Julius Monk Explained

Julius Withers Monk (November 10, 1912, Spencer, North Carolina  - August 17, 1995, New York City) was an American impresario in the New York cabaret scene. His 1956 revue, Four Below, has been characterized as "the first legitimate cafe revue in New York City"[1]

Biography

Monk was born into a well-heeled and well-established family of North Carolina. After training at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, he earned his living playing piano in New York City and France, then became manager in 1942 of the New York nightclub Le Ruban Bleu, owned by Herbert Jacoby. In 1956, Monk left that establishment for San Francisco's the hungry i, where he did duty as master of ceremonies. Soon, Murray Grand, new manager of the Downstairs Room (formerly the Purple Onion), recalled Monk to Manhattan. On March 4, 1956, his opening revue, Four Below (starring Dody Goodman) was a triumph. (It was characterized as "the first legitimate cafe revue in New York City" by James Gavin, author of the 1991 book Intimate Nights, The Golden Age of New York Cabaret.) At the new venue (Upstairs At The Downstairs on West 56th Street), Monk then staged a succession of revues by writers such as Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt (later collaborators on The Fantasticks), Sheldon Harnick, Louis Botto, Herb Hartig, Gerry Matthews, John Meyer, and Tom Poston.

Monk's annual revues established the standard for New York cabaret over the following decade: Take Five (1957), Demi-Dozen (1958), Four Below Strikes Back (1959), Pieces of Eight (1959), Dressed to the Nines (1960) and 7 Come 11 (1961). Friction between Monk and owner Irving Haber prompted the former to leave and in 1962 he and Thomas Hammond opened a new nightclub — the Rendezvous Room (Plaza 9) — at the Plaza Hotel. There his troupe continued with revues such as Dime A Dozen (1962), Baker's Dozen (1964), and Bits & Pieces XIV (1964).

Monk's last revue at the Plaza, Four In Hand, closed on June 29, 1968 after which he retired. He died at age 82 in August 1995 at his home in Manhattan.[2]

Discography

(^ lyric by Tom Jones, music by Harvey Schmidt; ^^music and lyric by Harvey Schmidt)

Cecil Cabot, Gordon Connell, Bill Hinnant, Gerry Matthews, Pat Ruhr, Mary Louise Wilson with William Roy and Carl Norman at the Plural Pianos

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Gavin, James . Intimate Nights, The Golden Age of New York Cabaret . New York . Grove Weidenfeld . 1991 . 978-0-8230-8825-6.
  2. News: Mel . Gussow . Julius Monk, Cabaret Impresario, Dies at 82 . . August 22, 1995.

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