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In 1874 theatrical life was centered around Union Square. Wallack’s Theatre was on Broadway and 13th Street. During the Yuletide season George H. McLean invited actors of J. Lester Wallack’s company to dinner at Delmonico’s: Edward Arnott, Harry Beckett, Henry James Montague, and Arthur Wallack, the son of Mr. Wallack. They were joined by John E. I. Grainger. In the Blue Room of Delmonico’s it was suggested the men form a supper club. Many names were mentioned. Mr. Montague said that he was a member of The Lambs in London that had been established in 1869. The name was unanimously adopted; it came from Charles and Mary Lamb, the English brother and sister who were friendly towards actors in Georgian England. In 1875 dinners were held at the Maison Doree Hotel; the original six invited their friends. By autumn 1875 The Lambs were meeting in the Union Hotel. The Members chose to increase by “sevens.” There were so many applications the Club expanded. On 10 May 1877 the Club incorporated under the laws of the State of New York. There were 60 members.
The Club moved to 848 Broadway, a spot called “The Matchbox,” next door to Wallack’s Theatre. Growth found the Club moving again to Monument House, 6 Union Square. On 11 August 1878 the Club suffered its first great loss, the death of Shepherd Henry J. Montague in San Francisco. Broadway impresario J. Lester Wallack–who would go on to serve seven terms as Shepherd–gave Montague a space in his family plot in Green-Wood Cemetery; the two rest next to each other today. The Club moved to 19 East 16th Street for two years. In April 1880 The Lambs moved to 34 West 26th Street, the first time under “a roof controlled by the Club.” It would be the Clubhouse for 12 years. It was a period of “prosperity, joy, sorrow and calamity.” In this era The Lambs entertained Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, newspaper editor Charles A. Dana, and English actor Sir Henry Irving. The Actors’ Fund of America (today the Entertainment Community Fund) was formed by Lambs in 1882 at Wallack’s and J. Lester Wallack was the first president. In 1887 it was Lambs with the Actors Fund who established the first Actors’ Burial Ground in Brooklyn. Playwright Clay M. Greene suggested the Club put on its own shows, thus launching decades of Lambs’ Gambols. Notable members of this era were Maurice Barrymore, Nikola Tesla, and Stanford White. In 1895 there were 272 members and The Lambs looked to move again.
In 1899 on our 25th anniversary we were just shy of 500 members. Theaters—successful ones—rapidly sprang up north of 42nd Street. In the three decades spanning 1900-1930 some 85 theaters were constructed, relocating the entire Theater District to its present location. In 30 years Times Square became the largest, most active, and important theatrical center in the history of the city and the United States. In 1913, 32 of the 33 founders of Actors’ Equity Association were Lambs. This explosion of theatrical activity directly impacted The Lambs. By 1904 the health of the club was such that it erected a brand new building at 130 West 44th Street, in the heart of the playhouses. Nine years later it was enlarged. Designed by famed architect Stanford White, who had made the alteration plans for the 36th Street building, it was our clubhouse from 1904-1974. In this era Tin Pan Alley was booming, among Club members such as Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, Victor Herbert, and Jack Norworth, music made them rich and famous. In 1914 it was Lambs who founded the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). By 1916 The Lambs counted 1,375 members. In this era, a new art form emerged: motion pictures. The Lambs were intimately involved. Among the Lambs of this era were John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Charlie Chaplin, Cecil B. DeMille, Harold Lloyd, and the founders of Paramount Pictures and United Artists. During World War I our Club sold so many U.S. Treasury Bonds that the government named a transport ship The Lambs.
The Jazz Age was the golden era for The Lambs. Speakeasy culture, the Follies, hot jazz, and daytime baseball games were perfectly suited for our Club. (Owners, players and managers of the Dodgers, Giants, and Yankees were all Lambs). The runaway Wall Street stock market was bullish, and so was Broadway. The number of Broadway productions soared. The 1927/28 season, its zenith, saw a record of 257 productions open–with 71 playhouses in operation. It was also the closing years of Vaudeville, which employed many Club members. Audiences could see on one bill acrobats, comedy, drama, singers, magic, and maybe a trained dog act. Talking pictures killed off Vaudeville, and the lure of the West Coast drew away many Lambs. But this was the era of our greatest strength: 1,700 members in 1927. The Lambs flourished. Perhaps nothing did more to establish its reputation and fame than its Gambols. Since their inception in the 1880s there have been more than 100. Some gambols were private shows inside the Clubhouse. Other times The Lambs rented Broadway theaters and hotel ballrooms for gala black-tie affairs and sold tickets. The 1929 stock market crash wiped out some members, and it was the end of the Roaring Twenties.
