The Lambs

The Lambs

The Lambs Clubhouse at 3 West 51st Street
Nickname	The Lambs Club
Named after	Charles Lamb
Formation	1874 (1874)
Founder	Henry James Montague
Founded at	Delmonico's
Purpose	Private Social Club for the Arts
Location	3 West 51st Street New York City
Coordinates	40°45′23.0″N 73°59′7.0″W
Region served	United States
Membership	250
Shepherd	Kevin C. Fitzpatrick
The Boy	Don M. Spiro
Website	The-Lambs.org

The Lambs, Inc. (also known as The Lambs Club) is a social club in New York City for actors, songwriters, and others involved in the theatre. It is America's oldest theatrical organization. "The Lambs" is a registered trademark of The Lambs, Inc.; and the club has been commonly referred to as The Lambs Club and The Lambs Theater since 1874.

The club's name honors the essayist Charles Lamb and his sister Mary, who during the early 19th century played host to actors and literati at their famed salon in London.

History

In the spring of 1869, The Lambs was founded in London by actors led by John Hare, the first Shepherd (or president), looking to socialize with like-minded people. Several of those, most notably Henry James Montague, came to the United States and formed The Lambs of New York during Christmas week of 1874. It was incorporated in 1877 in New York City. Shortly afterward the London Lambs closed.

The Actors' strike of 1919 was settled in The Lambs, which was referred to as "Local One." In 1924, it celebrated its 50-year anniversary at the Earl Carroll Theatre.

Historically, The Lambs has been the spawning ground of plays, friendships and partnerships. Mark Twain Tonight (with Hal Holbrook) and Stalag 17 were first performed at The Lambs before their national successes.

Alan J. Lerner and Frederick Loewe first met at The Lambs, often trying works-in-progress on their fellow Lambs. Loewe left a percentage of his share of Brigadoon royalties to The Lambs' Foundation.

The Lambs, Friars, and Players often are confused. In 1964, long-time syndicated columnist Earl Wilson put it this way: "Long ago a New Yorker asked the difference between the Lambs, Friars, and Players, since the membership was, at the time, predominantly from Broadway." It was left to "a wit believed to have been George S. Kaufman" to draw the distinction: "The Players are gentlemen trying to be actors, the Lambs are actors trying to be gentlemen, and the Friars are neither trying to be both."

Its members have been instrumental in the formation of ASCAP, Actors' Equity and The Actors' Fund of America, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and in the merger that created SAG-AFTRA. Of the first 21 council members of Actors' Equity, 20 were members of The Lambs. The meetings to form Actors' Equity were held at The Players, a club similar to The Lambs, because there were too many producer members of The Lambs.

Notable Lambs

Main category: Members of The Lambs Club

Since its founding, there have been more than 6,700 Lambs, including: Fred Astaire, Irving Berlin, Henry Blossom, Sid Caesar, James Cagney, Eddie Cantor, George M. Cohan, Cecil B. DeMille, W.C. Fields, Albert Hague, Mark Hart, Silvio Hein, Ken Howard, Al Jolson, John F. Madden, Conrad Nagel, Eugene O'Neill, Donald Pippin, Joyce Randolph Cliff Robertson, Edward G. Robinson, Will Rogers, John Philip Sousa, Spencer Tracy, Abe Vigoda, Fred Waring, and Jack Whiting.

Current honorary members include Matthew Broderick and Jim Dale. The Lambs' website contains a listing of its past and current members.

Presidents

The president of The Lambs is called "The Shepherd". The Club displays the portraits of all its presidents, painted by artists such as James Montgomery Flagg and Everett Raymond Kinstler.

1. Henry James Montague (1874–1878)
2. John Lester Wallack (1878–1879, 1880–1882, 1884–1888)
3. Harry Beckett (actor) (1879–1880)
4. William Jermyn Conlin (1882–1884)
5. John Riker Brady (1888–1890)
6. Edmund Milton Holland (1890–1891)
7. Clay Meredith Greene (1891–1898, 1902–1906)
8. Thomas Benedict Clarke (1898–1900)
9. DeWolf Hopper (1900–1902)
10. Wilton Lackaye (1906–1907)
11. Augustus Thomas (1907–1910)
12. Joseph Rhode Grismer (1911–1913, 1917–1918)
13. William Courtleigh (1913–1917)
14. Robert Hubber Thorne Burnside (1918–1921)
15. Albert Oldfield Brown (1921–1924, 1930–1932)
16. Thomas Meighan (1924–1926)
17. Thomas Alfred Wise (1926–1928)
18. Fritz Williams (1928–1930)
19. Frank Crumit (1932–1936)
20. Fred Waring (1939–1942)
21. John Lionel Golden (1942–1945)
22. Raymond Wilson Peck (1945–1947)
23. Bert Lytell (1947–1952)
24. Walter Noel Greaza (1953–1956)
25. William Gaxton (1936–1939, 1952–1953, 1957–1959, 1960–1961)
26. Frank Marion Thomas (1962–1963)
27. Martin Begley (1964–1965)
28. Harry Hershfield (1966–1969)
29. Jack Waldron (1969)
30. Tom Dillon (actor) (1969–1986)
31. Richard L. Charles (1986–1997)
32. Agustin James Pocock (1998–2001)
33. Bruce Brown (2002–2008)
34. Randy Phillips (2008–2013)
35. Marc Baron (2013–2022)
36. Kevin C. Fitzpatrick (2023-)

