100 New Yorkers of the 1970s — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
100 New Yorkers of the 1970s
John Stuart Mill · en
Every year he takes a vacation to Europe on the Queen Elizabeth II. "I'm
in Paris for a week and London for about three weeks." In slow, carefully
chosen sentences, he stated, "I represent many English clients because my
knowledge of the English theatre is probably better than anyone else in the
American theatre. Every year in London, I get the same suite in the Savoy
Hotel and give great parties. I go to at least eight plays a week --
sometimes as many as 10. So I get to see all the plays in London. And I
know all the English actors and they know me." Among his British
clients: Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir Ralph Richardson and Sir John Gielgud.
"American performers excel in the musical comedy theatre, where dancers
and singers also very often are fine actors. This is not true in England.
Dancers are especially hard to cast in London, though I think that is
changing now. ... It's sad that the American theatre can't support serious
plays. They're either musicals or they're comedies. I think a healthy
theatre should be able to support the works of serious playwrights. This
season, we happen to have on Broadway an important play by an
American playwright -- Arthur Kopit's _Wings_, which stars our client
Constance Cummings, who is an American actress who went to England
and made her reputation abroad, and has now returned here to great
acclaim."
A native of New Brunswick, New Jersey, Goldman witnessed his first
Broadway show in the summer of 1929, and from that day forward, the
theatre was his passion. For 10 years he worked as a tire salesman at a
family-owned business. Then, through his friend Arnold Weissberger, a
noted lawyer, Goldman was offered a job as a theatrical agent at no base
salary, but with a $25 weekly expense account and a 25 percent interest
in any clients he signed up. Success came to him almost at once.
A lifelong bachelor, Goldman today shares an apartment with Weissberger
on the Upper East Side. His favorite local restaurant is the Four Seasons.
"I go there all the time for lunch; that's my main meal of the day. I think
it's the best restaurant in the world."
The actor's life, he believes, "is a sad and a difficult one. Every time you
get a good part, the next part has to be bigger -- more money. As you
reach the top, it becomes tougher and tougher to get those parts."
Nevertheless, Goldman does not find his own job at all frustrating.
"Pressures? Yes, there are many pressures. But I have said this before:
there are so many rewards for me when I see a client in whom I believe
get a great break in the theatre or films of television. It's a source of great
satisfaction. And with the number of clients I represent, each day brings
some rewards. That's why I've often said to clients: 'I have many lives
to live.'"
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EASTSIDER TAMMY GRIMES
Star of _Father's Day_ at the American Place Theatre
6-23-79