Mastery of Design: "The Queen of Transylvania" Tiara, 1958

Costume Tiara
Cecil Beaton, 1958
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This costume tiara was made for the character of the  “Queen of Transylvania” (as played by Margaret Halstan) in the London production of the musical “My Fair Lady,” at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.  The show opened on April 30, 1958.

Based on George Bernard Shaw's play “Pygmalion,” the music for the famous musical was composed by Frederick Lowe, and the book and lyrics were by Alan Jay Lerner. The production was directed by Moss Hart (husband of my dear Kitty Carlisle Hart), the sets were designed by Oliver Smith, and the costumes were designed by the celebrated photographer Cecil Beaton.

The production starred Julie Andrews as Eliza Dolittle and Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins.

This bears a label for Margaret Halstan, who played the Queen throughout most of the London run for My Fair Lady. This is one of several tiaras designed for Halstan for the production.  Photographs from the show indicate different sixed crowns of different weights, allowing the actress flexibility in what she wore each night.  A silversmith made the tiaras, set with fine pastes, based on Beaton’s detailed designs.  

Hooray for Hollywood: Kitty Carlisle in “Murder at the Vanities,” 1934

Paramount Pictures

The 1934 “Pre-Code” film Murder at the Vanities was based on the hit Broadway musical by Victor Young and featured Kitty Carlisle, Jack Oakie and Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.  Enjoy this musical number starring Miss Carlisle as she sings, Where Do They Come From (and Where Do They Go).

Mastery of Design: "The Queen of Transylvania" Tiara, 1958

Costume Tiara
Cecil Beaton, 1958
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This costume tiara was made for the character of the  “Queen of Transylvania” (as played by Margaret Halstan) in the London production of the musical “My Fair Lady,” at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.  The show opened on April 30, 1958.

Based on George Bernard Shaw's play “Pygmalion,” the music for the famous musical was composed by Frederick Lowe, and the book and lyrics were by Alan Jay Lerner. The production was directed by Moss Hart (husband of my dear Kitty Carlisle Hart), the sets were designed by Oliver Smith, and the costumes were designed by the celebrated photographer Cecil Beaton.

The production starred Julie Andrews as Eliza Dolittle and Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins.

This bears a label for Margaret Halstan, who played the Queen throughout most of the London run for My Fair Lady. This is one of several tiaras designed for Halstan for the production.  Photographs from the show indicate different sixed crowns of different weights, allowing the actress flexibility in what she wore each night.  A silversmith made the tiaras, set with fine pastes, based on Beaton’s detailed designs. 

Object of the Day, “Act I” by Moss Hart, 1959

Moss Hart

Playwright Moss Hart was responsible for bringing us some of the most beloved and enduring dramas and comedies of the American theater. He is best known for such successes as You Can't Take It With You (1936) and The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939)--both written with George S. Kaufman--as well as George Washington Slept Here (1940), Jubilee (1935) with songs by Cole Porter, and I'd Rather Be Right (1937) with songs by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart (no relation). He also penned the musical Lady In The Dark (1941), with songs by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin.

During this period, he also became known as a talented and sensitive director, staging such legendary shows as Junior Miss (1941), Dear Ruth (1944) and Anniversary Waltz (1954), the musical My Fair Lady (1956), and Camelot (1960). Several of his plays were adapted into film versions and he was also the author of such screenplays as Gentleman's Agreement (1947) —earning an Oscar nomination—Hans Christian Andersen (1952) and A Star Is Born (1954).

Kitty Carlisle and Moss Hart

Despite a host of interesting friends which included Noel Coward and Harpo Marx, Hart’s life was plagued by bipolar disorder and long periods of deep depression. In 1946, he married the lovely Kitty Carlisle with whom he had two children. Kitty encouraged her husband through good times and bad and urged him to write a memoir of his interesting life. In 1959, he finished Act I, dedicating it to his wife. The book told of his early life and the beginnings of his career. It was made into a film in 1963 with George Hamilton playing Moss Hart.

Hart died prematurely of cardiac failure at the age of 57. Kitty Carlisle never remarried. In this interview with Miss Carlisle, she speaks of her life with Hart and her deep love for this talented, unusual man.

Sunday Morning Special: Bette Davis and Kitty Carlisle on “To Tell the Truth”

For me, this clip from the long-running panel show To Tell the Truth is sheer perfection.  You’ve got the remarkable Kitty Carlisle, who will always be an inspiration to me, and Bette Davis, who is simply the best.  It’s fairly self-explanatory.  Enjoy!