Clubhouses

1. 1874: Founded and first dinner at Delmonico's Restaurant (NE Corner of 5th Ave & 14th St.)
2. 1875: Morton House (Manhattan) (Union Square)
3. 1875: Union Square Hotel
4. 1876: Wallack's Theater 848 Broadway (nicknamed "The Matchbox")
5. 1877–78: 6 Union Square
6. 1878: 19 East 16th Street
7. 1880–1892: 34 West 26th St
8. 1891: Gilsey House, 1200 Broadway
9. 1892: 8 West 29th St
10. 1893–1896: 26 West 31st St
11. 1897–1905: 70 West 36th St (formerly and thereafter known as Keens Chophouse)
12. 1905–1975: 130 West 44th Street (expanded in 1907)
13. 1975: Guest in Lotos Club, 5 East 66th St
14. 1976–present: 3 West Club, 3 West 51st Street, 5th Floor

128 West 44th Street

The Lambs has had many Manhattan homes since 1874, beginning with Delmonico's Restaurant in Union Square. Then in 1875 they met at the Maison Doree on the south side of 14th St. opposite Union Square; 1876–77 next to Wallack's theater at 848 Broadway; 1877–78 at the Union Square Hotel, 6 Union Square; 1879 within a brownstone at 19 East 16th St.; 1880–91 at a Brownstone at 34 West 26th St.; 1891 at the Gilsey House, 1200 Broadway; 1892 at 8 West 29th St.; 1893–96 at 26 West 31st St.; 1897–1905 at 70 West 36th St., what was formerly and thereafter Keen's Chophouse remodeled by Stanford White to be a clubhouse.

The Lambs on June 27, 1915 at 130 West 44th Street

In 1905, the club moved to 128–130 West 44th Street, designed by Stanford White and doubled in size in 1915. The club remained at 44th Street until 1975, when it lost the building to foreclosure. It was purchased from a bank by the Church of the Nazarene, which leased part of the building for what would become the Off Broadway Lamb's Theatre. The building was designated a New York City Landmark in September 1974 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 3, 1982. The church sold the building in 2006 to Hampshire Hotels, which renovated the building into the Chatwal New York hotel. The Chatwal Hotel contains the Lambs Club restaurant although there is no relation between the hotel and The Lambs.

Current activity

Since 1976, The Lambs' Clubhouse has been leased space at 3 West 51st St., adjacent to Rockefeller Center.

The Lambs has elected more than 6,700 members over the decades, counting actors and theater owners, playwrights and painters, singers and sculptors, and today’s podcasters and comedy writers. Over the decades it was at The Lambs that hit shows and songs were launched, partnerships and friendships formed, and bonds of fellowship made.

The Lambs is also a historical society, preserving and promoting entertainment history stretching back to the 19th century. The club’s art collection of oil paintings, theatrical memorabilia, and playbills, together with a private research library, is a museum of American entertainment history. The Lambs are currently digitizing its collection to make it available to the public. Starting in 1974, the Lambs has donated thousands of important historic documents to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

As the club prepared to celebrate its sesquicentennial in 2024, it undertook a program to grow its membership. In 2023 author Kevin C. Fitzpatrick was elected the 36th Shepherd of The Lambs, and producer Don M. Spiro elected The Boy (vice president). The Lambs celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2024 by reaching 250 members, the most since the 1960s.

References

Sources

Books

• Curtis, James (2011). Spencer Tracy: A Biography. New York: Knopf Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-307-59522-5 – via books.google.com.
• Hardee, Lewis J. Jr. (2010) [1st pub. 2006]. The Lambs Theatre Club (softcover) (2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7864-6095-3 – via archive.org.
• Wilson, Earl (1964). Earl Wilson's New York. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Newspapers

• "Fifty Years of The Lambs". The New York Times. June 8, 1924. Retrieved December 31, 2014. The Lambs, New York's famous actors' club, will celebrate its golden jubilee with a public Gambol at the Earl Carroll Theatre tonight.
• "AJ Pocock". Los Angeles Times. September 26, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
• Robertson, Campbell (June 2, 2006). "Lamb's Theater Company Receives Eviction Notice". The New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
• Sifton, Sam (October 26, 2010). "Retro Glamour Made New: Restaurant Review: The Lambs Club". The New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2012.

Websites

• "The Lambs History". the-lambs.org. The Lambs, Inc. November 9, 2024. (Member Roster). Retrieved November 9, 2024.
• "About the Lambs". the-lambs.org/. The Lambs, Inc. (Disclaimer). Retrieved November 9, 2024. The Lambs, Inc., is America's oldest professional theatrical club. ... The Lambs ® is a registered trademark of The Lambs, Inc., and has been known as The Lambs club for 150 years.
• "Governance". The Lambs. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
• The Lambs Club (PDF) (Report). New York, NY: Landmarks Preservation Commission. September 24, 1974. Retrieved December 31, 2014.

External links

• The Lambs website
• The Lambs virtual cemetery on Find a Grave
• "The Lambs Club" – the NYC Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
• Lambs Club records, 1880–1973, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts