Richard Kollmar

Richard Tompkins Kollmar (December 31, 1910[1] – January 7, 1971) was an American stage, radio, film and television actor, television personality and Broadway producer. Kollmar was the husband of journalist Dorothy Kilgallen.

Richard Kollmar
Born
Richard Tompkins Kollmar

(1910-12-31)December 31, 1910
Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedJanuary 7, 1971(1971-01-07) (aged 60)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Resting placeGate of Heaven Cemetery
NationalityAmerican
Alma materTusculum College
Yale School of Drama
OccupationActor, television personality, stage producer and director
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1940; died 1965)​

​
(m. 1967)​
Children3

Early life

Kollmar was born in Brooklyn, New York to John and Christine L. (née Smith) Kollmar. His great-great grandfather was Daniel D. Tompkins, the fourth governor of New York and the sixth vice president of the United States. The Kollmars moved to Ridgewood, New Jersey, where John Kollmar worked as an architect.[1] Kollmar later attended Tusculum College where he became interested in acting.[2] While in college, he performed in the school's glee club and was the editor of the school newspaper. Upon graduation, he enrolled at the Yale School of Drama but dropped out after winning a role on a radio drama.[1]

Career

After moving to New York City and getting steady work on radio commercials, Kollmar appeared in the Broadway plays Knickerbocker Holiday (1938) and Too Many Girls (1939). In the early 1940s, Kollmar portrayed the role of Dennis Pierce on the radio series Pretty Kitty Kelly on CBS Radio.[3] From 1945 to 1950, Kollmar portrayed Boston Blackie on the radio program of the same name on the Mutual Broadcasting System.[4] He also had lead roles in other radio shows including the soap opera Bright Horizon, Gang Busters, and Grand Central Station.[5][6]

In April 1945, Kollmar and newspaper columnist-wife Dorothy Kilgallen (whom he had married in April 1940) began hosting a 45-minute talk radio show, Breakfast with Dorothy and Dick. The program aired Monday through Friday on WOR and was broadcast from the couple's 16-room Park Avenue apartment. Over breakfast, served by their butler Julius, Kollmar and Kilgallen talked about New York City entertainment, sports, celebrity gossip and the city's nightclub scene.[7] Their two children, Richard, Jr. ("Dickie") and Jill, often made appearances.[8] Breakfast with Dorothy and Dick was broadcast locally throughout New York City and its suburbs, drawing an audience of 20 million listeners.[8] In January 1953, the Kollmar family moved from their Park Avenue apartment to a five-story townhouse on Manhattan’s East 68th Street,[9] and their radio series began originating from there. Breakfast with Dorothy and Dick ceased production on March 21, 1963.[8]

In 1948, Kollmar made his first and only film appearance in the 1948 low-budget crime drama Close-Up, directed by Jack Donohue.[10] He played the supporting role of a Nazi war criminal who lived in hiding in the United States. In June 1949, Kollmar began hosting the live television variety series Broadway Spotlight. The series, which aired on NBC, was canceled in September 1949.[11] Throughout the early to mid-1950s, Kollmar continued his career as an actor with guest roles on television.

In 1952, he became the master of ceremonies for the DuMont Television Network game show Guess What?. That show aired from July 8, 1952, to August 26, 1952,[12] then was cancelled. Kinescopes do not survive.

From 1952 to 1965, Kollmar made five appearances on the game show What's My Line?, on which his wife was a regular panelist. Kollmar appeared once as an occupational guest, twice as part of a group of mystery guests and twice as a panelist.[13] His appearance as a panelist on July 6, 1952 was lost;[14] the mystery guest on the lost episode was actor Dane Clark.[15]

In addition to his work in radio and television, Kollmar produced and directed several Broadway stage plays. In May 1944, he produced and directed the fantasy musical Dream With Music. The cast included ballerina Vera Zorina[16][17] and was written by Kollmar's wife Dorothy, Sidney Sheldon and Ben Roberts.[18] The musical was praised for its ballet sequences, but critics’ reviews were otherwise negative. It closed after 28 performances.[19] Kollmar fared better with other Broadway productions including By Jupiter,[20] Are You With It? and Plain and Fancy, all of which were hits.

