Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne preferred Broadway to Hollywood

Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne were Broadway’s preeminent acting couple for four decades, appearing in some 40 plays together including “The Guardsman,” “Design for Living,” “Idiot’s Delight” and “The Visit.” Married in 1922, they insisted they would always act together onstage, which they did until they retired from the theater in 1960. Besides a cameo in the 1943 patriotic movie musical “Stage Door Canteen,” Lunt and Fontanne made only one film together, 1931’s “The Guardsman,” based on their Broadway hit. They both received Oscar nominations in the romantic comedy. The film may have been a huge success, but they refused to do any more films. Fontanne reportedly told one studio: “We can be bought, but we cannot be bored.”

— Susan King