Sally Bowles
Encyclopedia
Sally Bowles is a fictional character created by Christopher Isherwood
. She originally appeared in Isherwood's 1937 novella
Sally Bowles published by Hogarth Press
. The story was later republished in the novel Goodbye to Berlin
. Sally is a central character in the 1951 John Van Druten stage play I Am a Camera
, the 1955 film of the same name
, the 1966 musical stage adaptation Cabaret
and the 1972 film adaptation of the musical
.
between the World Wars (1931—1933). Isherwood took the last name "Bowles" from Paul Bowles
, whom he had met in Berlin in 1931. Explaining his choice, he wrote, "[I] liked the sound of it and also the looks of its owner". He describes Sally by writing:
In the novel Sally is British, purporting to be the daughter of a Lancashire
mill owner and an heiress. She is a singer at an underground club called The Lady Windermere. Isherwood describes her singing as poor but surprisingly effective "because of her startling appearance and her air of not caring a curse what people thought of her". She aspires to be an actress or in the alternative to ensnare a wealthy man to keep her. Unsuccessful at both, Sally departs Berlin and is last heard from in the form of a postcard sent from Rome with no return address.
Isherwood apparently began writing the story that would become Sally Bowles in 1933, writing to friend Olive Mangeot in July of that year that he had written it. He continued to revise it over the next three years, completing his final draft on June 21, 1936. In a letter to poet and editor John Lehmann
dated January 16, 1936, Isherwood briefly outlined the piece, envisioning it as part of his novel The Lost (which became Mr Norris Changes Trains). He describes it as akin to the work of Anthony Hope
and as "an attempt to satirize the romance-of-prostitution racket". Later in 1936 Isherwood submitted the piece to Lehmann for possible publication in his literary magazine, New Writing. Lehmann liked the piece but felt that it was too long for his magazine. He was also concerned about the inclusion in the manuscript of Sally's abortion, fearing that his printers might refuse to typeset it, and about the possibility that Jean Ross might file a libel action. In a January 1937 letter, Isherwood explained his belief that without the abortion incident Sally would be reduced to "a silly little capricious bitch" and that the omission would leave the story without a climax
. Ross hesitated in giving her permission to publish, worried that the abortion episode, which was not fictional, would strain her relationship with her family. Ross ultimately gave her permission and Hogarth published the volume later that year.
Isherwood never revealed publicly that Jean Ross was his inspiration for Sally until after her death in 1973. Despite this, those who knew her had little difficulty in spotting her as the character's genesis. Ross did not seek any benefit or publicity from her association with the character and, when sought out by reporters when Cabaret was first mounted on stage, declined all invitations to see the show.
In his diary from October 1958, Isherwood records that a composer named Don Parks had expressed interest in writing a musical based on Sally but that Isherwood planned to deny him permission.
originated the role of Sally Bowles in John Van Druten's 1951 play I Am a Camera, for which she received the 1952 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
. Isherwood described Harris as "more essentially Sally Bowles than the Sally of my book, and much more like Sally than the real girl who long ago gave me the idea for my character". Barbara Baxley
took over the role when Harris departed. Harris recreated the role in 1955 for the film adaptation, also called I Am a Camera. Dorothy Tutin
starred as Sally in a successful 1954 British stage production.
When I Am a Camera was adapted into the musical Cabaret
in 1966, Jill Haworth
originated the role of Sally. As the run continued, Penny Fuller
, Anita Gillette
and Melissa Hart
also played the part. Cabaret was revived on Broadway in 1987 with Alyson Reed
playing Sally. The musical was revived again in 1998 with Natasha Richardson
as Sally. Richardson won the 1998 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. As the run continued actresses including Jennifer Jason Leigh
, Susan Egan
, Joely Fisher
, Gina Gershon
, Deborah Gibson
, Teri Hatcher
, Melina Kanakaredes
, Jane Leeves
, Molly Ringwald
, Brooke Shields
and Lea Thompson
appeared in the role.
Cabaret debuted on the West End
in 1968 with Judi Dench
in the role of Sally. West End revivals have featured Kelly Hunter (1986), Toyah Willcox
(1987), Jane Horrocks
(1993) and Anna Maxwell Martin
(2006) playing the part.
The musical adaptation was itself adapted for film, in 1972's Cabaret
. This Sally differs from her predecessors in that she is not British but American. Liza Minnelli
won the Academy Award for Best Actress
for her portrayal of Sally.
Christopher Isherwood
Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood was an English-American novelist.-Early life and work:Born at Wyberslegh Hall, High Lane, Cheshire in North West England, Isherwood spent his childhood in various towns where his father, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, was stationed...
. She originally appeared in Isherwood's 1937 novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
Sally Bowles published by Hogarth Press
Hogarth Press
The Hogarth Press was founded in 1917 by Leonard Woolf and Virginia Woolf. It was named after their house in Richmond, in which they began hand-printing books....
. The story was later republished in the novel Goodbye to Berlin
Goodbye to Berlin
Goodbye to Berlin is a 1939 short novel by Christopher Isherwood set in pre-Nazi Germany. It is often published together with Mr Norris Changes Trains in a collection called The Berlin Stories.-Details:...
. Sally is a central character in the 1951 John Van Druten stage play I Am a Camera
I Am a Camera
I Am a Camera is a 1951 Broadway play inspired by Christopher Isherwood's novel Goodbye to Berlin which is part of The Berlin Stories...
, the 1955 film of the same name
I Am a Camera (film)
I Am a Camera is a British comedy-drama film released in 1955. Based on The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood and the play I Am a Camera by John Van Druten, the film is a fictionalized account of Isherwood's time living in Berlin between the World Wars...
, the 1966 musical stage adaptation Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
and the 1972 film adaptation of the musical
Cabaret (film)
Cabaret is a 1972 musical film directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. The film is set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, under the ominous presence of the growing National Socialist Party....
.
Creation and description
Sally Bowles is based on Jean Ross, a woman Isherwood knew during the years he lived in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
between the World Wars (1931—1933). Isherwood took the last name "Bowles" from Paul Bowles
Paul Bowles
Paul Frederic Bowles was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator.Following a cultured middle-class upbringing in New York City, during which he displayed a talent for music and writing, Bowles pursued his education at the University of Virginia before making various trips to Paris...
, whom he had met in Berlin in 1931. Explaining his choice, he wrote, "[I] liked the sound of it and also the looks of its owner". He describes Sally by writing:
I noticed that her finger-nails were painted emerald green, a colour unfortunately chosen, for it called attention to her hands, which were much stained by cigarette smoking and as dirty as a little girl's. She was dark....Her face was long and thin, powdered dead white. She had very large brown eyes which should have been darker, to match her hair and the pencil she used for her eyebrows.
In the novel Sally is British, purporting to be the daughter of a Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
mill owner and an heiress. She is a singer at an underground club called The Lady Windermere. Isherwood describes her singing as poor but surprisingly effective "because of her startling appearance and her air of not caring a curse what people thought of her". She aspires to be an actress or in the alternative to ensnare a wealthy man to keep her. Unsuccessful at both, Sally departs Berlin and is last heard from in the form of a postcard sent from Rome with no return address.
Isherwood apparently began writing the story that would become Sally Bowles in 1933, writing to friend Olive Mangeot in July of that year that he had written it. He continued to revise it over the next three years, completing his final draft on June 21, 1936. In a letter to poet and editor John Lehmann
John Lehmann
Rudolf John Frederick Lehmann was an English poet and man of letters, and one of the foremost literary editors of the twentieth century, founding the periodicals New Writing and The London Magazine.The fourth child of journalist Rudolph Lehmann, and brother of Helen Lehmann, novelist Rosamond...
dated January 16, 1936, Isherwood briefly outlined the piece, envisioning it as part of his novel The Lost (which became Mr Norris Changes Trains). He describes it as akin to the work of Anthony Hope
Anthony Hope
Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope , was an English novelist and playwright. Although he was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels, he is remembered best for only two books: The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau...
and as "an attempt to satirize the romance-of-prostitution racket". Later in 1936 Isherwood submitted the piece to Lehmann for possible publication in his literary magazine, New Writing. Lehmann liked the piece but felt that it was too long for his magazine. He was also concerned about the inclusion in the manuscript of Sally's abortion, fearing that his printers might refuse to typeset it, and about the possibility that Jean Ross might file a libel action. In a January 1937 letter, Isherwood explained his belief that without the abortion incident Sally would be reduced to "a silly little capricious bitch" and that the omission would leave the story without a climax
Climax (narrative)
The Climax is the point in the story where the main character's point of view changes, or the most exciting/action filled part of the story. It also known has the main turning point in the story...
. Ross hesitated in giving her permission to publish, worried that the abortion episode, which was not fictional, would strain her relationship with her family. Ross ultimately gave her permission and Hogarth published the volume later that year.
Isherwood never revealed publicly that Jean Ross was his inspiration for Sally until after her death in 1973. Despite this, those who knew her had little difficulty in spotting her as the character's genesis. Ross did not seek any benefit or publicity from her association with the character and, when sought out by reporters when Cabaret was first mounted on stage, declined all invitations to see the show.
In his diary from October 1958, Isherwood records that a composer named Don Parks had expressed interest in writing a musical based on Sally but that Isherwood planned to deny him permission.
