Sitting Pretty: The Life and Times of Clifton Webb

Preface

xi Preface When I started my research on Clifton Webb, I soon discovered that he had begun an autobiography. But where was it? It was mentioned in several sources, but no one quoted from it. Then one day I purchased a few Webb items from a collector. I asked him if he had more. He said he had Webb’s entire estate collection. I asked if he happened to have Webb’s autobiography. He did. I told him I was researching Webb for a biography and would love to be able to use material from his autobiography . He replied that I could use as much as I wanted. We agreed that I would come to his house and see the collection. Then nothing. I tried to get in touch, but there was no answer. I eventually found that he had died suddenly of a heart attack. Months passed before I was able to make contact with his widow. She was very kind and said she would honor her husband’s promise to me. I drove to her home in Ohio and went through the collection. I discovered six chapters of an autobiography Webb wrote over the years, plus many notes and photographs. Using the six chapters that Webb wrote, I have written seven additional chapters using his notes and my research. This book provides the first look at this multi-talented man’s life and times. No biography has ever been written on Clifton Webb. That void is now filled. Webb was an important participant in what has been called, “The Great Broadway Period.” His stage career began as a seven-year-old in 1896. His last stage appearance was in 1946. He was a contemporary and friend of Jeanne Eagels, the Dolly Sisters, Marilyn Miller, Libby Holman, Rudolph Valentino, Noel Coward, Cole Porter, Bea Lillie, Moss Hart, Irving Berlin, Gertrude Lawrence, Grace Moore, Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne , and many others. Clifton Webb, indeed, knew and mingled with “everybody who was anybody.” When he moved to Hollywood in 1944, Clifton and his mother, Mabelle , became an integral part of what has come to be known as the “glamorous” Hollywood era. Webb bought and remodeled his house on P r e fa C e xii Rexford Drive in Beverly Hills with the distinct purpose of making it ideal for parties. Everyone came to Clifton and Mabelle’s. Clifton Webb was part of the great age of theatre as well as the golden age of Hollywood. This is an eyewitness account of possibly the most and best that the legitimate stage and Hollywood has ever seen or ever will see again. The six autobiographical chapters he wrote plus his huge collection of meticulous notes relate stories of the great and near great that have never been told. This biography sheds new light on the entertainment world of yesteryear through Webb’s insightful and delightful writing and recollections. d av i d l . s m i t H ...