The man who lit Lady Liberty
Subtitle: the extraordinary rise and fall of actor M. B. Curtis
By: Richard Schwartz
Publisher: RSB Books
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 307
ISBN-13: 9780967820453; 9780967820460
Subjects: Real estate developers; Statue of Liberty (New York, N.Y.); Immigrants; Actors; Jewish philanthropists; Producers and directors; Biography; History
Description: "As the Statue of Liberty stood unlit and unloved by American politicians in 1886, one of her saviors was creating a theatrical sensation at New York's Fourteenth Street Theatre. Actor M.B. Curtis, who had achieved overnight success in Sam'l of Posen, a groundbreaking play that transcended the common stereotypes of Jewish characters current at the time, was basking in public accolades at every curtain call when he came to Lady Liberty's aid. Curtis's rise to the top of his profession and his resulting fall from grace is a dramatic arc that rivals anything created for the stage. Actor, producer, real estate developer, promoter, hotelier, benefactor, and murder suspect, M. B. Curtis's life encompassed the highs of celebrity and fame as well as the lows of failure, illness, and a faltering career. The Man Who Lit Lady Liberty rescues M. B. Curtis's story from the dusty archives of forgotten history and reexamines an actor whose creativity and cultural influence still resonate today" --
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Prologue; title: An Actor Prepares; title: The Stage Is Set and the Leading Lady Enters; title: The Role of a Lifetime; title: The Trojan Horse of Change; title: Staying Center Stage; title: The Sequel to Success; title: A Hungarian Hebrew in King Arthur's Court; title: Trials and Tribulations; title: A Troubled Comeback; title: Down Under and Back Again; title: A Long, Slow Fade.