Clifton Davis on Hello, Dolly starring Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway
Clifton Duncan Davis is an actor, songwriter and minister.
He has appeared on the television shows as A World Apart, That's My Mama and
Amen.
Clifton also wrote several hits for The Jackson 5, including "Never
Can Say Goodbye" and "Lookin' Through the Windows".
As a young man, Clifton was fascinated with theater. Having
seen only one Broadway show, and determining from seeing that show, he knew he
had to pursue a career in this business. He was so entertained, so captivated,
so compelled by this production of The
Apple Tree starring Alan Alda that he decided to drop his career in
electronics and pursue an entertainment career.
He resigned from being a video
engineer at ABC television and he became an apprentice in the theater at a
summer stock theater, St. John Terrell's famous summer stock theatre, The
Lambertville Music Circus in Lambertville, New Jersey right across from New
Hope. He went there for the summer and performed in five plays, two children’s
theater productions and three regular productions.
Armed with this limited and
seemingly small training, he started auditioning for Broadway shows. He heard
of an open call for Hello, Dolly. Out of hundreds of people who auditioned, he
was picked for one of three male singers needed and he was hired for the
chorus. They had already gotten three from the Equity call. That’s how Clifton
Davis became part of the Hello, Dolly
family.
He went to Washington DC to play the National Theater and
then on to Broadway. All totaled, he was with the show for one year.
Hello, Dolly continues to entertain audiences. It has a
great book. It has a great score. It has a charming story, adventure, love,
laughter, and dance. It is quintessential musical theater. It is escapist.
It
is a period piece. In essence, it is timeless. Those are the reasons it lasts.
It is so simple. It is so rich and what a great job Jerry Herman and Michael
Stewart making it so seamless.
Cab Calloway and Pearl Bailey |
Being a songwriter and having a decent career as
a songwriter, with Grammy nominations, etc, also a friend of Paul Williams,
another great and under rated songwriter of great American music that is such a
part of our consciousness, they all share the view that brevity is the key, saying
it with fewer words in the most poetic way. Clifton finds that the lyrics to
the songs and the book of Hello, Dolly
were so simple but powerful.
If he had the chance to do it all over, there is nothing he
would have done differently.
He is proud as a peacock of getting into
Hello, Dolly, becoming a part of that timeless and memorable cast. In all of the
experiences he had while working with Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway for that
year was one of those seminal moments for Clifton. It was life changing and one
of the greatest years of growth in his life. He learned about acting, he learned
about creating a character; he went to acting school while he was appearing on
Broadway.
Rather than just being a chorus singer, he became an actor.
Not only that, during that period of time, he became a professional songwriter.
All of those things happened while in Hello, Dolly!, each of those having an anecdote or two attached to
it.
Clifton brought a singing voice to Hello, Dolly and a passion for the theater. He also brought innocence.
In terms of theater, he WAS green.
He had to learn and grow every day in that production. He
became friends with people that he had never met. He learned lifestyles that he
had never seen before. He grew that year. It solidified his desire to make
acting and musical theater and performing arts his career and we’re all better
for it.
Clifton believes Hello,
Dolly should always return to Broadway! Dolly has to obviously be someone
who sings and has charm.
He has to give it some thought as to who that might be.
President Johnson and First Lady, Ladybird, visit Dolly at The National Theater |
There are so many things to like about having been in this
show, the celebrities that he met backstage who came to see Pearl Bailey. Many
of the chorus members got to meet the celebrities themselves. Clifton got to
meet Sammy Davis, Jr. while in the chorus. He came to see Pearl Bailey and he
came backstage and greeted the entire cast. Clifton said, “Mr. Davis, my name
is Davis, too.” He said to Clifton, “You know? One of these days, we Davis’ are
going to take over the world.” Clifton
said, Yes sir!” Years later, Clifton reminded him of that when they became
friends.
Sammy Davis Jr. and Clifton became good friends |
He was invited many times to Mr. Davis’ private home in Beverly Hills.
Sammy told Clifton he was beyond a triple threat: he sings, he dances, he acts,
and he writes music. He told Clifton that he liked that about him.
It reminded
him of him. When one stream dries up, he could drink from another.
Miss Bailey was rough on the understudies.
She preferred if
none of the cast members were ever sick or ever out.
She desired that her
regular cast be with her at all times.
She felt they were wonderful and gave
her the support she needed. Whenever one of the principals was out sick, she
wasn’t the happiest person.
The poor understudy who had to go on with her had
to get her disdain. He doesn’t mean that she was mean, she was just unhappy
that an understudy was on instead of her principal.
Clifton was the understudy
for Cornelius Hackl.
Pearl Bailey and Jack Crowder |
Jack Crowder (as he was called at the time…he eventually
changed his name to Thalmus Rasulala) who was playing Cornelius got sick.
Clifton had to go on for a period of time. This was ten months into the run.
Clifton had never been on in this role before. When he did, she looked at him
that first performance very strangely as he came on for their first scene
together. Finally, he had to dance with her and play this part. When they
finally came off stage well into the first act, she turned to him and said, “You’re
alright.You’ll be just fine.”
Clifton
can’t put into words how complimented he was. He was the first understudy to
get a compliment from Miss Bailey. She became “the Mama”.
He was one of those
chorus kids that called her Mama. From that point on, she was sweet as she
could be to him. Years later, they ran into each other on the street in
Washington DC. She was a huge fan of his television show, That’s My Mama.
She just bubbled, claiming him as one of her
children who emerged from Hello, Dolly
and had a stellar career.
He went immediately from Hello,
Dolly into a show called How to Steal
an Election. He was now a lead character, one of the stars. It was a very special time in his career.
This production of Hello,
Dolly was directed by Lucia Victor. Gower was busy with I Do! I Do! Most of Lucia’s time was
spent working with the ensemble as opposed to the principals. Lucia worked with
broad strokes, she worked with a sense of feeling and a sense of what they were
really about in terms of adding to each musical number and scene, how they were
to stay alive and pay attention and listen and not to be distracting or
distracted while they were on stage. Their job was to give it their all.
Gower
actually came in for a couple of days of rehearsal. It was if the Lord had walked
in the room.
Lena Horne |
He gave notes to some of the dancers and actors. He was just as
charming and nice as he could be. He later hired Clifton to play Joey in his
production of Pal Joey with Lena
Horne.
It was wonderful working with him. Clifton was so green at the time that
he was frightened of Lucia and these important people of the theater. Whatever
they said, he took to heart. He volunteered for as many walk ons as he could, thinking
he could say a line here or there. A lot of the experienced chorus members did
not understand. They advised him not to do that. If he did, he wouldn’t have
time to relax. He was constantly changing costumes throughout the show and
running on to do his next bit while everyone else was playing pinochle
downstairs.
Being in this production of Dolly, he learned a love for the
theater that continues to this day. He learned that there was a life force on
that stage that was beyond the ranks of normality. There was something unique
and special about the energy of a well constructed, well performed
play/musical.
Mama Pearl |
It was one of the most unique experiences in the theater of
any. It was the first previously white show that had gone all black AND had so
much success. It was historic in that regard. To have Pearl Bailey, whose
performance was phenomenal, nothing short of phenomenal! She was the funniest
and most talented Dolly certainly ranking right up there with Carol Channing. She
was phenomenal NIGHTLY and lived on that stage. She came alive on that stage
more than real life. There was something that was very special about the
theater and that responsibility and for that production and that role all converging
together.
There was only one negative experience for Clifton with this
production. It was when he got ready to leave the company. He went to Miss
Bailey and told her he got the lead in an off-Broadway show and that he would
be leaving. She wished him well and told him she knew he would be very successful.
She was very gracious; she was being Mama. He went to Cab Calloway expecting
the same results. Instead, Mr. Calloway cussed him out! He told Clifton that he
was a fool to leave this show.
Cab and Pearl |
As an older man and with more experience under
his belt, Clifton now understands what Mr. Calloway’s perspective was. Mr.
Calloway told him that this was a once in a lifetime experience. He was told
these types of shows don’t come along. Mr. Calloway told him this show would go
for at least another year, and it did. He was told that in this business he
does not know when another show would come along that could last as long. He
was told that if he walked away, he was a fool. Somebody else was going to get
the parts, and he would be gone.
Clifton was heartbroken because he expected a more
paternal encouraging response. As it turns out, Clifton had tremendous success.
His career was launched by Hello, Dolly.
After leaving Dolly, Clifton never saw
Mr. Calloway again.
Harvey Evans and Bibi Osterwald |
Other than Pearl Bailey, the only other Broadway Dolly that
Clifton saw was Bibi Osterwald.
She was classic Broadway musical theater. She
was very much a musical comedy actress and did a fine job.
Beyond that, the only other Dolly Clifton has seen is
Streisand in the film.
