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| THE BOB PENDER TROUPE - 1918 - playing the circuit in England. After being sent down from Fairfield School, Archie was allowed by his father to join the Pender Troupe legimately. He continued his training and was chosen to be among those boys coming to America to appear on Broadway. GOOD TIMES - 08.20 to 04.21 (nine months and 455 performances) - Hippodrome Theatre (N.Y. City) A gigantic extravaganza, sketches and production numbers in Good Times centered around children's stories. B.F. KEITH VAUDEVILLE CIRCUIT - summer 1921 to 06.22 The Pender Troupe went on a road tour starting in Boston and going as far as Los Angeles. They closed at the New York Palace. BETTER TIMES - Labor Day 1922 to 04.23 (409 performances) The 1922 edition of Charles Dillingham's yearly revue combined ballet and the circus in extravagant production numbers. PANTAGES VAUDEVILLE CIRCUIT - 03.09.23 to 11.24 Leach was involved in another Pender-like group which, while prforming in New England, was hired by Pantages Circuit to tour their theatres the country and in Canada. PARKER, RAND and LEACH - ca. 1925 Leach played in several vaudeville acts in which he was usually the straight man to someone else's comic lines. One of these acts which did manage to receive a degree of notice was Parker, Rand and Leach. Leach soon dropped out and was replaced bt James Cagney. THE WOMAN PAYS - ca. 1925 He played "a handsome man of the world". THE NIGHTINGALE PLAYERS - 1925 to 1927 A minor repertory company which Leach joined in order to study acting and get passage back to England. THE PROFESSOR KNOWALL - summer 1927 A spoof of acts featuring mental telepathy. BENEFIT SHOW - 09.27 Gran't comedian partner arrives drunk and he must improvise. He performed acrobatic dancing, jokes and sang. GOLDEN DOWN - 30.11.27 to 24.05.28 (184 performances) - Hammerstein Theatre (N.Y. City) Dawn is a blonde African high priestess whose tribe lives near a German POW camp during WWI. She is desired by both the camp's block overseer Shep Keyes and English POW Steve Allen. She, however, is pledged in marriage to an African God. After Steve is released and spends two years back home, he returns for Down. After discovering that Dawn is really white, Steve finally wins her. Leach had a small part as an Australian POW and, according to Grant, he was also the understudy for Gregory. POLLY - 11.28 - Wilmington, Delaware Archie played a rich playboy named Roy Van Zile to June's poor showgirl in this musical version of Polly with a Past. BOOM BOOM - 28.01.29 (72 performances) - Casino Theatre (N.Y. City) Rakish Worthington Smith is married to Jean, who also is loved by his son Tony. The story revolves around attempts to detach Jean from Smith so she can be with Tony. Archie has a run-of-the-show contract at $350 to $450 a week and played Reggie Phipps. In this role he sang and danced the fandango with Jean (Jeanette MacDonald). A WONDERFUL NIGHT - 10.29 to 02.30 (125 performances) - Majestic Theatre Johann Straus's 1874 Viennese operetta, Die Fledermaus, had already been adapted to the stage by the Shuberts under the titles Night Birds and The Merry countess. The paly opened on the day the stock marked crashed. Archie played Max Grunewald. THE STREET SINGER - autumn 1930 to spring 1931 - road company Leach went on a nine-month tour with Queenie Smith which lasted until the spring of 1931. ST. LOUIS MUNICIPAL OPERA HOUSE - 29.05.31 to 23.08.31 - Forest Park Theatre Leach, still under contract to the Shuberts, was assigned to do summer stock in St. Louis, Missouri. He appeared in several different repertory productions of musical revivals at the city's at 10000-seat outdoor theatre. NIKKI - 29.09.31 to 31.10.31 (39 performances) - Longacre Theatre (N.Y. City), later moved to George M. Cohan Theatre Four american aviators, Shep, Francis, Cary (Leach) and Bill, meet in Claridge's bar. All fall in love with Nikki (Fay Wray), a woman with a heart of gold. They wander from bar to bar and country to country, occasionally breaking out in song. In Lisbon, Bill is killed in a bullfight, Wiffie kills Shep and is in turn killed by Francis. Only Nikki and Cary are left. HOLLYWOOD VICTORY CARAVAN - spring 1942 This was a three-week, whistle-stop tour in which Grant, along with other stars (among them Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Claudette Colbert and James Cagney), appeared to promote the sale of war bonds. The train stopped in the town in the morning. In the afternoon there were local receptions, and in the evenings the stars would perform. Grant spoke and performed on his own as well as appearing as straight man to Bert Lahr. THE HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN - 01.43 Grant appeared in skits performed for the entertainment of service men at the Hollywood canteen. CHRISTMAS CANDLELIGHT CEREMONY - 12.69/73/74 in Disneyland and 12.72 in Walt Disney World Cary Grant performed the job of narrator at these two institutions of childhood fantasy. During their annual Candlelight Ceremonies, Grant would read selections from the traditional Xmas Story in between which carols were sung by a huge massed choir accompained by a concert orchestra. A CONVERSATION WITH CARY GRANT - 1983 to 1986 In 1983 grant started appearing around the country in a one-man show which packed houses wherever he went. The program began with film clips of various Grant movies spanning his career. When the lights went up, Grant walked onto the stage which held only a stool and a table on which a glass of water was placed. For approximately two hours Grant then proceeded to answer questions from the audience. It was during the preparation for one of these Conversations that Grant suffered his fatal stroke in Davemport, Iowa. |
