Tammany Young

Tammany Young (September 9, 1886 – April 26, 1936) was an American stage and film actor, who appeared with W.C. Fields in seven films.

Early life

Born in New York City, Young appeared on Broadway, in The Front Page (1928) by Ben Hecht and The New Yorkers (1930) (Herbert Fields and Cole Porter), and was considered a “good luck actor” by Broadway producers.^[1] He was often cast in bit parts by the likes of The Shuberts, Jed Harris and David Belasco to bring luck to their productions.^[2] His reputation in the theater business was such that his likeness was drawn in caricature by Alex Gard for Sardi's restaurant. That picture is now part of the collection of the New York Public Library.^[3]

Career

In Hollywood, Young started out in silent films and then was cast in talkies. Although frequently uncredited, he eventually appeared in over 100 movies with such stars as Myrna Loy, Bing Crosby, Mae West, Shirley Temple and Judy Garland. But he was known most notably for his role as the stooge (straight man) to W.C. Fields with whom he appeared in seven films: Sally of the Sawdust (1925), Six of a Kind (1934), You're Telling Me! (1934), The Old Fashioned Way (1934), It's a Gift (1934), Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), and Poppy (1936).

Gatecrashing

Young also had a reputation as a gate crasher. By claiming to be an ice man, he worked his way into the 1921 Dempsey–Carpentier prize fight in New Jersey^[2] and in 1932 he found his way into the Los Angeles Olympics. His exploits in this regard were written about frequently by sportswriters of the era.^[4]

Death

Young died in his sleep in Hollywood, California, at the age of 49. At the news of Young's death, W.C. Fields fell into a depression and stopped eating and sleeping.^[4]

Notes

References

• Brantley, Ben. The New York Times Book of Broadway. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2001.
• Burdick, Loraine. The Shirley Temple Scrapbook'. Middle Village, N.Y.: Jonathan David Publishers, 1975.
• Curtis, James. W.C. Fields A Biography. New York: A.A. Knopf, 2003.
• Goldman, Herbert G. Fanny Brice The Original Funny Girl. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
• Langman, Larry. American Film Cycles The Silent Era. Bibliographies and indexes in the performing arts, no. 22. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1998.
• Louvish, Simon. Mae West It Ain't No Sin. New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St Martin's Griffin, 2007.
• Louvish, Simon. Man on the Flying Trapeze The Life and Times of W.C. Fields. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999.
• Mast, Gerald. The Comic Mind; Comedy and the Movies'. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1973.
• Rhodes, Gary. Lugosi His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, 1997.

See also

• Double act
• List of caricatures at Sardi's restaurant

External links

• Hulton Archive 1934 photo of Young and Fields
• Tammany Young at the Internet Broadway Database
• Tammany Young at the Internet Movie Database
• Tammany Young at Allmovie