In 1930 stockbroker turned producer Albert O. Brown was elected Shepherd once more, ultimately serving five terms. The Club took out a second mortgage on the clubhouse, which would slowly weaken the financial stability of The Lambs. The Club historian reported of this era, “about this time general conditions in and out of the theatre brought on a drab period in the life of the Club.” In 1932 radio star Frank Crumit began four terms, bringing the club back into the black. The highlight of the era was the end of Prohibition in December 1933. The Club held a gala "Repeal Gambol" in the Hotel Astor ballroom. Lamb James Montgomery Flagg created an iconic painting to commemorate the night; we still have it on display today. In 1936 leading man William Gaxton was elected to the first of many terms. He debuted on Broadway in the Music Box Revue in 1922, and later starred in Rodgers and Hart's A Connecticut Yankee (1927), singing "Thou Swell"; Cole Porter's Fifty Million Frenchmen (1929), singing "You Do Something to Me"; Of Thee I Sing (1931) with Lamb Victor Moore; and Cole Porter's Anything Goes (1934), with Ethel Merman. As the Depression dragged on, The Lambs suffered a drop in membership and many members could not pay their dues or house accounts. In 1935 there were 958 members; it climbed to 1,200 by 1940. Robert L. Hague was our Treasurer who saved The Lambs. A sailor, shipping executive, philanthropist, and bon vivant of the highest caliber, Hague was given a dinner of achievement. Broadway comedian Victor Moore later said, “Let me tell you, Bob Hague is the fellow who saved The Lambs Club. When clubs were folding all over the place and this club’s existence was threatened, Hague stepped in and within two hours, $85,000 was raised.” As another world war loomed on the horizon, The Lambs once again raised money and morale from our Clubhouse.
Our Shepherd during World War II was bandleader Fred Waring, who traveled so much that he deputized members as a small “Shepherd’s Council.” His most famous move wasn’t with the Club at all; he was asked to invest in a new restaurant invention. This was the Waring Blendor (how it was spelled) a boon for frozen drinks. Waring served three terms and his orchestra and singers performed at our Gambols; the club, firmly all-gentlemen only, refused to allow his female singers to take the stage. In 1942, with hundreds of Lambs in uniform, the Club created The Lambs Servicemen’s Morale Corps. The members held 210 consecutive weekly dinners in the Clubhouse, entertaining thousands of officers and enlisted men. In 1943 this organization was incorporated, and is the forerunner of today’s Lambs’ Foundation. Every fourth Wednesday wounded veterans were taken to Broadway matinees, then brought to The Lambs’ clubhouse for dinner and entertainment. Post-war saw The Lambs struggle to adapt to changing times. The rise of radio and television brought work to many of the club members, however there were members (some who had joined in the 19th century) who held onto the old ways and did not want to change with the time. The Lambs added a new category to help the returning veterans, a membership classification for “junior” members (under 30 years old; today the age is set at 40). In 1952, the Club made its last payment on the second mortgage, called “an epochal event in the history of The Lambs.” With no mortgage, the club was completely sound. However, in 20 years it would go bankrupt. There were 1,173 members in 1956. But no women. On 6 January 1952 the Club held the inaugural “Ladies Night” in the Clubhouse, where members could bring in their significant others (or mothers). It was reported that 1,000 women descended on The Lambs, which had built a special powder room for the women. The event became an annual affair.
