Frank Fay (born Francis Anthony Donner; November 17, 1891 â€"
September 25, 1961) was an American vaudeville comedian (the first
stand-up) and film and stage actor. For a time he was a well known and
influential star, but he later fell into obscurity, in part because of
his abrasive personality and fascist political views. He is considered
an important pioneer in stand-up comedy. He played the role of "Elwood
P. Dowd" in the Broadway play Harvey by the American playwright Mary
Coyle Chase. He is best known as actress Barbara Stanwyck's first
husband. Their troubled marriage is thought by some to be the basis of
the 1937 film A Star Is Born, in which the previously unknown wife
shoots to stardom while her husband's career goes into sharp decline.
Fay was notorious for his bigotry and alcoholism, and according to the
American Vaudeville Museum, "even when sober, he was dismissive and
unpleasant, and he was disliked by most of his
contemporaries".Although very talented, Fay offended most of the
people he worked with because of his enormous ego. Former vaudevillian
and radio star Fred Allen remarked, "The last time I saw him he was
walking down Lover's Lane, holding his own hand." Actor Robert Wagner
wrote that Fay was "...one of the most dreadful men in the history of
show business. Fay was a drunk, an anti-Semite, and a wife-beater, and
Barbara [Stanwyck] had had to endure all of that", while according to
actor and comedian Milton Berle "Fay's friends could be counted on the
missing arm of a one-armed man." Berle, who was Jewish, claimed to
have once hit Fay in the face with a stage brace after Fay, on seeing
Berle watching his act from offstage, called out, "Get that little Jew
bastard out of the wings"..Born as Francis Anthony Donner in San
Francisco, California, to Irish Catholic parents, he took the
professional name of Frank Fay after concluding that his birth name
was not suitable for the stage.He enjoyed considerable success as a
variety artist starting around 1918, telling jokes and stories in a
carefully planned "off the cuff" manner that was very original for the
time. Jack Benny stated that he modeled his early stage character on
Fay. During the 1920s, Fay was vaudeville's highest-paid headliner,
earning $17,500 a week.
September 25, 1961) was an American vaudeville comedian (the first
stand-up) and film and stage actor. For a time he was a well known and
influential star, but he later fell into obscurity, in part because of
his abrasive personality and fascist political views. He is considered
an important pioneer in stand-up comedy. He played the role of "Elwood
P. Dowd" in the Broadway play Harvey by the American playwright Mary
Coyle Chase. He is best known as actress Barbara Stanwyck's first
husband. Their troubled marriage is thought by some to be the basis of
the 1937 film A Star Is Born, in which the previously unknown wife
shoots to stardom while her husband's career goes into sharp decline.
Fay was notorious for his bigotry and alcoholism, and according to the
American Vaudeville Museum, "even when sober, he was dismissive and
unpleasant, and he was disliked by most of his
contemporaries".Although very talented, Fay offended most of the
people he worked with because of his enormous ego. Former vaudevillian
and radio star Fred Allen remarked, "The last time I saw him he was
walking down Lover's Lane, holding his own hand." Actor Robert Wagner
wrote that Fay was "...one of the most dreadful men in the history of
show business. Fay was a drunk, an anti-Semite, and a wife-beater, and
Barbara [Stanwyck] had had to endure all of that", while according to
actor and comedian Milton Berle "Fay's friends could be counted on the
missing arm of a one-armed man." Berle, who was Jewish, claimed to
have once hit Fay in the face with a stage brace after Fay, on seeing
Berle watching his act from offstage, called out, "Get that little Jew
bastard out of the wings"..Born as Francis Anthony Donner in San
Francisco, California, to Irish Catholic parents, he took the
professional name of Frank Fay after concluding that his birth name
was not suitable for the stage.He enjoyed considerable success as a
variety artist starting around 1918, telling jokes and stories in a
carefully planned "off the cuff" manner that was very original for the
time. Jack Benny stated that he modeled his early stage character on
Fay. During the 1920s, Fay was vaudeville's highest-paid headliner,
earning $17,500 a week.
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