Madame_Spivy
Spivy
American actress
Bertha Levine (September 30, 1906 – January 7, 1971),[1][Note 1] who used the stage name Spivy (/ˈspɪvi/ SPIH-vee),[3] was an American entertainer, nightclub owner, and actress.[4][5]
Early life
Bertha Levine was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1906, the eldest of the four daughters of Louis and Helen Levine, Jewish immigrants from Russia.[6][4][7][8] She played organ in churches and theaters before establishing a career as a singer-pianist in speakeasies and nightclubs under the name Spivy Le Voe, which she later shortened to Spivy.[6] Her stage name was reportedly based on a younger sister's mispronunciation of the word "sister."[5]: 31
Performing career
In 1936 she became a regular act at Tony's, a New York nightclub on West 52nd Street, where she performed satirical songs, some of which were written by John LaTouche, Charlotte Kent and Jill Rainsford.[6][9][10] In 1939, the New York Times wrote that "Spivy's material, witty, acid, and tragicomic, is better than most of the essays one hears about town, and her delivery is that of a sophisticated artist on her own grounds. She knows the value of surprise in punching a line, she uses understatement unerringly, and her piano accompaniment is superb."[11]
From 1940–1951 she ran her own nightclub, Spivy's Roof, on the top floor of 139 East 57th Street.[6] The club was noted for its tolerance of gay performers and patrons; Spivy herself was a lesbian in private life. Among the artists who performed there were Frances Faye, Mabel Mercer, Moms Mabley, Alberta Hunter, Thelma Carpenter, Martha Raye, Bea Arthur, Liberace, and actor-magician Fred Keating.[12][5][13] Although it was reported that Spivy and Keating intended to marry on Christmas Eve 1942,[14][15][16] this appears to have been a publicity stunt or lavender marriage.[17][18]
She released two 78 rpm albums of songs that she regularly performed in her live sets, including "The Tarantella" and "The Alley Cat".[6][19][20] These 13 recordings have never been reissued on CD. Her recordings indicate that her performing style was to "recite" (rather than sing) the lyrics over piano accompaniment.[21] In 1951, Paul Lynde was appearing at Spivy's Roof when the club closed. He later talked about Spivy and her club on the April 30, 1976 episode of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.[19]
Later acting career
In the 1950s, Spivy spent several years touring Paris, London, and Rome before returning to the U.S. in 1957, where she embarked on a new career as a character actor, usually billed as Madame Spivy.[5] In 1957–58, she appeared as Mother Burnside in the Broadway production of Auntie Mame.[22]
Spivy had supporting roles in the films The Fugitive Kind, Studs Lonigan, All Fall Down, Requiem for a Heavyweight, and The Manchurian Candidate, where her stout physique led to her being cast as matronly or villainous characters.[Note 2] Her best-remembered television appearance is a darkly humorous installment of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the 1959 episode "Specialty of the House" in which she played the manager of a restaurant whose unsuspecting guests implicitly end up on the menu.[5]
Death
By 1969, Spivy had been diagnosed with cancer. Her friend Patsy Kelly arranged for her to move into the Motion Picture Country Home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles,[5][4] where she died on January 7, 1971, aged 64.[1][Note 1]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1960 | The Fugitive Kind | Ruby Lightfoot | |
1960 | Studs Lonigan | Mother Josephine | |
1962 | All Fall Down | Bouncer | |
1962 | Requiem for a Heavyweight | Ma Greeny | |
1962 | The Manchurian Candidate | Female Berezovo |
Year | Series | Episode | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1959 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Season 5 Episode 12: "Specialty of the House" |
Spirro | |
1960 | Peter Gunn | Dream Big, Dream Deadly | Flo | |
1967 | Daniel Boone | A Matter of Blood | Tatama |
- Gavin (2006) states she also appeared in 1962's Walk on the Wild Side, but this is not corroborated by other sources.
- "California Death Index, 1940-1997". FamilySearch. Retrieved 2 April 2018. (registration required)
- "New York, New York, Extracted Birth Index, 1878-1909". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 4 November 2019. Surname misspelled as Levene.
- "Say How?". National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Library of Congress. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
- "Spivy, 64, Actress and Entertainer". The New York Times. 10 January 1971.
- Gavin, James (2006). Intimate Nights: the Golden Age of New York Cabaret. Back Stage Books. ISBN 9780823088256.
- Pollack, Howard (2017). The Ballad of John Latouche: An American Lyricist's Life and Work. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190458300.
- "United States Census, 1930". FamilySearch. Retrieved 2 April 2018. (registration required)
- Drutman, Irving (1976). Good Company: A Memoir, Mostly Theatrical. Little, Brown & Co. p. 213. ISBN 9780316193559.
- "Guide to the Jill "Billy" Rainsford Papers (1922-1991)". Fales Library & Special Collections. New York University Libraries. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- "Mme. Spivy: 100% American Girls". 30 October 2020.
- Strauss, Theodore (November 19, 1939). "News of Night Clubs". New York Times. p. 2X. (subscription required)
- Chauncey, George (2008). Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940. Basic Books. ISBN 9780786723355.
- Pyron, Darden Asbury (2013). Liberace: An American Boy. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226117126.
- Kilgallen, Dorothy (December 14, 1942). "The Voice of Broadway". Elmira Star-Gazette. p. 6.
Is it a gag, or are Spivy and Fred Keating serious when they invite friends to their 'wedding on Christmas Eve?'
- Wilson, Earl (September 3, 1943). "Spivy at Folies Bergere". New York Post. p. 29.
- Kilgallen, Dorothy (December 29, 1942). "The Voice of Broadway". The Cincinnati Enquirer – via Newspapers.com.
Spivy and magician Fred Keating have postponed their wedding because of her father's illness
- Kilgallen, Dorothy (January 27, 1944). "The Voice of Broadway". Olean Times Herald. p. 8.
Although married, Fred Keating and Spivy occupy separate domiciles and only appear together formally at Spivy's Roof.
- Oakley Christoph, M. (April 18, 1944). "Informing You". Hartford Courant. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
Fred Keating... said, when we asked him if he was married to Spivy, 'People say so'...
- "Madame Spivy's Tarantella". 31 October 2018.
- "Madame Spivy's Alley Cat". 23 September 2018.
- Aston, Martin (24 October 2017). "How music came out: 15 records by unsung LGBTQ+ pioneers". The Vinyl Factory. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017.
- "Spivy – Broadway Cast & Staff". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- "Spivy - Seven Gay Sophisticated Songs By Spivy". Discogs. Retrieved 2 April 2018.