Gilford, Madeline

Jack Gilford (1908-1990) was a veteran vaudeville and revue comedian who played comic character roles in many stage and television productions as well as in a number of films. Gilford was born Jacob Aaron Gellman on New York City's Lower East Side and was discovered by Milton Berle while working in a pharmacy. His first Broadway appearance was in Meet the People and he also worked in vaudeville doing impressions. Jack met his wife Madeline Lee at a political meeting in the 1940s while they were both married to other people. They were married in 1949 and had two children, Joseph and Sam. Jack also raised Madeline's daughter from her previous marriage, Lisa. Jack and Madeline were blacklisted during the 1950s along with his friend Zero Mostel. Madeline Gilford and Mostel were two of the names put forth by Jerome Robbins in his testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Both husband and wife were unable to find work for much of the 1950's. In the 1960s Gilford went on to star in No, No, Nanette, Cabaret, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Once Upon a Mattress . As the drunken jailer in Fledermaus, Mr. Gilford also became the first non-singer to play a major speaking role in a Metropolitan Opera Production. Later in life Gilford's work in Sly Fox in both Los Angeles and New York was considered some of his finest comedy.

Gilfords talents were not limited to comedy and he made dramatic appearances in The Diary of Anne Frank, The Tenth Man, and The World of Sholem Aleichem . Mr. Gilford also played roles in many award winning films such as Enter Laughing, The Incident, Catch 22, Caveman, and Save the Tiger, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.

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