Michael P. Grace II
Michael Paul Grace ll was the producer of the Broadway shows King of Friday's Men and John Murray Anderson's Almanac.
Grace was the lyricist and composer of some of the music for the Almanac show and was the author/co-author of a variety of copyrighted music in the recording industry. In the 1950s, he was the assignor for a variety of patented technologies.
He later became an oil and gas producer as well as becoming involved in mining industry applications of oil and gas technology by means of what is called solutions mining. He made philanthropic donations to create several professorships at Notre Dame University.
Early life
Michael P. Grace II was born on August 6, 1917. His father was Joseph P. Grace, the former chairman of W. R. Grace and Company. His siblings were Janet Maureen Grace, Charles M. Grace and J. Peter Grace, who was also the former chairman of W. R. Grace and Company. His grandfather was William Russell Grace, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company. His great uncle was an industrialist and chairman of the board of the directors of W. R. Grace, Michael P. Grace.He attended Harvard University, the University of Notre Dame, and Fordham School of Law.
Theatre and music career
''King of Friday's Men''
He first produced King of Friday's Men in 1951 on Broadway in New York City. It was a comedy set in the 18th century Ireland by Irish playwright Michael Joseph Molloy, and had been directed by David Alexander.The cast members for the show were:
Sean McClory: Rory Commons
Maggie McNamara: Una Brehony
Walter Macken: Bartley Dowd
Both his grandfather, William R. Grace, and his great uncle, Michael P. Grace, had been born in Ireland.
However, the show closed after two days and four performances.
''John Murray Anderson's Almanac''
Grace then produced with Stanley Gilky and Harry Rigby the Broadway production of the musical revue John Murray Anderson's Almanac, which opened on December 10, 1953, and continued until June 26, 1954. The show ran for 229 performances.John Murray Anderson's Almanac was a music and comedy revue and consisted of cast members Billy De Wolfe, Orson Bean, Tina Louise, Hermione Gingold, Harry Belafonte, Polly Bergen, Carleton Carpenter, and Monique van Mooren. The show was conceived and staged by John Murray Anderson, and Henry Sullivan was one of the composers. Both had worked together in John Murray Anderson's Almanac, as well as on part of the soundtrack for The Greatest Show on Earth.
Michael P. Grace II, along with being one of the producers, wrote some of the music and lyrics for the show as well. Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, who wrote most of the music and lyrics, started their careers in Broadway theatre with this show, going on to write songs for The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees over the course of the next two years. Singer and actress Hermione Gingold, originally from England, started her Broadway career as well with this show. She and fellow cast member Billy de Wolfe would go on to win the 1954 Donaldson Award for Male and Female Debut in a Musical. In the same award ceremony, Harry Belafonte won Best Supporting Actor in a Musical.File:Publicity photo of actress Hermione Gingold and host Garry Moore from the television game show I've Got a Secret.jpg|thumb|Hermione Gingold, seen here in publicity image for I've Got a Secret, began her career on Broadway as well as in US cinema with Mike Grace's production John Murray Anderson's Almanac.
| Before John Murray Anderson's Almanac | After the 1953 Show |
| John Murray Anderson & Henry Sullivan had written part of the soundtrack for The Greatest Show on Earth | Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, who had written a majority of the music, would go on to write music for The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees. |
Concert producer
In 1957, Grace and Chris F. Anderson presented Jazz Under the Stars at the Wollman Memorial Theatre in New York City's Central Park. It was produced by Grace in association with Monte Kay and Pete Kameron. Kay and Kameron would later go on to create FM Records. The show starred Billie Holiday, the Jerry Mulligan Quartet, Dinah Washington, Buddy Rich, Stan Getz, and Jo Jones. Commentary was provided by Al "Jazzbo" Collins and Sean Shepherd.Composer and lyricist
Grace, along with having created some of the music and lyrics to his Broadway production, had written a variety of copyrighted songs for the recording industry as well. He wrote/co-wrote the music for Teeny, Weeny Martini and Cradled in the Arms of Love with Sammy Gallup and Helmy Kresa. He and John Rox, a fellow lyricist and composer from the Almanac show, wrote Let a Little Time Go By. He also did musical collaborations with Clay Boland and Alfonso D'Artega..Discography
Assignor of various patented technologies
Oil industry
In 1965, Grace started a new career as an oil and gas producer. He operated wells mostly in New Mexico and was based in Carlsbad, New Mexico.Wells produced or with participatory interest by Michael P. Grace in New Mexico
- Humble Grace
- Tracy B
- Grace Atlantic #001
- Airport Grace
Philanthropy
He provided the charitable contributions for the Michael P. Grace Chair in Medieval Studies at the University of Notre Dame in the US. The professorship is a part of scholarly work in medieval research. A good example of the professorship's success was its encouragement for the writing of the book Aquinas on Human Action: A Theory of Practice by Ralph McInerny, Michael P. Grace Professor of medieval studies in the department of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. His charitable contribution also created a professorship and assistant professorship in economics at the university.