*PARA "PAR@ ` RTEXT ` DFontanne, Lynn1887╨1983actorBorn in London about 1887 (probably on December 6), Lynn Fontanne was drawn to things theatrical at an early age, and in her youth she was taken as a pupil by Ellen Terry. Her first real stage role came in 1905 in Alice-Sit-by-the-Fire, and her first London appearance was in pantomime at the Drury Lane Theatre in 1909. Roles in Lady Frederick and The Young Lady of Seventeen followed, and in November 1910 she made her New York debut as part of a touring company. She first attracted special attention in Milestones in London in 1914. In 1916 she returned to New York at the invitation of Laurette Taylor, with whom she appeared in The Harp of Life, Out There, and others. While playing in The Wooing of Eve, 1917, she met Alfred Lunt (1893╨1977); they appeared together in A Young Man╒s Fancy in summer stock in 1919. In 1920 she appeared in Chris, an early version of Eugene O╒Neill╒s Anna Christie, and in 1921 she was a great success in the George S. Kaufman╨Marc Connelly comedy Dulcy. In May 1922 Fontanne and Lunt were married, and thereafter they appeared together on the stage almost invariably, becoming the most famous husband-and-wife acting team, perhaps the most famous team of any sort, in the contemporary theater. In 1923 they played Sweet Nell of Old Drury, but their joint career began in earnest with their appearance in the Theatre Guild production of Molnar╒s The Guardsman in 1924. Subsequently they played Shaw╒s Arms and the Man, 1925, The Goat Song, 1926, Shaw╒s Pygmalion, 1927, The Brothers Karamazov, 1927, S. N. Behrman╒s The Second Man, 1927, Caprice (Lunt╒s London debut), 1929, Behrman╒s Meteor, 1929, Elizabeth the Queen, 1930, Reunion in Vienna, 1931, Noel Coward╒s Design for Living, 1933, Taming of the Shrew, 1935, Robert Sherwood╒s Idiot╒s Delight, 1936, The Sea Gull, 1938, Behrman╒s Amphitryon 38, 1938, Sherwood╒s There Shall Be No Night, 1940, Behrman╒s The Pirate, 1942, Terence Rattigan╒s Love in Idleness, 1944, Behrman╒s I Know My Love, 1949, Coward╒s Quadrille, 1952, The Great Sebastian, 1956, and Friedrich Dƒrrenmatt╒s The Visit, 1958, after which they retired from the stage. In 1958 the Broadway Theatre was renamed the Lunt╨Fontanne in their honor. While their work in serious drama was respected, it was the sophisticated comedies of S. N. Behrman and Noel Coward in which they excelled. They came out of retirement in 1965 to do Magnificent Yankee for the ╥Hallmark Hall of Fame╙ television series, winning Emmy awards for their performances. Two years later Fontanne appeared alone in a television production of Anastasia; it was her first performance without Lunt since Strange Interlude in 1928. In 1964 Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt were awarded jointly the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She received an Emmy Award in 1965 and a Gold Medal for diction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1935. In retirement they lived in the farmhouse they had owned in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin, since their marriage. Fontanne survived Alfred Lunt╒s death in Chicago in August 1977. She died in Genesee Depot on July 30, 1983. ₧styl ` T ! ¬ 5¬ 5¬ !I ≈ !I !I l !I z !I !I Ü !I !I ( !I s !I ▐ é !I ₧ !I « !I ░ !I ╣ !I ┘ !I Ω !I - !I @ !I s !I x !I ƒ !I ¼ !I !I !I 5¬ !I !I % !I æ !I ₧ !I ╔ !I ┘ !I ß !I ε !I ² !I !I !I $ !I < !I J !I R !I Y !I ü !I ç !I Å !I ó !I ¬ !I ╗ !I ╤ !I Γ !I Ω !I ² !I !I & !I . !I : !I L !I Y !I l !I â !I ò !I ƒ !I ║ !I ╩ !I ▄ !I Ω !I √ !I !I !I !I B !I K !I ~ 5¬ !I é !I ö !I
