Marian Spitzer and “The Palace”

February 20 was the natal day of writer Marian Spitzer Thomas (1899-1983).

Spitzer was someone I really wish I’d gotten to meet, and I was thrilled to learn that my friend Mari Lyn Henry actually did so. Spitzer’s 1969 book The Palace was one of the sources for material in my book No Applause. She had been a publicist for that vaudeville mecca during some of its key years, and her memories are invaluable to anyone researching the topic. Previous to her time at the Palace, Spitzer had been a journalist herself. In 1924 she married Harlan Thompson (1890-1966), then best known for penning Nan Halperin’s hit 1923 Broadway show Little Jessie James, later to become a Broadway producer and screenwriter. Spitzer also became a screenwriter. After contributing some of the dialogue to Hangover Square (1945) with Laird Cregar, she co-wrote the scripts to the show biz bio-pics The Dolly Sisters (1945) and Look for the Silver Lining (1949). During the ’50s she wrote ten episodes of The Loretta Young Show. Her last credit was the screenplay adaptation for the 1959 feature Shake Hands with the Devil, directed by Michael Anderson. Spitzer’s, son, Evan Thompson was an actor; her grandchildren Owen and Jenn also went into the theatre. The latter is married to actor Stephen Kunken.

For more on vaudeville, please check out No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous.