Posted on 08/08/2026 2:36:11 PM PDT by Twotone
The unlikely rise of Judy Holliday from Greenwich Village cabaret performer to movie star begins – if you believe Garson Kanin's account in his memoir Hollywood – with a brief conversation he had with a friend: Main Bocher, the American fashion designer, who had designed the wardrobe for Jean Arthur in the floundering out-of-town previews of Kanin's new play, Born Yesterday.
Bocher mentions Holliday, at that point known to Kanin from The Revuers, a nightclub act that also featured Betty Comden and Adolph Green (and occasionally a young pianist and composer named Leonard Bernstein, who would play piano for them when he was available.) The group did musical comedy and satirical sketches, starting out at venues like the Village Vanguard before moving uptown to The Rainbow Room.
Apart from a cut scene in Greenwich Village, a 1944 Carmen Miranda picture, and a 78-rpm album, Night Life in New York, there's not much evidence of their work today except a couple of tracks on YouTube, but they were part of the Manhattan cabaret scene that would produce acts like Mike Nichols and Elaine May.
Kanin remembered a bright little brunette who barely covered up her Queens accent and described her in his memoir as "a standout; pert, versatile, comical, talented." But he didn't see how she could fill Arthur's role as Billie Dawn, the dim blonde moll towed to Washington DC in the wake of her boorish fiancé Harry Brock. "She's terrific, Main," Kanin said, "but not for this."
Bocher replied that he'd seen her play "a little San Francisco tart" in the play Kiss Them for Me. "Superlative," he told Kanin. And that was enough to plant the seed in Kanin's mind that would change Holliday's life forever.
(Excerpt) Read more at steynonline.com ...
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My dad bought me every coloring book "dedicated" to the pin up girls at the time. Nice going dad!!
I don't think mom ever caught on...
“She was up against Bette Davis and Anne Baxter in All About Eve, Swanson in Sunset Boulevard and Eleanor Parker in Caged.”
Any of these four deserved the Oscar more than Holliday.
this movie had me rollin- Judy is awesome in it- She was actually a brilliant smart woman- but played the ditz really well
I love watching old movies esp from the 40’s; mom, dad, popcorn ... fun evening.
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