Mark Hellinger

Mark Hellinger (March 21, 1903 - December 21, 1947) was an American journalist, theatre columnist and film producer.

Early life and career

Hellinger was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in New York City, although in later life he became a non-practicing Jew. When he was fifteen, he organized a student strike at Townsend Harris High School and was expelled for his actions. This proved to be the end of his formal education.

In 1921, Hellinger began working as a waiter and cashier at a Greenwich Village night club in order to meet theatre people. He later was employed by Lane Bryant to write direct mail advertising for clothing for overweight and pregnant women. The following year he began his journalistic career as a reporter for Zit's Weekly, a theatrical publication, where he remained for eighteen months.

In 1923, Hellinger moved to the city desk of the New York Daily News. In July 1925, he was assigned About Town, a Sunday column his editors intended him to fill with news and gossip about Broadway theatre. Instead, he filled the space with short stories in the style of O. Henry. When his columns drew a considerable amount of fan mail, he was permitted to continue in this vein. Three years later he graduated to a daily feature called Behind the News. He numbered such personalities as Walter Winchell, Florenz Ziegfeld, Texas Guinan, Dutch Schultz, and Legs Diamond among his friends.

Mark Hellinger Theatre

The Mark Hellinger Theatre is a former Broadway theatre and cinema complex, located at 237 West 51st Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City. Since 1991, it has been known as the Times Square Church. The former theater, which remains largely unaltered in appearance, is most notable for having been the site of the original production of My Fair Lady, which ran from 1956-1962.

History

Hollywood Theatre

Designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb, the theater was built by Warner Bros. as a deluxe movie palace to showcase their films on Broadway. It opened as the Warner Bros. Hollywood Theatre on April 22, 1930 with the Warner Technicolor musical film Hold Everything starring Winnie Lightner and Joe E. Brown.

Although built as a cinema, the theater's stage, one of the largest on Broadway, was designed with the capacity to present large musical shows. As early as 1934 the Hollywood began presenting legitimate Broadway musicals, returning to films between live engagements. The first of these was Calling All Stars, a musical revue with Martha Raye.