Me, My Mother, and Helen Hayes
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
By George Guidall / White Plains, N.Y.
In 1961, the author, as a young actor, went on a U.S. government-sponsored 17-country tour with a troupe that included famed actress Helen Hayes
I called her from Palm Beach.
“Mom? Mom!”
“Yes, what? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. It’s…”
“So why are you calling?”
“Mom, listen. I’m going to Europe. 17 countries! I got a job! I’m going to…”
“Listen, Georgie, that’s not funny! Don’t joke.”
“It’s not a joke! I got a job. It’s my first real job as an actor, Mom! It’s a European tour! Three plays sponsored by the State Department. And it’s with Helen Hayes and June Havoc and a lot of other…”
“With Helen Hayes? You mean it? Helen Hayes? They’re paying you?”
“Of course they’re paying me. I’m in the union now. Listen, I can’t talk now. I’ll call you later and tell you more…”
“Wait! Wait! I want to ask if you…”
“Can’t talk now, Mom. Just wanted to tell you the news. Love you. Bye.”
So! I was now certified. Verified! I was a professional among professionals. Assistant stage manager and understudy for key roles.
Thrilling, though when I was about to sign the contract, I was asked by the company manager in a tone that carried no smile if I was aware of the unrest in the Middle East. This was 1961. There was unrest all around that area. Israel, The United Arab Republic, Egypt, Jordan. I felt there was budding conflict in the whole region. I was well aware of the situation.
The man’s look grew more intense. His eyebrows drew closer together as he informed me that our entry into Egypt was presenting a problem, since we were scheduled to enter Israel first. Then I heard, “While we’re at it, did you ever think of changing your name now that you’re at the start of a theatrical career?” I smiled, signed the contract, and admitted that I had already been thinking about doing that. I smiled again and left.
In fact, I had been playing with my name awhile. George Parker? George Swift? I was searching for a suitable standout for a Broadway marquee. The night before I signed the contract, I had discussed this with a friend. He was a member of the Catholic Actors Guild and he said he thought Jewish people received Jewish or Hebrew names at birth
“They do,” I replied.
He grinned. “That’s great.”
I sat thinking.
“But my name is Gedahlyah! I can’t be George Gedalyah. On a marquee? Are you kidding?”
He lit a cigarette.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Hey, wait. What about George Gedal? No. No. Not quite.”
I glanced at his pack of Pall Mall cigarettes on the table.
“How about George Gedall, pronounced like Pall Mall? No?”
He stared at me.” It’s Pell Mell.”
“OK! George Gedall, but fancy, like Guidall, rhyming with Pell Mell, but keep the a!”
He extended his hand to shake mine. “That’s it! George Guidall like Pell Mell!”
“That’s it!” I grabbed his hand. “George Shapiro is now...drum roll, please... George Guidall like Pell Mell!”
So that was that. And we never did play in Egypt
And my passport read: George Shapiro, KNOWN AS George Guidall
But no matter. Mr. Guidall was touring 17 countries with Helen Hayes and June Havoc.
And he was bringing his mother to meet Helen Hayes!
At Kennedy Airport, in a room filled with so many famous faces of Broadway, I caught my mother as she entered, eyes wide open. She raised her eyebrows with a huge smile as if to say, “You made it, Georgie!”
I took her hand and walked over to Helen, (yes, HELEN), and said,
“Mom, this is Helen Hayes! Helen, I’d like you to meet my mother.”
Helen smiled graciously.
“I’m so happy to meet you. We’re so happy to have George with us.”
Mom moved closer to her, eyes fixed on a very noticeable cross on a pedant Helen often wore.
“Well, Mrs. Hayes. It’s nice to meet you, too. Very, very nice.”
My mother paused, raised those eyebrows, and with a glance towards me said:
“But listen. Mrs. Hayes...maybe you can talk him out of it?”
I don’t think I’d ever seen Helen Hayes smile so…grandly. I was struck deaf at the moment. I don’t recall Helen’s reply, but I’ll always remember her smile. I still do.
It turned out that Egypt didn’t welcome us. We were scheduled to go to Israel first. That was considered a slight to the Egyptian officials, so we never got there. But George Guidall was touring Europe. 17 countries. George Guidall played the gentleman caller in Glass Menagerie in front of an audience of silent Turks in Ankara.
And George Guidall sent postcards from each country to his mother, signed,
Your son, George Guidall.
George Guidall in Germany. I took German as a foreign language. It was an easy A. I had even won the New Jersey State German elocution contest, though Mom never knew. Germany was a dreaded cave of darkness in her mind. She stayed away from it. I stayed away from mentioning it.
As we circled Dusseldorf in the plane before landing, Mom and Dad were on my mind, their faces frozen in a silent stare. We were then informed that the usual welcoming party, government-sponsored, would be held in the Hilton Hotel on its roof garden. I was to help unload at the theatre in case their crew was weak on English or ours was weak on German.
A beautiful sunny day. The German crew members were glad to see us and spoke a pretty good English. One standing next to me in jeans, a leather vest and a red beret spoke to me.
“Welcome. Welcome to Germany.”
‘Thank you.”
“You have been here before?”
“No. Not really.”
He smiled.
“You have brought much material, sir.”
“Yes. we have.”
“And you have a very big party tonight, yes?”
“Oh, yes.” I had broken out in a sweat. “It’s on the Hitler Roo…NO! NO! The Hitler Garden, the Hitler...”
He frowned, then smiled again, nodding his head slowly.
“Oh...you mean the Hilton Roof?
He looked straight into my eyes and repeated it slowly.
“HIL…ton.”
With that, he smiled again, differently, turned away slowly, still nodding, and headed towards the loading area behind him.
I just stood there, thinking. George Guidall may have been touring Europe, but George Shapiro was in Germany. I followed him in.
George Guidall is an actor and one of the most prolific audiobook narrators in history, having recorded over 2,000 books. Guidall has built a successful 40-year career in theater, performing on Broadway and winning the coveted Obie Award Off-Broadway. Known for an expressive baritone and exceptional emotional nuance, he has brought life to classic literature from Homer’s Iliad to Cervantes’ Don Quixote to the works of Dostoyevsky, as well as a wide range of bestsellers. He has received multiple Audie Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and recently was honored by the Audio Publishers Association with an induction into its Hall of Fame.
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