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The Man Who Came to Dinner

BBC Radio 4
on BBC Radio 4 FM

A portrait of Alexander Woollcott

Send a cable to Mahatma Gandhi, Bombay, India: DEAR BOO-BOO: SCHEDULE CHANGED. CAN YOU MEET ME CALCUTTA JULY 12TH? DINNER 8.30? WHITESIDE. Arturo Toscanini.-Where is he?

The character of Sheridan Whiteside in the hit Broadway comedy The Man Who Came to Dinner was drawn from life. The writer and critic Alexander Woollcott was the model. Like Whiteside, he too was a broadcasting celebrity in the America of the 30s and 40s. In private life many people found him rude and overbearing; a favoured few knew him as a witty and generous host and friend. In this programme some of those who liked him remembering him - the American playwright Marc Connelly, now in his 90th year, the actress Helen Hayes, and Dame Rebecca West. There are also extracts from rare recordings of his broadcasts.

Narrator Harry Towb
with Alison Coleridge and Ramsay Williams

(Harry Towb is a National Theatre player)

Contributors

Writer:
Barry Caraman
Narrator:
Harry Towb
[Actress]:
Alison Coleridge
[Actor]:
Ramsay Williams
Producer:
Alan Haydock
Source: Radio Times

BBC Radio 4 FM

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