Funny Photos – 2

Buy Cino T-Shirt HERE, Cino Book HERE.

Photo JAMES D. GOSSAGE.

Photo JAMES D. GOSSAGE.

Photo JAMES D. GOSSAGE.

Photo JAMES D. GOSSAGE.

BILL MITCHELL in five standard musical-comedy roles in stock, late 1950s. He reprised the first role at the left in The Boyfriend at the Cino in his own memorable pirated production. Photos all courtesy Mister Guy S. Little, Jr., of The Little Theatre On the Square, Sullivan IL.

The FUNNIEST PUBLICITY STORIES. Fourth row down HERE , you may read how I stayed away from a famous group playwright photo in a sulk. I am absent from the one above left for quite another reason. One dreadful winter 1966 day at the Cino, I was hauling garbage cans out over mounds of filthy frozen snow when a reporter and a photographer appeared, looking for “the so-famous American playwright, Row-bare Pah-treek.” I just couldn’t. Chipper, clean LANFORD WILSON came whistling down Cornelia Street. I whispered, “You’re me; I’ll explain later.” [NOTE: LANFORD e-mailed me on 2/17/2009: "...everyone was pointing cameras at us all the time and it didn't mean much to any of us and anyway we seldom saw the results and not half the photos were every published anywhere. I remember once when I posed as you with a group of other writers and everyone called me Bob the whole afternoon."] So in the super-chic French magazine Realites it is Lance’s bearded image at left in Union Square, with JEAN-CLAUDE VAN ITALLIE, Rosalyn Drexler, H.M. KOUTOUKAS, IRENE FORNES, Leonard Melfi, TOM EYEN, and (squatting) PAUL FOSTER. I felt terrible about missing yet another promotion until I saw the article and realized that the reporter had been less efficient than the photographer–no one’s name was mentioned! I felt much worse about not being mentioned in another caption as the creator of the Cino’s comic-book shows–until some years later DONALD L. BROOKS reminded me that he, not I, was (blush)! Above right, yet another playwrights’ publicity photo I’m not in. This was organized for Glamour Magazine by the seated woman, darling RUTH YORK. I ran into DAVID STARKWEATHER on the sidewalk outside La Mama. He told me he was headed for this shoot and said that I should come up. Since I was Ruth’s secretary at the time, I assumed she would have told me if she wanted me there. So I’m sulking on the sidewalk outside on Second Avenue. Standing l. to r. are WALTER BROWN, SAM SHEPARD, LANFORD WILSON, Ross Alexander, and JEAN-CLAUDE VAN ITALLIE. Seated are an unidentified playwright and Ruth. I was told Ruth feared that I was “too gay” for Glamour readers. (This is not the shot printed in Glamour. I’d LOVE to have the printed photo.).