No doubt the cast change resulted from Webb's acceptance of the role of Jimmy Eustace in the musical comedy "Jack and Jill," which opened at the Globe Theater a month later on March 22, 1923. In "Jack and Jill" Webb introduced "Dancing in the Dark" and, a comedy number that had been written for Jack Buchanan in 1918, "And Her Mother Came Too!" written by Ivor Novello.
In his book My Life With Noël Coward, Graham Payn said of Webb: "His clipped. waspish personality amused Noël, though in later years it became increasingly irritating to him. Clifton's manner was an attempt at an American "Noël Coward," which may explain Noël's ambivalent feelings. He was his mirror image, and there were days when he wasn't in the mood to face it!"
After meeting Novello. Coward wrote: He wrote, "I just felt suddenly conscious of the long way I had to go before I could break into the magic atmosphere in which he moved and breathed with such nonchalance."
During the Blitz in 1941, Coward claimed to have begun the song while seated on a bench in a damaged railway station and that he finished it a few days later. It became a British standard during World War II.
Webb and Coward were in regular contact from their first meeting. There was a profitability factor in this relationship as well. As the "American Noël Coward," Coward recognized that American audiences were eager to buy tickets to a show Webb was appearing in since he had been a fixture on Broadway for decades, and, had toured the country with most of his hits. In the early to mid 1930's, Coward was still building his brand.
Once Coward opened in a show, he became bored with it easily. Rarely did he extend his appearance beyond his contractual obligation, even if it was a play that he had written for himself. To try and combat this, in 1936, he wrote and starred in a trilogy of ten one act plays called "Tonight At 8:30." Appearing with him was the actress, and his old friend, Joyce Carey.
Webb, having just closed "And Stars Remain" after a month of performances, and without prospects for new employment, decided to throw a Christmas Eve dinner for his theatrical friends. The guest list was unlike anything you have ever seen: Noël Coward, Katharine Cornell and her husband Guthrie McClintic, Joyce Carey, Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, Peggy Ashcroft, Robert Harris, Ruth Selwyn, Gloria Swanson and John Gielgud.
These were lean years for Webb. After "And Stars Remain" in 1936, he had to wait for the postponed Cole Porter musical "You Never Know" which opened in 1938 and only played for 78 performances. In 1939, Guthrie McClintic's ex-wife Estelle Winwood, cast Webb as John Worthing in her version of "The Importance of Being Earnest." But this production only ran for 61 performances. Webb, who had worked continuously on Broadway for 25 years before his ill fated MGM contract, only worked seven months in New York, between November, 1936 and November 1941.
In 1939, he managed to find a touring company of "The Man Who Came To Dinner" where he played Sheridan Whiteside. Finally, in December of 1941, Coward came through for Webb. "Blithe Spirit" was a comedy that needed a light touch. Coward, who hadn't even played the lead in London, decided not to do the show in New York, and called his old friend, Webb.
Webb, of course, jumped at the opportunity. "Blithe Spirit" ran for 1,997 performances in London. In New York, it ran from 1941 to 1943 for 689 performances. Then Webb took it on the road. In 1946, Coward came through again with "Present Laughter" and the role of Garry Essendine. In this case Coward played the original role in London, but bowed out for the New York production. Subsequent revivals starring George C. Scott and Frank Langella each ran for 175 performances.
The original production ran for 158 performances. It would be Webb's last appearance on a Broadway stage. It was 1946, after all, and Otto Preminger needed a Waldo Lydecker for his film "Laura." A new window in Webb's life was opening wide, and he would sail through as quickly as he could.
Through it all, Coward and Webb maintained a regular correspondence. In 1957, Coward sent a letter to "Darling pretty Mr W," on Blue Harbour stationery:
Witty, chatty, gossipy. Everything you would expect in a Noël Coward letter. Only Coward could get away with calling Webb a "silly, dithering old Twot."
As Webb and Coward grew older, so did Mabelle. Finally, Mabelle died at the age of 91. Webb was consumed with grief at the loss of his mother, who he had lived with for his entire life, and he carried his inconsolable grief everywhere he went for the rest of his life. One of Coward's famous quotes rose from Webb's grief.
According to Graham Payn, when Coward called Webb from Jamaica after Mabelle's death, Webb spent so much time on the phone saying nothing and letting out racking sobs, that the only way Coward could calm him down by threatening to reverse the charges. When he hung up the phone, Payn says the Coward turned to him and said, "You realize this makes Clifton the worlds oldest, living orphan."
In his book, Behind The Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Saved Hollywood, William Mann says the line was actually said at the home of Billy Haines and Jimmy Shields. After a dinner party, about a year after Mabelle's death, someone made a suggestion that everyone go downtown to see a XX Show. Deep in grief, Webb wanted nothing to do with merriment and kept saying, "It's too soon, It's too soon." An exasperated Coward is said to have turned to to Webb and said, "You know, Clifton, it's not a terrible thing to be orphaned at seventy four."
I would hazard a suggestion that both stories are true. I'm sure that Coward would, once he found a good line, use it in any situation.
As he dealt with his grief, Webb grew more and more cantankerous. Some of it, which was chronicled in Coward's diaries and letters, will be included in the next post.
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