He thought it was very good especially the added song, Love is Only Love.
He thinks it was just
wonderful. He also feels that it showed Streisand as a great actress playing
this much older woman than she was at the time and so thoroughly making her
just the right amount of “Jewish mother.” She was just the right amount of
matchmaker.
How little did he know while doing Dolly, because of his being so
green, that there was such a thing as The
Matchmaker! He thought she did a phenomenal job, as well.
During Clifton’s run in Hello,
Dolly, President Lyndon Johnson came to see the show. Pearl Bailey was a Republican.
It was a powerful performance the night he was in the audience.
He dated one or two of the chorus girls but no real romances
for him. He had a crush on Emily Yancy. He says she didn’t have a crush on him.
Jack Crowder and Emily Yancy |
“I was a poor little chorus boy!” He had such a wonderful time when he got the
opportunity to play Cornelius Hackl opposite Emily Yancy. “Wow! I loved dancing
with her and singing to her!” Singing It
Only Takes a Moment to Emily Yancy is the significant moment that stands
above all others.
Pear Bailey’s “third act” is something that Clifton is ambivalent
about. It WAS thrilling to see her work the audiences the way she did each
performance especially in this segment, just doing a monologue or just talking
to the audience. The audience sat there eating out of her hands. She had them
howling with laughter. She regaled them with stories for up to twenty minutes
after the show. The entire company was standing behind her under hot lights and
heavy costumes desiring to get out of those costumes and out of the theater.
She made them all stand there while she did her act.
Martin Luther King, Jr. |
Also, during the run, there was the assassination of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. There was a feeling, socially, outside of the theater
that riots could possibly break out. In fact they did in several cities, but
not in New York City.
The Company thought originally that Miss Bailey would
cancel the show that night. No, Miss Bailey desired the show to continue that
night. It was never mentioned.
The show went on as usual. The “stand-up” after
the show did not go on that night. There was a pall that came over the entire
company. Although the audience didn’t experience it, there was less of a show
that night. The company for the most part were finding out about the
assassination as they were arriving at the theater. He was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in
Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39. King was rushed to St.
Joseph's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:05PM that evening. That
news traveled like wildfire.
Closing night for Clifton was a sort of graduation for him.
The company and the cast were very warm to him giving him a going away cake. He
left Dolly on a Sunday night and two days later he was in rehearsals for How to Steal an Election.
It has been forty-five years, as of this writing, since
Clifton took his final bow in Hello,
Dolly! He has done so much since then. They got to perform on the Ed
Sullivan Show AND The Tony Awards when Pearl Bailey was given her special Tony.
This was so special to him. All of these things that happened around this show
one of the most unique experiences of his entire career. What a way to kick off
a career!
Thank you Clifton Davis for the gifts you have given to the world and will continue to give!
Check out my site celebrating my forthcoming book on Hello, Dolly!
I want this to be a definitive account of Hello, Dolly! If any of you reading this have appeared in any production of Dolly, I'm interested in speaking with you!
If you have anything to add or share, please contact me at Richard@RichardSkipper.com.
NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!
Please do what YOU can to be more aware that words and actions DO HURT...but they can also heal and help!
Thank you, to all the mentioned in this blog!
TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED DAY
Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com
This Blog is dedicated to ALL THE DOLLYS and ANYONE who has EVER had a connection with ANY of them on ANY Level!
Thank you Clifton Davis for the gifts you have given to the world and will continue to give!
Check out my site celebrating my forthcoming book on Hello, Dolly!
I want this to be a definitive account of Hello, Dolly! If any of you reading this have appeared in any production of Dolly, I'm interested in speaking with you!
If you have anything to add or share, please contact me at Richard@RichardSkipper.com.
NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY!
Please do what YOU can to be more aware that words and actions DO HURT...but they can also heal and help!
My next blog will be... My interview with Cady Huffman on Hello, Dolly!
Thank you, to all the mentioned in this blog!
Here's to an INCREDIBLE tomorrow for ALL...with NO challenges!
TILL TOMORROW...HERE'S TO AN ARTS FILLED DAY
Richard Skipper, Richard@RichardSkipper.com
This Blog is dedicated to ALL THE DOLLYS and ANYONE who has EVER had a connection with ANY of them on ANY Level!
At the time an 'all-black' production was questioned, but you look at how that broke so many talented actors onto big careers and it was a great thing. Plus Bailey was wonderful, very moving, in the part.
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