The Mystery of George Spelvin

I received a call from a longtime patron of ours the other day, a representative of George Spelvin. She wanted to renew his subscription for the upcoming 2011-12 season.

Now, this probably doesn’t seem odd, but I was in the middle of reading a scene, from Strike Up the Band, between George Spelvin and Horace J. Fletcher.

“What an odd coincidence,” I thought.

George Spelvin

Do you know who George Spelvin is? He is a man of particular mystery in the Kaufman script. And here he has a representative calling on his behalf, somewhat mysterious in and of itself.

I began to do a little digging (not hard with Google and Wikipedia) and discovered what many of you may already know, but just in case you don’t….

George Spelvin is 125 years old. He has been in more plays than any other actor in history. Most importantly… he doesn’t exist.

It is a pseudonym used in the theatre (mostly American) for a number of reasons, but generally always to stand in for the name of an actor.

Spelvin has stood in for actors playing dual roles; union actors wishing to remain anonymous when performing in non-union theaters; and often when there is literally no actor at all. For instance, when the director doesn’t want the audience to know a character will not actually appear on stage, such as in a mystery or melodrama. I’m sure there has been a production or two of Harvey, where Harvey is played by George Spelvin.

He has also appeared as the name of a character in Strike Up the Band, Christopher Durang’s The Actor’s Nightmare, in an episode of Fibber McGee and Molly, and the I Love Lucy episode, “Don Juan is Shelved.”

Benjamin Knoll

Spelvin comes from an illustrious family that also includes, Alan Smithee (cousin according to the IMDB), and his English relatives Walter Plinge and David Agnew. Can you tell me who these gentlemen are?

Do you have any favorite pseudonyms? Do you have a pseudonym that you have ever used?

Oh, and to find out why our George Spelvin, played by the devilishly charming Benjamin Knoll, is so mysterious, come to the Eureka Theatre April 6-24 for George & Ira Gershwin and George S. Kaufman’s Strike Up the Band. For tickets click here or call (415) 255 -8207.

Ira Gershwin Facts: What's In a Name?

On December 6, 1896, a young immigrant couple, Moishe Gershovitz and Rosa Bruskin, gave birth to their first baby.  Moishe had already changed the family’s surname to Gershvin and taken the name Morris before little Israel (Ira) was born.

Names, it would seem, became very important to Ira Gershwin.  To begin, it wasn’t until he applied for a passport in 1928 (age 32) that he found out his name was Israel!  Growing up, he had always gone by the nickname “Izzy” and had assumed it was short for Isidore. 

[As an aside, Isidore was the birth name of another famous lyricist and a very close friend of Ira’s from high school.  To find out who… come to Nice Work If You Can Get It at the Alcazar!]

Ira also used names to eschew the limelight, preferring to use pseudonyms on his earlier works.  One “a.k.a” he took was Bruskin Gershwin, his mother’s maiden name, to publish the short story “The Shrine”.  His most famous nom de plume was probably as lyricist Arthur Francis, which he used off and on until 1922.  Arthur was his younger brother’s name and Frances was his baby sister.

Yes, names it seems were important to Ira Gershwin and given his choice of aliases it would seem his family was important to him, too. 

More entertaining facts about Ira Gershwin to come keep an eye on the blog. For even more fun and a chance to hear his amazing lyrics live, come join us at

42nd Street

Moon’s Ira Gershwin Salon, narrated by Tony Award Winner Donna McKechnie, Thursday, January 28th at the Alcazar Theatre.  The show starts at 7PM.  For tickets, click here.