In 1958, Kollmar produced The Body Beautiful, a musical about prize fighters starring Steve Forrest, singers Lonnie Sattin and Barbara McNair (in their Broadway debuts), Mindy Carson and Jack Warden.[21][22] He hired two newcomers, lyricist Sheldon Harnick and composer Jerry Bock, both of whom would go on to write the lyrics and music for the hit shows Fiddler on the Roof and Fiorello!.[23] Upon its debut on January 23, 1958,[24] critics' reviews of The Body Beautiful were generally mixed. However, more influential critics panned the show and the music (though two songs, "All of These and More" and "Summer Is", became standards) with one critic from The New Yorker calling the show "vulgar and feeble minded in equal degrees."[21] The Body Beautiful failed to attract an audience and closed in March 1958, after 60 performances.[22][23] It was the last show Kollmar would produce.

When not active in acting and producing, Kollmar operated a supper club called The Left Bank at 309 West 50th Street in Manhattan.[25][26] He was also involved in the arts community, working with the Art Students League of New York and operating an art gallery in midtown Manhattan.[27]

Before the 1965 death of Kollmar’s first wife Dorothy Kilgallen, The Left Bank closed permanently.[28]

Personal life

Kollmar was married twice and had three children. On April 6, 1940, he married columnist Dorothy Kilgallen at the St. Vincent Ferrer Church in Manhattan.[29][30] The couple had three children: Richard, Jr., (born 1941) Jill (born 1943) and Kerry (born 1954).[31] They remained married until Kilgallen's death in November 1965.[32]

In June 1967, Kollmar married fashion designer Anne Fogarty to whom he remained married until his death.[33][34]

Death

On January 7, 1971, Kollmar died at the Manhattan townhouse where he lived with his wife, Anne Fogarty.[2][35] Newspaper reports stated that he "died in his sleep late Thursday [January 7] in his New York home."[35] According to his friends, he had broken his shoulder after falling at home on January 4, three days before his death.[2][36]

His funeral was held on January 9 at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in Manhattan.[36] Kollmar is buried in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

Broadway credits
Date Production Role Notes
October 19, 1938 – March 11, 1939 Knickerbocker Holiday Brom Broeck
October 18, 1939 – May 18, 1940 Too Many Girls Clint Kelley
January 14 – January 18, 1941 Crazy With the Heat Performer
June 3 – June 12, 1943 By Jupiter
–
 Producer
June 17, 1943 – May 13, 1944 Early to Bed El Magnifico Producer
May 18 – June 10, 1944 Dream With Music
–
 Producer, director
November 10, 1945 – June 29, 1946 Are You with It?
–
 Producer
January 27, 1955 – March 3, 1956 Plain and Fancy
–
 Producer
January 23 – March 15, 1958 The Body Beautiful
–
 Producer

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1948 Close-Up Martin Beaumont
1949 Broadway Spotlight Host Unknown episodes
1950 The Web Episode: "The Witness"
1951 Penthouse Party Himself Episode #1.29
1952 Guess What? Host Unknown episodes
Credited as Dick Kollmar
1952-1965 What's My Line Himself/panelist 5 episodes
1954 Armstrong Circle Theatre Episode: "Evening Star"
1954 Who's the Boss? Himself/Panelist Unknown episodes
Credited as Dick Kollmar
1956 Person to Person Himself Episode #3.21
1956 NBC Matinee Theater
–
 Episode: "Pygmalion Jones"
Writer

