"Growing Pains" was Andrea King's professional acting debut, under the name
Georgette McKee. At the tender age of 14, Georgette had been spotted by Mr. C.P. Greneker,
the right-hand man for Lee and J.J. Shubert, the most powerful theatrical producers of the
day. Mr. Greneker happened to attend a boarding school recital in Connecticut, in which
Georgette was playing Juliet in the famous balcony scene from Shakespeare's "Romeo
and Juliet." Unexpectedly, her balcony collapsed during the scene, but without
hesitation, Georgette continued and finished amongst the rubble. Mr. Greneker was so
impressed with her tenacity, concentration and (naturally!) beauty, that scarcely a month
passed before she was making her Broadway debut. She appeared as Jane with the large
youthful ensemble in "Growing Pains," a light comedy that would later
serve as its author Aurania Rouverol's inspiration for her "Andy Hardy"
film series at MGM. The play ran only 14 performances, but Georgette had been introduced
to the footlights of Broadway, and an actress was born. Playing her sister Helen in the
production was another newcomer Patricia Morrison (later spelled "Morison"). Pat
would become a star herself, appearing in many films and scoring a theatrical triumph on
Broadway as the original Kate in the Cole Porter musical "Kiss Me, Kate." The cast
of "Growing Pains" also included Lili Zehner who would appear with
Georgette in her next Broadway play, "Fly
Away Home," and Philippe de Lacy, who would be reunited with Georgette in
1940 to work on "The Ramparts We Watch,"
Georgette's film
debut.
The star of "Growing Pains" was Junior Durkin,
fresh from his two appearances as Huckleberry Finn in the most recent film adaptations of
Mark Twain's popular books. Junior would die tragically only a few years after this play
in an automobile accident, cutting short a bright future and a promising career.
Growing Pains
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