951, Public Defender in 1954, and Mystery and Imagination in 1966.
On August 9, 1918, she married George Ford, an author and who produced touring Shakespearean festivals. In 1926, Helen was involved in a court case in District Court in New York City. The trial related to her appearance at the Knickerbocker Theater “clad only in a barrel.” The trial focused on whether her husband, George Ford, had committed perjury when he told a grand jury that the barrel did not contain champagne. He declared it wasn’t even Ginger Ale but water and it was a private party anyway.
Helen was dressed only in a wooden barrel. A newspaper reporter who was at then party testified at the court. When the DA asked him if he was a newspaperman, he replied “I am the managing editor of The Looking Glass.” The DA asked” “You were promoted since the party? ” The reporter answered. “No, BECAUSE of the party.”
One of Helen’s most famous performances was about her hometown, Troy. Helen of Troy New York is a musical comedy written in 1923 by the famous George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly, with music by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, who also did the music for the Marx Brothers films. George Jessel and Rufus LeMaire were producers. It was only Kaufman’s second play. It mocked the Troy collar business, advertising, and the traditional love story.
The two-act play had the cast move from Troy, NY, the home of the stiff collar industry to New York City, the home of Art Deco and Very High Fashion. The story goes that everyone’s in love with the wrong person but ends up with the right one (except for the bad guy) and business ethics are improved (it’s a fantasy). There were a dozen musical numbers.
Helen, the native of Troy, played Helen of Troy, of course. The play was a spoof about the collar industry and in particular the Cluett, Peabody, & Co. collar company, the world’s largest, and now the home of Troy’s City Hall. Troy was known as the Collar City then (as well as the City of Girls). The play opened on June 19, 1923, and closed on December 1, with a total of 191 performances.
It opened at the Selwyn Theater (227 W 42nd Street, June 19-Oct 7) and then finished at the Times Square Theater (217 W 42nd Street, Oct 8-Dec 1).
While the play was a hit in New York City and around the country, the collar bosses never let it play in Troy, until 80 years later starting on July 9th, 2015 when it was performed to six sold out performances (directed by yours truly and NYC’s Justyna Kostek, who also had a major role in it).
The Cluett collar company was famous for its collars and cuffs and became famous worldwide with its Arrow Collar Man advertisements, a concept created by advertising director Charles Connolly; who later on designed the first Boy Scout uniform.
Helen spent her later years touring England. She returned to Broadway in 1942 as Lucy in a revival of The Rivals.
She passed in January 1982 in Glendale California with a legacy of 14 films under her belt and many theatrical performances.
Got History? Don is the author of a dozen books about his hometown. You can reach him at drittner@aol.com
RITTNER: Helen of Troy (New York)
6
0
20.01.2024
Helen Ford was born Helen Isabel Barnett in Troy on June 6, 1894. Helen’s father was a manufacturer in Troy, and she was considered a musical prodigy as a child. She studied voice and piano at a conservatory of music in Troy.
Helen was a Broadway musical comedy star and was known as “the tiny, perky soprano who lit up the stage.” She was on the stage as a child and later appeared in a production of The Heart of Annie Wood in New York in 1918 and in Sometime shortly thereafter. In 1920, she had the role of Toinette in Always You, Oscar Hammerstein’s first musical.
She became a stage actress in musicals in the 1920s and became a star in 1922 as the enterprising Mary Thompson in The Gingham Girl. A ” Rodgers, Hart, and Fields’ favorite,” she starred in three of their Broadway productions: Dearest Enemy (1925), Peggy-Ann (1926) and Chee-Chee (1928). She also starred in the touring production of Dearest Enemy.
In Dearest Enemy one reviewer said: “Helen Ford is without doubt one of the most charming musical comedy stars considering that she can sing well, dance delightfully and act really dramatic as well as comedy scenes and is........
© The Saratogian
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Rami G Khouri
Mort Laitner
Donald Low
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
Michael Kwet