Object of the Day: A Playbill from 1954’s “Anniversary Waltz”

At the Broadhurst Theater in midtown Manhattan in 1954, a Broadway version of Jerome Chodorov’s and Joseph Field’s Anniversary Waltz opened. The play takes place on the fifteenth wedding anniversary of a happy couple as they entertain a party of their family and friends. Slightly intoxicated, the husband makes one slight error while making his toast. He confesses that he and his wife had been more than a little romantic before they were legally married. What ensues is a hilarious look at family dynamics and married life.


The 1954 version of the play starred MacDonald Carey as the husband and the great Kitty Carlisle as the wife. Miss Carlisle was well-known to audiences through her work in both films and television as well as he long stage career. Carey was the “King of B-Pictures” who had a chance at stardom in Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt.

As a longtime fan of Miss Carlisle, I added this to my collection of Kitty-related memorabilia several years ago.

Sunday Morning Special: Kitty Carlisle in “Murder at the Vanities,” 1934

Paramount Pictures

The 1934 “Pre-Code” film Murder at the Vanities was based on the hit Broadway musical by Victor Young and featured Kitty Carlisle, Jack Oakie and Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.  Enjoy this musical number starring Miss Carlisle as she sings, Where Do They Come From (and Where Do They Go).

Object of the Day: A German Cigarette Card Featuring Kitty Carlisle, 1931

Tobacco companies often included a piece of cardboard in the packs to keep the pack stiff so that the cigarettes wouldn’t be crushed. Very often, these cards featured celebrities from films and the sports world and were meant to be collected. In the 1930’s, the German tobacco company, Jasmatzi, produced a series of hand-tinted cards of attractive American film stars.


I confess, I don’t collect cigarette cards, but I do have one—this charming image of the great Kitty Carlisle of whom I’m a fan. Miss Carlisle, a celebrated actress and singer, is depicted here in a typically glamorous pose. On the reverse, there’s a bunch of German writing that I can’t read. I really bought it for the picture of Kitty.

Recently, tobacco companies in the U.S. toyed with the idea of introducing collectible cigarette cards again. However, I don’t think it worked out that well. Let’s face it, nicotine isn’t bubble gum. Nevertheless, over seventy years ago, some German smoker, took the time to preserve this handsome card. For that, I’m grateful.

Person of the Week: Kitty Carlisle Hart

A sketch of Kitty by Larry Sobel from my collection

Perhaps you know her from her starring role as the star-crossed ingénue in the Marx Brothers’ A Night at the Opera. Maybe you remember her as a panelist on “To Tell The Truth” from 1957-1978 (and again in revivals until 2000). You must have heard her name at some point in your life. She’s Kitty Carlisle. She was fabulous.


Born Catherine Conn in New Orleans in 1910, she preferred to be called, “Kitty.” Kitty Conn and her mother were extremely close. Her mother’s singular ambition was to see her daughter achieve her dream of success as an opera singer. Together, they traveled the world to make that happen. Very quickly, Kitty Conn (then known as Carlisle), became a celebrated beauty—mixing with the elite and making her mark on the world. She was engaged to George Gershwin and had romances with some of the most prominent men of the day. Her heart, however, belonged to one man—legendary playwright, Moss Hart. Moss and Kitty married in 1946 and remained married until his sudden death in 1961. They had two children.

After the death of her beloved husband, Kitty continued her work—both professional and charitable. She became a champion for the arts and especially for young artists. For twenty years, she served as the chair of the New York State Council for the Arts. Age meant nothing to Kitty Carlisle Hart. She exercised daily and continued to perform her cabaret act until her death in 2006 at the age of 96.

Kitty as "Rosa" from A Night at the Opera

Among her many achievements, she starred in the American premiere of Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia and sang the title role in Georges Bizet's Carmen. She made an indelible impression with her 1935 role in A Night at the Opera with her life-long friends, the Marx Brothers. Among her many film roles were Murder at the Vanities (1934), 1935) She Loves Me Not (1934), Here Is My Heart (1934), and Hollywood Canteen (1944). Later, she appeared in Woody Allen's Radio Days (1987) and in Six Degrees of Separation (1993).

One of her crowning achievements was her debut with the Metropolitan Opera, as Prince Orlofsky in Strauss's Die Fledermaus. She would play the part ten more times in her lifetime.

Most importantly, however, Kitty Carlisle Hart was the epitome of grace and class. Eternally beautiful in every conceivable way, I will always remember her kindness and unceasing support of young artists.

Three cheers for the amazing Kitty Carlisle Hart!

I recieved this photo from her after sending her the first manuscript for The Garnet Red.