Clyde Fitch (May 2 1865 – September 4 1909) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dramatist.
Born
William Clyde Fitch at
Elmira, New YorkElmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 30,940 at the 2000 census...
, he wrote over 60 plays, 36 of them original, which varied from social comedies and farces to melodrama and historical dramas.
As the only child to live to adulthood, his father, Captain William G. Fitch, a graduate of
West PointThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. Established in 1802, USMA is the oldest of the United States's five service academies. The military garrison at West Point was occupied in 1778 and played a key...
and a Union officer in the
Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
, encouraged him to become an
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
or to engage in a career of business, but his mother, Alice Clark, in whose eyes he could do no wrong, always believed in his talent. She would hire the architectural firm of Hunt & Hunt to design the
sarcophagusA sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos the word came to refer...
set inside an open
TuscanAmong the classical orders of architecture, the Tuscan order's place in the architectural canon is disputed. The order was only defined in the canon of classical architecture by Italian architectural theorists of the 16th century. The five orders including a "Tuscan order" were meticulously...
temple for his final resting place at
Woodlawn CemeteryLocated in The Bronx, Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in New York City. It opened as a rural cemetery in 1863, out in "the country", in what was then southern Westchester County, which was annexed to New York City in 1874...
in Bronx, New York. Fitch graduated from
Amherst CollegeAmherst College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. Founded in 1821, it is the third oldest college in Massachusetts, and has been coeducational since 1975...
in 1886, where he was a member of
Chi PsiInformation available from chipsi.org.Chi Psi Fraternity, ΧΨ is a fraternity and secret society consisting of 29 chapters at American colleges and universities. It was founded on Thursday May 20, 1841, by 10 students at Union College with the idea of emphasizing the fraternal and social principles...
Fraternity.
He was the first American
playwrightA playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. These works are usually written to be performed in front of a live audience by actors...
to publish his plays. His first work of note was
Beau BrummellBeau Brummell, born as George Bryan Brummell , was the arbiter of men's fashion in Regency England and a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV...
(1890) a major work set in the
English RegencyThe Regency era in the United Kingdom is the period between 1811 — when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son the Prince of Wales, later George IV, was instated to be his proxy as Prince Regent — and 1820 — when George IV became King on the death of his father.The term "Regency era"...
, which became a showcase for actor
Richard MansfieldRichard Mansfield was an Anglo-American actor best known for his performances in Shakespeare plays, Gilbert and Sullivan operas and for his portrayal of the dual title roles in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
(1854-1907), who would play the title role for the rest of his life. His 1892 play
Masked Ball (an adaption from
Alexandre Bisson'sAlexandre Charles Auguste Bisson was an important French playwright, vaudeville creator, and novelist. Born in Briouze, Orne in Lower Normandy, he was successful in his native France as well as in the United States...
Le Veglione) would be the first time that
Charles FrohmanCharles Frohman was a Jewish American theatrical producer.One of three Frohman brothers, he was born in Sandusky, Ohio. He was the youngest, his older brothers being: Daniel Frohman and Gustave Frohman...
put
Maude AdamsMaude Adams was an American stage actress, who achieved her greatest success as Peter Pan.Adams' personality appealed to a large audience and helped her become the most successful and highest-paid performer of her day, with a yearly income of more than one million dollars during her peak.She was...
opposite
John Drew Jr.John Drew, Jr. was an American stage actor noted for his roles in Shakespearean comedy, society drama, and light comedies. He was the eldest son of John Drew and Louisa Lane Drew, and the brother of Louisa Drew, Georgiana Drew & Sidney Drew...
which led to many future successes. In 1900
Captain Jinks of the Horse MarinesCaptain Jinks of the Horse Marines is an opera in three acts by Jack Beeson written in 1975 to a libretto by Sheldon Harnick after the play by Clyde Fitch....
, made a star of
Ethel BarrymoreEthel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the famous Barrymore family.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...
.
He is remembered particularly for his works such as
Nathan HaleNathan Hale was a soldier for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Widely considered America's first spy, he volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission, but was captured by the British...
(1898),
The Climbers (1901),
The Girl with the Green Eyes (which ran 108 performances at the
Savoy TheatreThe Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre located in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre opened on 10 October 1881 and was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan,...
in 1902, and starred
Robert DrouetRobert Drouet was an American actor and playwright.Robert Drouet , was born in Clinton, Iowa. He married Mildred Loring, daughter of M. A. Loring, October 1897, and died in New York City from heart disease.Drouet joined a theatrical company at 16 and later took out his own Shakespearean repertoire...
as John Austin),
The Woman In the Case, (which also starred Drouet and ran 89 performances at the Herald Square Theatre in 1905),
The TruthThe Truth is a play in four acts by Clyde Fitch, first performed in 1906.-External links:**...
(1907) and
The City (1909). His works were popular on both sides of the Atlantic. His play based on the heroine of
John Greenleaf WhittierJohn Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...
's poem
Barbara Frietchie"Barbara Frietchie, The Frederick Girl" is a play in four acts by Clyde Fitch and based on the heroine of John Greenleaf Whittier's poem "Barbara Frietchie"...
met with mixed reviews in 1899 because of the romance he added to the tale, but it would be successfully revived a number of times. In 1896 he wrote the lyrics to a popular song
Love Makes The World Go 'Round"Love Makes the World Go 'Round" is the name of a number of songs:* a song from the 1953 film Lili and its 1961 Broadway musical adaptation Carnival!* "Love Makes the World Go 'Round", a song by The Hollies...
, with the arrangement by
William FurstWilliam Wallace Fuerst was an American composer of musical theatre pieces and a music director, best remembered for supplying incidental music to theatrical productions on Broadway.- Career :...
.
His career spanned a brief two decades, but he earned upwards of $250,000 from his plays at a time when a dollar a day was the working wage. He directed a few of his plays and was closely involved in the production of them all. Working with
Edith WhartonEdith Wharton was an American novelist, short story writer and designer.- Early life :Wharton was born Edith Newbold Jones to parents George Frederic Jones and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander. She had two brothers, Frederic Rhinelander and Henry Edward. The saying "Keeping up with the Joneses" is...
he wrote and directed the stage adaptation of
The House of MirthThe House of Mirth , by Edith Wharton, is a novel about New York socialite Lily Bart attempting to secure a husband and a place in rich society...
in 1906. He was the first American playwright to be taken seriously and at one time managed to have five plays running simultaneously on
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
.
A generous host with an engaging personality he was renowned as a raconteur. His invitations to "Quiet Corner" in
Greenwich, ConnecticutGreenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 61,101. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies that have left Manhattan. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in...
were sought after. A close friend of
Elsie de Wolfe]Elsie de Wolfe was an American interior decorator, nominal author of the influential 1913 book "The House in Good Taste," and a prominent figure in New York, Paris, and London society...
, she would help him find many of the furnishings for this house as well as others. At one point she said "he knows more about women, than most women know about themselves." A dandy by his early teens, he knew that in school he was seen as a sissy, but he said, "I would rather be misunderstood than lose my independence."
Correspondence of the time point to a likely relationship, however brief, with
Oscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest "celebrities" of his day...
. He suffered from attacks of
appendicitisAppendicitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the appendix. It is a medical emergency. All cases require removal of the inflamed appendix, either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. Untreated, mortality is high, mainly because of peritonitis and shock...
, but refused his American doctor's recommendation of surgery, instead trusting the specialists in Europe who assured him that they could effect a cure over time without surgery.
While staying at the Hotel de la Haute Mère de Dieu in Châlons-sur-Marne (Châlons-en-Champagne)
Hôtel de voyageurs dit hôtel de la Haute-Mère-Dieu, actuellement galerie marchande et immeuble dit La Haute-Mère-Dieu à Châlons-en-Champagne (51) at www.patrimoine-de-france.org at
Châlons-sur-MarneChâlons-en-Champagne is a city in France. It is the capital of both the department of Marne and the region of Champagne-Ardenne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Rheims....
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, he suffered what would be a fatal attack. He underwent surgery by a local doctor, rather than travel to Paris, and died from blood poisoning. His body was returned from France where it was entombed for a time in the Swan Callendar Mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery which belonged to a friend.
In 1910 the body was removed and taken to
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
for cremation and the ashes were returned to the Swan Callendar Mausoleum until the Hunt & Hunt monument was finished. His ashes were then placed in the sarcophagus where his parents' ashes would later join his own.
Since his death, some of Fitches works have been revisited in repertoire theater and more recently have been made into motion pictures and television dramas.
Miscellany
- Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress, a star of film and television, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors such as Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
took her name from a combination of the name of his play Barbara Frietchie and its star, British actress, Joan Stanwyck.
- His name comes up in All About Eve
All About Eve is a 1950 American drama film, written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the short story "The Wisdom of Eve," by Mary Orr.The film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, a highly regarded but aging Broadway star...
. 'Margo Channing' states that Fitch was "well before [her] time."
Publications
- Montrose Jonas Moses
Montrose Jonas Moses was an American author, born in New York, where he graduated from the City College in 1899.In the main, his compositions were directed towards children's literature; however, he composed some books for adults, as well...
, The American Dramatist (Boston, 1911)
- Winter
William Winter was an American dramatic critic and author.Born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Winter graduated from Harvard Law School in 1857...
, The Wallet of TimeProduced in 1913, The Wallet of Time is a publication by William Winter, in two volumes. Its title is taken from the words of William Shakespeare: "Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for oblivion,..." American stage actors and actresses, most of whom had been born in...
(two volumes, New York, 1913)
External links