James Kirkwood Jr.(1924-1989)

Shortly before he passed away, he published an excellent, highly amusing book "Diary of a Mad Playwright: Perilous Adventures on the Road with Mary Martin and Carol Channing", about his experiences in 1986-1987 producing a tour of his play "Legends". The production was a highly troubled one, largely because Mary Martin had tremendous difficulty remembering her lines and had to be fitted with a wireless earpiece so that a prompter could feed her lines when necessary. The book is an fascinating chronicle of Kirkwood's experiences and offers excellent insight into the personalities of both actresses.