Monty Woolley

Edgar Montillion Woolley, better known by his stage name Monty Woolley, was born on August 17, 1888 in Manhattan, New York City, to William Edgar Woolley and Jessie Arms Woolley. He grew up in affluent social circles and pursued an elite education, earning a bachelor’s degree from Yale University—where he counted the composer Cole Porter among his classmates—followed by master’s degrees from both Yale and Harvard. After completing his studies, Woolley returned to Yale as an assistant professor of English and drama coach, mentoring future literary figures such as Thornton Wilder and Stephen Vincent Benét. During World War I he served as a first lieutenant on the U.S. Army general staff in Paris, an experience that broadened his worldview before he left academia to pursue the theatre. Woolley’s Broadway debut as a director came with Fifty Million Frenchmen in 1929, and he shifted to acting in 1936, quickly gaining a reputation for his sharp wit and aristocratic bearing. His breakthrough arrived in 1939 when he originated the role of Sheridan Whiteside in the Kaufman‑Hart comedy The Man Who Came to Dinner, a performance that ran for 783 shows and cemented his typecast as the sardonic sophisticate—an image amplified by his signature white beard, affectionately dubbed “The Beard.” Signing with 20th Century Fox in the 1940s, he reprised Whiteside on screen in 1942 and appeared in notable films such as The Pied Piper (earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor), Since You Went Away (Best Supporting Actor nomination), The Bishop’s Wife, and Kismet. A familiar voice on radio, Woolley delighted audiences on programs like The Fred Allen Show and The Chase and Sanborn Hour, and later starred in the short‑lived television series The Magnificent Montague. Though he never married, Woolley shared a long‑standing partnership with fellow Yale alumnus Cary Abbott, with whom he lived in Saratoga Springs until Abbott’s death in 1948. Monty Woolley passed away on May 6 1963 in Albany, New York, after complications from heart and kidney ailments, and was interred at Greenridge Cemetery. His legacy endures through a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the enduring popularity of his most iconic role.