Alfred Lunt (born this day in 1892) is best known as one half of the famous acting team with his wife Lynn Fontanne. During the almost four decades of their joint careers (1920s-1950s), they co-starred in over three dozen major productions. Lesser known perhaps, is that in his early days (the nineteen-teens), Lunt toured in vaudeville opposite Lillie Langtry in a short playlet called “Ashes”. The two were supposed to portray lovers; Langtry was forty years his senior. Lunt had great respect for the vaudevillian’s craft, and always spoke highly of it in later years. He passed away in 1977.
To find out more about the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.
And check out my new book: Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, just released by Bear Manor Media, also available from amazon.com etc etc etc
(Travalanche) 