References
  • Arndt Anderson, Heather (2013). Breakfast: A History. AltaMira Press. ISBN 978-0-759-12165-2.
  • Block, Maxine; Herthe Rothe, Anna; Dent Candee, Marjorie (1953). Current Biography Yearbook. H. W. Wilson Co.
  • Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1.
  • Cox, Jim (2007). Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockeys, Tattletales, Tipsters, Toastmasters and Coffee Klatch Couples Who Verbalized the Jargon of the Aural Ether from the 1920s to the 1980s: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-42780-2.
  • Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0-195-07678-8.
  • Fates, Gil (1978). What's My Line?: The Inside History of Tv's Most Famous Panel Show. Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-139-55146-8.
  • Green, Stanley (1980). The World of Musical Comedy: The Story of the American Musical Stage as Told Through the Careers of Its Foremost Composers and Lyricists. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80207-4.
  • Green, Stanley (2009). Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-786-74684-2.
  • Hischak, Thomas S. (2009). Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows through 2007. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-45309-2.
  • Israel, Lee (1979). Kilgallen. Delacorte Press. ISBN 0-440-04522-3.
  • Lambert, Phillip (2010). To Broadway, To Life! : The Musical Theater of Bock and Harnick: The Musical Theater of Bock and Harnick. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0-199-78103-4.
  • The New York Times Biographical Service. 2. New York Times & Arno Press. 1971.
  • Reinehr, Robert C.; Swartz, Jon D. (2010). The A to Z of Old Time Radio. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-810-87616-3.
  • Signorielli, Nancy (1996). Signorielli, Nancy (ed.). Women in Communication: A Biographical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-29164-0.
  • Terrace, Vincent (2008). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2 ed.). McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-48641-0.

Footnotes
  1. Block, Herthe Rothe, Dent Candee 1953, p. 304
  2. New York Times 1971, p. 73
  3. Senseney, Dan (October 1940). "What's New from Coast to Coast" (PDF). Radio and Television Mirror. 14 (6): 6–8, 84. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  4. Dunning 1998, p. 110
  5. Reinehr, Swartzg 2010, p. 47
  6. Dunning 1998, p. 118
  7. Arndt Anderson 2013, p. 180
  8. Dunning 1998, pp. 118–119
  9. Livebold.com web page about history of townhouse on 45 East 68th Street in Manhattan
  10. Cox 2007, p. 92
  11. Brooks, Marsh 2007, p. 185
  12. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007) The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network Cable and TV Shows, 1946-Present (9th ed.). New York: Ballantine. p. 567. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4,
  13. Fates 1978, p. 109
  14. Fates 1978, p. 109
  15. Fates 1978, p. 109
  16. The Guardian obituary for Vera Zorina mentions Dream With Music.
  17. Playbill obituary for Vera Zorina mentions Dream With Music.
  18. Hischak 2009, p. 121
  19. "Dream with Music". playbillvault.com. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  20. "Kilgallen Dies; Helped Push Pianist's Career". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 29 (7): 62. November 25, 1965. ISSN 0021-5996.
  21. Lambert 2010, pp. 59–60
  22. "'Body Beautiful,' $310,000 In Red, Closes". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 13 (21): 65. March 27, 1958. ISSN 0021-5996.
  23. Green 1980, p. 296
  24. "The Body Beautiful". playbillvault.com. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  25. "Kilgallen Dies; Helped Push Pianist's Career". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 29 (7): 62. November 25, 1965. ISSN 0021-5996.
  26. excerpt from a book by James Gavin with details about The Left Bank
  27. Simkin, John (September 1997). "Richard Kollmar". spartacus-educational.com.
  28. "Kilgallen Dies; Helped Push Pianist's Career". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 29 (7): 62. November 25, 1965. ISSN 0021-5996.
  29. Hughes, Carol (June 1950). "Dorothy Kilgallen: Star Reporter". Coronet. D. A. Smart. 28: 56. ISSN 0010-8936.
  30. Scott, Walter (December 31, 1961). "Personality Parade". Reading Eagle. Reading, Pennsylvania. p. 6. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  31. Signorielli 1996, p. 251
  32. "Death of TV Panelist Dorothy Kilgallen Investigated". The Milwaukee Journal. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. November 9, 1965. p. 14. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  33. Kollmar, Richard (June 21, 1967). "Serenade To a Bride". The Miami News. Miami, Florida. pp. 3–B. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  34. "Anne Fogarty's Fashion 'Rebel'". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. February 20, 1975. p. 16. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  35. "Richard Kollmar". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Daytona Beach, Florida. January 8, 1971. p. 2. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  36. "People on Parade". The Victoria Advocate. Victoria, Texas. January 9, 1971. p. 5B. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
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