Judy Holliday Appreciation Day Celebrated in Sunnyside Gardens
From the Woodside Herald
December 16, 2005 - Page 4
Councilman Eric Gioia delighted an enthusiastic audience in Sunnyside Gardens on December 3 with a City Council Proclamation declaring it “Judy Holliday Appreciation Day.” Admirers of the Oscar and Tony winning actress were gathered at Miss Holliday’s childhood home, 39-45 44th Street, to dedicate a National Register plaque in her honor.
Judy Holliday’s family accepted the framed Proclamation, which Josie Oppenheim held while her husband, Holliday’s son, Jonathan, steadied their 14-year-old daughter Netalia on a step-ladder, as Netalia unveiled the plaque.
With the unveiling, upwards of 150 people viewed the memorial plaque, strolled the lanes of Lincoln Court to the large central commons that was the young Judy Holliday’s back yard, and assembled in All Saints’ Church Undercroft for a reception featuring outstanding scenes from Miss Holliday’s films and extraordinary memories shared by her old colleague Eddie Lawrence.
Judy Holliday (1921-1965) was scarcely 5 years old when her family moved to Sunnyside, her parents becoming original homeowners and founding members of Lincoln Court Association in 1926. Little Judy grew up directly across the street from Lewis Mumford, among the many writers and artists settling in Sunnyside. Judy demonstrated prodigious reading skills at P.S. 125, where she scored above the genius level on an intelligence test.
Her life was cut short by cancer before her 44th birthday, but Judy Holliday’s reputation is undiminished. Her unique gifts as a comic actor are preserved in her films, and several of her greatest scenes highlighted the reception: Adam's Rib, her Oscar-winning role in Born Yesterday, and Bells Are Ringing, the musical comedy written for Miss Holliday by Betty Comden and Adolph Green that earned her the Tony Award on Broadway.
Supporting Miss Holliday’s performances was Eddie Lawrence—veteran comedian of the theater, radio, film, and television; creator of “The Old Philosopher.” He spoke from personal recollection of her entire career, beginning with her first splash as “the pretty one” in The Revuers, the cabaret comedy group she formed in 1938 with Comden and Green, and continuing throughout her decade of stardom in the 1950s. An original cast member who shared the stage with Miss Holliday for the 3-year run of Bells Are Ringing, Lawrence expressed admiration for her talent and affection for her generosity. Speaking on film, fellow cast member Hal Linden declared, “Judy was probably the most generous actress I’ve ever worked with.”
Accompanying her husband, Marilyn Lawrence wore a necklace of charms given by Miss Holliday to the Broadway cast of Bells Are Ringing. Other special guests included curators from the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Televison and Radio; Judy Holliday’s biographer, the playwright and author Will Holtzman; and film director Joan Micklin Silver (Hester Street, Crossing Delancey, etc.), who observed, “It's impossible to watch the great roles Judy Holliday played on screen and think of any actress before or since who could have invested these characters with more humor and humanity.”
The day’s events were hosted by the Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Alliance and Lincoln Court Association. Robert Corridan of Artistic Masonry installed the plaque. Many of Sunnyside’s finest purveyors donated foods and wines for the reception: Aubergine Café, Bliss Restaurant, Donato’s Restaurant and Pizza, La Flor Café and Bakery, La Marjolaine French Pastry, Mickey John’s Pub, Sunnyside Gardens Farm, Türkiyem Deli, and several neighbors. Nunziato Florist provided flowers. The Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Alliance’s National Register Plaque Program is funded with grants from the Citizens for NYC and Councilman Gioia.
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