Larry Blyden
Encyclopedia
Larry Blyden was an American
actor and game show host, best known for his appearances on Broadway
and as the host of the game show What's My Line?
, Morocco
, seventeen days before he would have reached the age of 50. A practitioner of the Jewish faith, he was married to actress and dancer Carol Haney
(1925–1964) between 1955 and 1962. The couple had two children: Joshua, born in 1957, and Ellen, born in 1960. Their relationship was tempestuous, and they divorced two years before her death.
on television and a highly in-demand Broadway
actor. Other television work he did included his starring in one situation comedy, Harry's Girls
, which ran on NBC
for fifteen episodes from 1963 to 1964. In this adaptation of the Robert E. Sherwood
play Idiot's Delight
, Blyden starred as Harry, a vaudeville
style performer constantly getting into trouble and falling in love. Blyden also did many guest performances on such dramatic anthology shows as Playhouse 90
, Omnibus
, and The Loretta Young Show along with The Twilight Zone
and other non-anthology dramatic programs. Although he was generally cast as a nice guy, his two Twilight Zone episodes display an impressive range as he acted out two very different characters, both with dysfunctional personalities: the tough-talking hood who dies and finds the afterlife a little too pleasant in the classic episode "A Nice Place to Visit
," and the titular vain, cowardly cowboy star in the comedic episode "Showdown with Rance McGrew
."
Blyden was an in-demand Broadway
and off-Broadway
actor. His first Broadway role was in Wish You Wish Here. In 1958, he was in the original cast of Flower Drum Song
as the slick Sammy Fong, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award
for Best Actor in a Musical. The show was choreographed by his wife, and Blyden replaced Larry Storch
in the role during out-of-town tryouts. He starred in shows such as Mister Roberts
, where he replaced David Wayne in the role of Ensign Frank Pulver, which Jack Lemmon later acted out in the film version, Harold
, Foxy
, The Apple Tree
(as the devil), You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running
, and a revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
(with Phil Silvers
), which he helped produce and for which he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the role of the slave Hysterium.
Late in his career, he became a game-show presenter and "emcee," or master of ceremonies, starting with Personality in 1967. He also hosted You're Putting Me On, The Movie Game, and finally and most successfully, What's My Line?
. Blyden also had a brief, and rather uneventful, film career. He played secondary parts in the films Kiss Them for Me
and The Bachelor Party
, both of which were released in 1957, and the film version of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
, released in 1970.
In 1974, Blyden appeared in a play in New Haven, Connecticut
with the Yale Repertory Theatre. A musical comedy named The Frogs, by Burt Shevelove, and freely based on a play written by Aristophanes in 405 B.C., its music had been composed, and its lyrics written, by Stephen Sondheim. Blyden played Dionysos. Notable in the chorus of this production of The Frogs were a young Meryl Streep
and Sigourney Weaver
, both of whom were students at the Yale School of Drama.
and Lee Goodman at a gala tribute to director Joshua Logan
at Broadway's Imperial Theatre
(which was recorded and eventually released on a privately distributed LP
album). Having been hired as host of the Mark Goodson
-Bill Todman
game show Showoffs
, Blyden left the cast of the Broadway production of the Alan Ayckbourn
comedy Absurd Person Singular
and videotaped a pilot for the game show on May 24th. Several days later, he took a vacation to Morocco
. While driving to Tan-Tan
to shop for native jewelry, his rental car reportedly went off the road and overturned, knocking him unconscious. Doctors in an Agadir
hospital were unable to contact Blyden's family for several days, as Blyden had been carrying no identification. Blyden died on June 6, 1975, less than three weeks before he would have turned 50. Bobby Van eventually took over the hosting duties for Showoffs
.
Another theory regarding Blyden's death has been suggested. On the commentary track of the 2009 DVD release of Blyden's TV production of "What Makes Sammy Run" (1959), his co-star Barbara Rush
says that Blyden was actually carjacked in Morocco and killed on the spot for his vehicle. Likewise, Blyden's The Apple Tree
co-star Robert Klein
wrote in his 2005 memoir The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue that "Blyden died on vacation in North Africa under mysterious circumstances (...) He was alone and possibly waylaid and murdered by nomads."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor and game show host, best known for his appearances on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and as the host of the game show What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
Personal life
Born Ivan Lawrence Blieden in Houston, Texas, Blyden died in an automobile accident in AgadirAgadir
Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, seventeen days before he would have reached the age of 50. A practitioner of the Jewish faith, he was married to actress and dancer Carol Haney
Carol Haney
Carol Haney was an American dancer and actress. After assisting Gene Kelly in choreographing films, Haney won a Tony Award for her role in The Pajama Game...
(1925–1964) between 1955 and 1962. The couple had two children: Joshua, born in 1957, and Ellen, born in 1960. Their relationship was tempestuous, and they divorced two years before her death.
Career
Blyden's career had three distinct phases. For most of his career, he was known as both a good, solid character actorCharacter actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
on television and a highly in-demand Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
actor. Other television work he did included his starring in one situation comedy, Harry's Girls
Harry's Girls
Harry's Girls is an American situation comedy which appeared on NBC from September 13, 1963, to January 3, 1964. The series stars Larry Blyden portraying Henry Burns, the leader of a vaudeville troupe consisting of three young women. The co-stars were Dawn Nickerson as Lois, Susan Silo as Rusty,...
, which ran on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
for fifteen episodes from 1963 to 1964. In this adaptation of the Robert E. Sherwood
Robert E. Sherwood
Robert Emmet Sherwood was an American playwright, editor, and screenwriter.-Biography:Born in New Rochelle, New York, he was a son of Arthur Murray Sherwood, a rich stockbroker, and his wife, the former Rosina Emmet, a well-known illustrator and portrait painter known as Rosina E. Sherwood...
play Idiot's Delight
Idiot's Delight
Idiot's Delight is a 1939 MGM comedy film, with a screenplay adapted from the 1936 Robert E. Sherwood play of the same name, by Sherwood himself. The movie stars Norma Shearer and Clark Gable. It is notable as the only film where Gable sings and dances, performing a version of the Irving Berlin...
, Blyden starred as Harry, a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
style performer constantly getting into trouble and falling in love. Blyden also did many guest performances on such dramatic anthology shows as Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
, Omnibus
Omnibus (US TV series)
Omnibus is an American, commercially sponsored, educational television series.-History:Broadcast live primarily on Sunday afternoons at 4:00pm Eastern time, from November 9, 1952 until 1961. Omnibus originally aired on CBS, and later on Sunday evenings on ABC. The program finally moved to NBC in...
, and The Loretta Young Show along with The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
and other non-anthology dramatic programs. Although he was generally cast as a nice guy, his two Twilight Zone episodes display an impressive range as he acted out two very different characters, both with dysfunctional personalities: the tough-talking hood who dies and finds the afterlife a little too pleasant in the classic episode "A Nice Place to Visit
A Nice Place to Visit
"A Nice Place to Visit" is an episode of the American Television anthology series The Twilight Zone first aired on CBS on April 15, 1960. The title comes from the saying, "A nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there."...
," and the titular vain, cowardly cowboy star in the comedic episode "Showdown with Rance McGrew
Showdown With Rance McGrew
"Showdown With Rance McGrew" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:TV cowboy star Rance McGrew is ready to shoot a scene—in which Jesse James shoots him in the back—when he suddenly finds himself in a real Old West saloon...
."
Blyden was an in-demand Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
actor. His first Broadway role was in Wish You Wish Here. In 1958, he was in the original cast of Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song
Flower Drum Song was the eighth stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. The piece opened in 1958 on Broadway and was afterwards presented in the West End and on tour...
as the slick Sammy Fong, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Actor in a Musical. The show was choreographed by his wife, and Blyden replaced Larry Storch
Larry Storch
Lawrence Samuel "Larry" Storch is an American actor best known for his comic television roles, including voice-over work for top cartoon shows, including Mr...
in the role during out-of-town tryouts. He starred in shows such as Mister Roberts
Mister Roberts (play)
Mister Roberts is a 1948 play based on the 1946 Thomas Heggen novel of the same name.The novel began as a collection of short stories about Heggen's experiences aboard the USS Virgo in the South Pacific during World War II...
, where he replaced David Wayne in the role of Ensign Frank Pulver, which Jack Lemmon later acted out in the film version, Harold
Harold
Harold is an Old English name, meaning "heroic leader", same as the title herald. Diminutives of Harold are Harry and Hal.*Several kings of Denmark, England and Norway were named Harald or Harold*Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England...
, Foxy
Foxy (musical)
Foxy is a musical with a book by Ian McLellan Hunter and Ring Lardner, Jr., lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and music by Robert Emmett Dolan.Based on Ben Jonson's Volpone, it transports the original play's setting of early-17th century Renaissance Venice to the Yukon during the gold rush of 1898...
, The Apple Tree
The Apple Tree
The Apple Tree is a series of three musical playlets with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Bock and Harnick with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith...
(as the devil), You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running
You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running
You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running is a collection of four unrelated one-act comedy plays by Robert Anderson.In The Shock of Recognition, playwright Jack Barnstable auditions Richard Pawling for a role that requires nudity and discovers the overeager actor is more than willing to...
, and a revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart....
(with Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers
Phil Silvers was an American entertainer and comedy actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah." He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S...
), which he helped produce and for which he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the role of the slave Hysterium.
Late in his career, he became a game-show presenter and "emcee," or master of ceremonies, starting with Personality in 1967. He also hosted You're Putting Me On, The Movie Game, and finally and most successfully, What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
. Blyden also had a brief, and rather uneventful, film career. He played secondary parts in the films Kiss Them for Me
Kiss Them for Me (film)
Kiss Them for Me is a 1957 comedy film starring Cary Grant and Jayne Mansfield, directed by Stanley Donen. Co-stars included Suzy Parker, Leif Erickson, Ray Walston, and Werner Klemperer....
and The Bachelor Party
The Bachelor Party
The Bachelor Party is a 1953 teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky which was adapted by Chayefsky for a 1957 film.-Television:Chayefsky's teleplay was produced by Fred Coe for The Philco Television Playhouse on October 11, 1953...
, both of which were released in 1957, and the film version of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (film)
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever is a 1970 American musical/romantic fantasy film directed by Vincente Minnelli. The screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner is adapted from his book for the 1965 stage production of the same name...
, released in 1970.
In 1974, Blyden appeared in a play in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
with the Yale Repertory Theatre. A musical comedy named The Frogs, by Burt Shevelove, and freely based on a play written by Aristophanes in 405 B.C., its music had been composed, and its lyrics written, by Stephen Sondheim. Blyden played Dionysos. Notable in the chorus of this production of The Frogs were a young Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
and Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
, both of whom were students at the Yale School of Drama.
Death
In the weeks before his death, Blyden was involved in several major projects. He co-hosted the Tony Awards telecast on April 20, 1975. That May 2, Blyden reprised his role as Ensign Pulver opposite Henry FondaHenry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
and Lee Goodman at a gala tribute to director Joshua Logan
Joshua Logan
Joshua Lockwood Logan III was an American stage and film director and writer.-Early years:Logan was born in Texarkana, Texas, the son of Susan and Joshua Lockwood Logan. When he was three years old his father committed suicide...
at Broadway's Imperial Theatre
Imperial Theatre
The Imperial Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 249 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan. The theatre seats up to 1417 people....
(which was recorded and eventually released on a privately distributed LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
album). Having been hired as host of the Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson was an American television producer who specialized in game shows.-Life and early career:...
-Bill Todman
Bill Todman
William S. "Bill" Todman was an American television producer born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest running shows with business partner Mark Goodson.-Early life:...
game show Showoffs
Showoffs
Showoffs is an American game show which ran on ABC from June 30 to December 26, 1975. Bobby Van was host, with Gene Wood as announcer. The Mark Goodson-Bill Todman production involved two teams competing in a game of charades.-Gameplay:...
, Blyden left the cast of the Broadway production of the Alan Ayckbourn
Alan Ayckbourn
Sir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
comedy Absurd Person Singular
Absurd Person Singular
Absurd Person Singular is a 1972 play by Alan Ayckbourn. Divided into three acts, it documents the changing fortunes of three married couples...
and videotaped a pilot for the game show on May 24th. Several days later, he took a vacation to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. While driving to Tan-Tan
Tan-Tan
Tan-Tan is a city in Tan-Tan Province in southern Morocco. It is a desert town with a small population, with only few claims to fame:*The nearby port, Tan-Tan Plage, or Port of Tan-Tan, about 25 kilometres away from Tan-Tan itself...
to shop for native jewelry, his rental car reportedly went off the road and overturned, knocking him unconscious. Doctors in an Agadir
Agadir
Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...
hospital were unable to contact Blyden's family for several days, as Blyden had been carrying no identification. Blyden died on June 6, 1975, less than three weeks before he would have turned 50. Bobby Van eventually took over the hosting duties for Showoffs
Showoffs
Showoffs is an American game show which ran on ABC from June 30 to December 26, 1975. Bobby Van was host, with Gene Wood as announcer. The Mark Goodson-Bill Todman production involved two teams competing in a game of charades.-Gameplay:...
.
Another theory regarding Blyden's death has been suggested. On the commentary track of the 2009 DVD release of Blyden's TV production of "What Makes Sammy Run" (1959), his co-star Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
says that Blyden was actually carjacked in Morocco and killed on the spot for his vehicle. Likewise, Blyden's The Apple Tree
The Apple Tree
The Apple Tree is a series of three musical playlets with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Bock and Harnick with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith...
co-star Robert Klein
Robert Klein
Robert Klein is an American stand-up comedian, singer and actor.-Early life:Klein was born in the Bronx, the son of Frieda and Benjamin Klein, and was raised in a "prototypical 1950s Bronx Jewish" environment. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School, Klein planned to study medicine...
wrote in his 2005 memoir The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue that "Blyden died on vacation in North Africa under mysterious circumstances (...) He was alone and possibly waylaid and murdered by nomads."