Rewind:  September 1, 2024

In January of 1979, a fundraising project was begun to finish ‘Heritage Hall’ in the Glens Falls Civic Center.  This large room in the heart of the Center was to be finished through donations.  The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce took on the task of the fund raising effort, with a goal of $500,000.

The director of the Civic Center, Ned Harkness, outlined a plan where the room would be a place to “recognize the past accomplishments of area athletes and outstanding citizens,”

One end of the large room would be used for a Sports Hall of Fame, the middle of the room would highlight important and significant events in the area, and the other end would be an area Hall of Fame.  Committees were formed to identify the people and events to be so honored.

Over the years since the idea took hold, people’s names were added, and the collection of honorees grew.

After some time, the collection of plaques honoring outstanding citizens was moved to the basement of the Charles R. Wood Theater, where it remains today.  We have been made aware that there are many ‘locals’ who do not know or realize that such a collection of “Special People” even (still) exists.  Since the subjects of the honor plaques is certainly history, we will use this column to occasionally share some of the ‘Heritage Hall’ information with the public in hopes that they will make it a point to visit the Charles R. Wood Theater and see the collection housed there.

We will start the process looking at a framed plaque entitled “Stars of Yesteryear,” and highlight one      of the identified people on it.

From Heritage Hall:  “Stars of Yesteryear”

Monty Woolley

(1888-1963)

Monty Woolley had a connection to Saratoga Springs.  He had the opportunity to meet many famous stars of stage and screen, and he eventually became a star himself.

The Born Edgar Montillion Woolley when he was born in the Bristol Hotel in Manhattan.  The hotel was owned by his father who was also proprietor of the fabled Grand Union Hotel in Saratoga Springs.

The connections to the two hotels allowed Monty to regularly meet the stars of the day, including Lillian Russell, Sarah Bernhardt, and other theatrical luminaries in the salons of the two hotels.  Another famous acquaintance was classmate Cole Porter, the composer, with whom he developed a lifelong friendship.  Monty was educated at Yale and Harvard and returned to Yale to teach English.

He served with the National Guard during the Mexican border campaign, then in France during World War I.

He left his teaching position at Yale in 1927 to go to Broadway where he directed many productions and made a reputation as a wit, partygoer, and man about town.  In 1937 he found himself in Hollywood, where he established himself an actor in the film “The Man Who Came to Dinner.”  He remained a film favorite for two decades and was a regular on the radio.  He later appeared on television and achieved fame as a character actor in early television.

When he retired, he returned to Saratoga Springs and is buried in Greenridge Cemetery there.