During the 1950s the Club was having somewhat of an identity crisis, while still managing to attract members of the entertainment community as new members. In 1957 with membership at 1,165, in 1968 it dipped to 1,014. The Lambs would never reach that number again. A graying membership and changing tastes took a toll. During the Red Scare era, The Lambs took a stand. A resolution was adopted in September 1955, “Lambs’ Loyalty–Principles of Patriotism–Where We Stand.” #1 read The Lambs, “its unalterable opposition to communism and communist practices.” The Lambs became conservative under the watch of Shepherd William Gaxton; half of the club was for, and the other half against, any such pronouncements. The Gambol of 1963 was held at the Waldorf-Astoria; this was the last large-scale Gambol with a major celebrity: John Wayne. In this era women were allowed the privilege of dining in the grill and visiting the lounge, but they were not permitted to go upstairs or become members. The Lambs built a second restroom and took down one of the nude paintings from the bar. Some members protested. Possibly the best 1960s Lambs story is the time a mounted NYPD officer was in the club enjoying a free lunch, with his horse tied up outside. A Lamb spotted the horse, climbed on, and rode it into the clubhouse. He was suspended by Council, but appealed. “Where can you find in the Blue Book any rule against riding a horse in the club?” he protested. A member of Council replied, “The horse you rode in was a mare. No females are allowed in the club. You are suspended.” As the 1960s drew to a close, the Theatre District was in seedy condition. Crime and decay gripped the neighborhood around the Lambs’ clubhouse. Richard L. Charles, who later became Shepherd, was robbed twice in one night after leaving the Club. He told the second mugger, “You’re too late,” earning a punch in the face.
As the 1970s opened, The Lambs’ membership was in decline; down to 850 in 1973. The neighborhood was depressing and crime around the clubhouse and Times Square growing. The Club needed to make expensive upgrades to its 1904 Clubhouse, from kitchen equipment, air conditioning, and maintenance. The top floors, small bedrooms for members, resembled a flop house. It was filled with elderly actors with no other place to go. In the spring election of 1969, comedian Jack Waldron, a former vaudevillian elected in 1949, was named Shepherd and Tom Dillon as Boy. Our historian said it was “welcome and joyous” and Dillon said, “there were a lot of speeches. We had a great club and were flying on cloud nine.” The men learned that the Club was deeply in debt. They had little time to help; Waldron died just six months later of heart disease and Dillon became the Shepherd. He had been elected in 1949 and was a loyal Lamb. The Club was teetering on bankruptcy and unable to pay its debts. Efforts were made to save the clubhouse but failed. In September 1973 The Lambs declared bankruptcy. Valuable artwork was transferred to The Lambs’ Foundation to protect it from creditors. It was later stashed in a Chelsea storage facility for many years, preserving the collection. The restaurant and kitchen shuttered, staff were discharged, and the sleeping rooms vacated. In crisis, the Club voted to admit women as full members in February 1974. But in the summer the bank foreclosed on the clubhouse and ordered an auction. When The Lambs held the Centennial Anniversary Gambol in December, it was a gloomy affair, even if Art Carney and Angela Lansbury attended. In January 1975 the building was auctioned off, along with most of its contents.
On that dark day in 1975, The Lambs lost its Stanford White-designed clubhouse, and Club treasures were auctioned off. The Club soon moved to be temporary guests at the Lotos Club for about 12 months, 1975-1976. The Lotos Club was all-male and was fighting New York City rules to admit women. For various reasons it wasn’t a perfect fit for the two clubs. Lambs began weekly gatherings at Sardi’s restaurant, where a member of the Women’s National Republican Club introduced us to their space. In 1976, the Club relocated once again, joining other clubs, such as Brown University, at 3 West 51st Street. The Lambs have made it their home ever since. Originally, The Lambs met in basement quarters. Among the lost records are the Admission Committee votes from the late 1970s that admitted the first women to the Fold. As it happened, the first to join were the daughters of Lambs, members from the long-ago past that never got to enjoy membership with their children, unlike the scores of fathers and sons who were Lambs. The first barrier breaker came from Broadway royalty with stage star parents: Cornelia Otis Skinner. The stately actress and author had first gone onstage in 1921, encouraged by her parents Otis Skinner (elected to The Lambs in 1885 and a longtime council member) and Maud Durbin (who toured with Edwin Booth). Skinner was a playwright and monologist who wrote scores of books about theater life; her monologues sold out theaters. She was elected in 1977. Only about 75 members joined in the 1980s. But the Club pressed on and added new members. The Lambs revived Low Jinks, a weekly cabaret of songs and jokes, in the early 1980s. The Lambs added more women as full members: Martha McMahon Porretta, Joyce Audley, Dorothy Chernuck, Gail Allen, and Ruth McDaniel. Tom eventually became the longest-serving Shepherd and after 17 years (1969-1986) in office retired to become the President of the Actors Fund. He was later named Shepherd Emeritus, and after his death was elected an Immortal Lamb.
