Alfred Lunt

Lore & Background

Alfred Lunt was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of a prosperous lumberman who died in 1894. His mother lost the family fortune, and they ran a boarding house. Lunt began acting in high school and at Carroll College, then transferred to Emerson College in Boston but rarely attended classes, instead working as a minor actor and assistant stage manager at the Castle Square Theatre. He made his professional stage debut there on October 7, 1912, as the Sheriff in The Aviator.

In 1917, Lunt made his Broadway debut with Laura Hope Crews's company. He met Lynn Fontanne during a summer stock season in Washington, D.C., and they married in May 1922. Their first Broadway appearance together was in 1923 in a revival of Sweet Nell of Old Drury. In 1924, they joined the Theatre Guild, where they established a reputation for light comedy in Ferenc Molnár's The Guardsman. They introduced a naturalistic way of delivering dialogue, speaking while another actor was still speaking, which made their scenes more vivid and real.

The Lunts were close friends with Noël Coward, who wrote Design for Living for the three of them in 1932. The risqué subject and the stars' popularity broke box-office records. Coward's later play for them, Point Valaine (1934), was a failure, the only outright failure of their joint career. The Lunts retired from the stage in 1960 and lived at their home in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin.

Reader's Guide

Alfred Lunt's significance lies in his transformative stage partnership with Lynn Fontanne, which defined American and British theatre for four decades. As 'the Lunts,' they were celebrated for stylish performances in light comedies by Noël Coward, S. N. Behrman, and Terence Rattigan, as well as romantic plays by Robert E. Sherwood. They also appeared in classics such as The Taming of the Shrew, The Seagull, and Pygmalion. Lunt directed some of their productions and staged plays for other managements. Their naturalistic delivery technique, speaking over each other's lines, was innovative for its time. Though they rarely acted for film or television, they each won an Emmy Award and received an Academy Award nomination. Their country estate, Ten Chimneys in Wisconsin, became a gathering place for theatrical friends and is now a National Historic Landmark. The Lunts' legacy endures as a model of a devoted artistic partnership that prioritized live theatre and touring, bringing Broadway productions to audiences across the United States.

Did You Know?

• Alfred Lunt made his professional stage debut on October 7, 1912, as the Sheriff in The Aviator at the Castle Square Theatre in Boston.
• Lunt and Fontanne introduced a naturalistic way of delivering dialogue, speaking while another actor was still speaking, which was unheard of at the time.
• The Lunts' country estate, Ten Chimneys in Genesee Depot, Wisconsin, became a National Historic Landmark in 2003.
• Noël Coward wrote the play Design for Living for Lunt, Fontanne, and himself to star in together.