August 18, 1930: "Private Lives" Premieres

August 18, 1930: Private Lives premieres at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It makes an international star of its author and star, Noël Coward.

Noël Peirce Coward was born on December 16, 1899 in Teddington, South-West London. Sidney Zion, a columnist for the New York Daily News, listed him as one of "The Century Seven," 7 people born in 1899, the last year of the 19th Century, whose work guided American popular culture through much of the 20th Century. They were: Duke Ellington, born on April 29; Fred Astaire, May 10; James Cagney, July 17; Alfred Hitchcock, August 13; Hoagy Carmichael, November 22; Noël Coward, December 16; and Humphrey Bogart, December 25.

Coward loved acting as a boy, and made his 1st professional stage appearance at age 12. With World War I taking so many men from the stage to the trenches, it opened parts for boys too young to be drafted, and Coward became a star. In 1920, he wrote the comedy I'll Leave It to You. It was his 1st play to be staged in the West End (London's version of New York's Broadway), and he starred in it himself. In recognition of this, its venue, the New Theatre, was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in 2006.

His plays continued to have success on the West End, but it would be Private Lives that would make him remembered long after this era. It's about 2 couples, which used to be the 2 opposite couples: Elyot had been married to Amanda, and Sibyl had bee married to Victor; now, Elyot is married to Sibyl, and Amanda is married to Victor, and not only are they honeymooning at the same time, but in adjoining rooms at the same hotel. Yes, it's a comedy.

After a run in Edinburgh, it premiered at the Phoenix Theatre in London on September 24. Coward played Elyot, Adrianne Allen played Sibyl, Gertrude Lawrence played Amanda, and no less than Laurence Olivier played Victor. On January 27, 1931, the play premiered on Broadway, at the Times Square Theatre, with Jill Esmond, Olivier's new wife, replacing Allen as Sibyl. With a rave review from syndicated columnist Walter Winchell, it was a hit in America as well.

The play was filmed in 1931, starring Robert Montgomery as Elyot, Una Merkel as Sibyl, Norma Shearer as Amanda, and Reginald Denny as Victor. The reviews were mixed, and Coward himself wasn't crazy about it, calling it "passable." Although it has been staged for radio and television since, there has never been another feature film version.

The Tony and Olivier Awards had not yet been founded. A 1969 Broadway revival starred Tammy Grimes, who won a Tony. A 1975 revival got a Tony Award nomination for Maggie Smith. A 2002 production won the Tony for Best Revival and Best Actress for Lindsay Duncan.

In 1932, Coward staged Design for Living, starring Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, America's leading husband & wife acting team of the time. He staged it in New York, because he didn't think it would survive the London censor, because it featured a ménage à trois, with the suggestion that the male leads, played by Lunt and Coward, were bisexual. In real life, with Lunt, it was a rumor; with Coward, it was a cover for being exclusively gay. It was a time when a public figure could be gay as long as it was kept private.

Thus covered, Coward would have later successes, such as his 1941 comedy Blithe Spirit, and his screenplay for the 1945 film Brief Encounter. He died in 1973.

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August 18, 1930 was a Monday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-4 at Yankee Stadium. Lou Gehrig went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Babe Ruth went 1-for-2 with 3 walks and 2 RBIs. Herb Pennock went the distance for the win.

* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known under the managing of Wilbert Robinson from 1914 to 1931) lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Paul Waner went 3-for-4, but his brother Lloyd Waner went 0-for-4.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the St. Louis Browns, 6-4 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Mickey Cochrane went 3-for-4 with a solo home run. 

* The Washington Senators beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 17-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* To get a bigger gate, the game scheduled for this day between the New York Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis was moved to the day before, for a Sunday doubleheader. The Giants won the opener, 12-4. The Cardinals won the nightcap, 14-4.

Over the 2 games, Bill Terry went 5-for-7 with a walk and 2 RBIs, Mel Ott went 3-for-8 with 3 RBIs, and Fred Lindstrom went 5-for-9 with 2 RBIs (including a home run in the opener). For the Cardinals, former Giant Frankie Frisch went 2-for-3 with an RBI, including a home run, in the opener, but did not play in the nightcap.

* For the same reason as the Giants and the Cardinals, the game between the Boston Braves and the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field in Cincinnati was moved to the day before. The Braves swept, 4-3 and 9-8, with the 2nd game ending with Evar Swanson's groundout scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 13th.

* The Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians were rained out at League Park in Cleveland. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Indians swept, 7-2 and 7-3.