Richard L. Charles was elected Shepherd in 1986, with A.J. Pocock as Boy. Charles served the Club for 11 years. Charles vowed to keep The Lambs going and doubled down on recruiting, making weekly Low Jinks popular again, and getting more space in the clubhouse in 1998. While considering redecoration of the basement quarters, a tenant on the fifth floor moved out. The Club was able to negotiate a space on the fifth floor, where we remain today. When Charles was elected, of course his beloved wife, Joyce Randolph, was at The Lambs. The couple had met in the Forty-fourth Street clubhouse in the 1950s. She had been attending functions for decades, and even appeared in the 1963 Gambol to honor John Wayne. After Charles died in 1997, Joyce was made an Honorary Lifetime member. Others pitched in. Lamb Lewis Hardee (elected in 1980) was a man on a mission, recruiting new members for The Fold. Attorney Gail Allen was a 35 year-old corporate lawyer and world traveler in 1984 when she met Hardee at a show. Allen would become the first female officer of The Lambs, serving as Treasurer 1986-1998. “I didn’t consider it breaking a glass ceiling, after seeing the trouble of an all-male board, there wasn’t any of that. It never occurred to me.” Allen says her fondest memories are of sitting at the bar with Joyce Randolph and Hardee. Charles was succeeded by A.J. Pocock, who had served on Council in the old clubhouse; Bruce Brown was his Boy. Pocock would serve just one term. Actor Marc Baron, elected in 1981, brought The Lambs into the digital age by launching the Club website in 1998. He would go on to co-edit The Script and serve on every position on Council, and as Entertainment Director.
Shepherd A.J. Pocock was succeeded by the popular Bruce Brown from 2002-2008, an actor and Emmy-winning voice artist. His Boy was Lewis Hardee, and his second Boy was Marc Baron. In early 2001 The Lambs recovered hundreds of lost historical items that had been kept by a collector outside of New York City. Scores of busts, playbills, posters and broadsides, and many, many, water-damaged pieces. Shepherd Brown and Lamb Peter Kingsley, then Corresponding Secretary, acquired the loot, which the Club has since restored. In this era following the events of 9/11, The Lambs slowly built back the membership, reaching 205 members, including many female members. The Lambs made visits to the Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey, to sing and entertain the residents. Actor-singer Randy Phillips, who had served as the Recording Secretary and Entertainment Director, was elected Shepherd in 2008, and Marc Baron remained Boy.
The Lambs hit a critical series of milestones in this era of Club history. Shepherd Randy Phillips was forced by illness to step down in 2013, and the Boy, Marc Baron, who had been managing most Club business for many years, was elected Shepherd. Scott Glascock, who had served many years on Council, was elected Boy. The Club finances and business affairs were put in order, the Blue Book was updated to reflect New York State law, and a new era to push The Lambs forward began. Glascock died while serving and his estate left a significant bequest to both The Lambs and Lambs Foundation. He would later be elected an Immortal Lamb. Actor Peter Kingsley became the Boy. The Club held more events in the Clubhouse, including author talks and book launches. Honorary Lambs were brought into the Club for the revived Shepherd Luncheons; among those were Matthew Broderick, Jim Dale, Ken Howard, and Stephen Schwartz. The Lambs Foundation, which owns the Club’s art collection, began a multi-year conservation and restoration program of oil paintings and artwork. The Club revived The Lambs’ Frolic after many years, a monthly cocktail party and tour of the Clubhouse, adding many new members to The Fold. In 2022, Marc Baron stepped down after 10 years as Shepherd and was elected our third Shepherd Emeritus. Author Kevin C. Fitzpatrick was elected the 36th Shepherd, and Don Spiro, the Boy, less than two years before The Lambs is set to celebrate its sesquicentennial.
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