George Abbott

I was engulfed by nostalgia, tinged with sadness that George Abbott has died--at age 107! And still working on things!

I had the great pleasure of working with Mr. Abbott (no one would dare call him George) when he was a young fellow of 84. He directed the old-fashioned comedy “Life With Father” for the Seattle Rep. He had brought me in from New York, a fact that I don’t think the “powers that be” were too thrilled about, as I was to play Cousin Cora, a small supporting role.

It was fascinating to watch him work--he wasted no time, was always the first there in the morning and the last to leave at night. He would exhort people to “be yourself--don’t act,” one of the best acting lessons I’ve ever had. And I only wish I had the energy now, at 50, that he had at 84.

One piece of advice I have, unfortunately, failed to follow: While sitting next to me at a cast breakfast outing one weekend, he looked disapprovingly at my plate of eggs, sausage and bacon and said, “That stuff’ll kill you.” Obviously, since he made it to 107, the man knew as much about other things as he knew about theater--almost.

JUDITH DRAKE, Burbank