Portrayals
Julie HarrisJulie Harris
Julia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
originated the role of Sally Bowles in John Van Druten's 1951 play I Am a Camera, for which she received the 1952 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
. Isherwood described Harris as "more essentially Sally Bowles than the Sally of my book, and much more like Sally than the real girl who long ago gave me the idea for my character". Barbara Baxley
Barbara Baxley
Barbara Baxley was an American actress of stage, film and television.-Early life:Baxley was born in Porterville, California, the daughter of Emma and Bert Baxley.-Career:...
took over the role when Harris departed. Harris recreated the role in 1955 for the film adaptation, also called I Am a Camera. Dorothy Tutin
Dorothy Tutin
Dame Dorothy Tutin DBE was an English actor of stage, film, and television.An obituary in The Daily Telegraph described her as "one of the most enchanting, accomplished and intelligent leading ladies on the post-war British stage...
starred as Sally in a successful 1954 British stage production.
When I Am a Camera was adapted into the musical Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
in 1966, Jill Haworth
Jill Haworth
Valerie Jill Haworth was an English actress.Haworth was born in Sussex, to a textile magnate father and a mother who trained as a ballet dancer ....
originated the role of Sally. As the run continued, Penny Fuller
Penny Fuller
Penny Fuller is an American actress.Born in Durham, North Carolina, Fuller attended Northwestern University in Illinois. She then went to New York City to make a name for herself on Broadway...
, Anita Gillette
Anita Gillette
Anita Gillette is an American actress, most notable for her work on Broadway and as a celebrity guest on various game shows....
and Melissa Hart
Melissa Hart (actress)
Melissa Hart is an American actress, singer, and teacher. She made her Broadway debut in 1966 as an ensemble member in Jerry Bock's The Apple Tree. As Barbara Harris's understudy, she replaced the actress as the various heroines in that musical for several performances...
also played the part. Cabaret was revived on Broadway in 1987 with Alyson Reed
Alyson Reed
Alyson Reed is an American dancer and actress.Reed grew up in Anaheim, California and attended Anaheim High School, where she graduated in 1976. She was a varsity songleader for two years, and was ASB President as a senior. She began performing in high school, and one of her major roles was as...
playing Sally. The musical was revived again in 1998 with Natasha Richardson
Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
as Sally. Richardson won the 1998 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. As the run continued actresses including Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American film and stage actress, best known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Georgia and Short Cuts...
, Susan Egan
Susan Egan
Susan Egan is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage.-Early life and career:Egan was born in Seal Beach, California. She attended Orange County High School of the Arts and UCLA. In the meantime she started her career touring with the performance group The Young...
, Joely Fisher
Joely Fisher
Joely Fisher is an American actress best known for her work on television as Paige Clark on Ellen as well as Joy Stark in the Fox sitcom Til Death, and also on stage and in films.-Background:...
, Gina Gershon
Gina Gershon
Gina L. Gershon is an American film, television and stage actress, singer and author, known for her roles in the films Cocktail , Showgirls , Bound , Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back , Face/Off , The Insider , Demonlover , Category 7: The End of the World , P.S...
, Deborah Gibson
Deborah Gibson
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Gibson is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. In 1987 she was pronounced the youngest artist to write, produce, and perform a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, with her song "Foolish Beat" and she remains the youngest female to write, record, and...
, Teri Hatcher
Teri Hatcher
Teri Lynn Hatcher is an American actress, writer, and presenter. She is known for her television roles as Susan Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and Lois Lane on the ABC comedy-drama series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...
, Melina Kanakaredes
Melina Kanakaredes
Melina Eleni Kanakaredes Constantinides is an American actress. She is widely known for two starring roles on U.S. prime-time television drama series; playing Detective Stella Bonasera in CSI: NY and portraying Dr...
, Jane Leeves
Jane Leeves
Jane Leeves is an English film, stage, and television actress, comedienne and dancer.Leeves made her screen debut with a small role in the 1983 popular British comedy television show The Benny Hill Show. Leeves moved to the United States, where she performed in small roles until she secured a...
, Molly Ringwald
Molly Ringwald
Molly Kathleen Ringwald is an American actress, singer and dancer. Having appeared in the John Hughes movies Sixteen Candles , The Breakfast Club , and Pretty in Pink , Ringwald has been frequently named the greatest teen star of all time...
, Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
and Lea Thompson
Lea Thompson
Lea Katherine Thompson is an American actress and director. She is best known for her 1990s NBC situation comedy Caroline in the City and her portrayal of Lorraine Baines McFly, Marty McFly's mother, in the Back to the Future trilogy...
appeared in the role.
Cabaret debuted on the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
in 1968 with Judi Dench
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
in the role of Sally. West End revivals have featured Kelly Hunter (1986), Toyah Willcox
Toyah Willcox
Toyah Ann Willcox is an English actress and singer. In a career spanning more than thirty years Toyah has had 13 top 40 singles, released 22 studio albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays and ten feature films, as well as voicing and presenting numerous television shows...
(1987), Jane Horrocks
Jane Horrocks
Barbara Jane Horrocks is an English voice, stage, screen and television actress, voice artist, musician, and singer. She is best known for her role as "Bubble" in the TV series Absolutely Fabulous as well as her distinctive voice....
(1993) and Anna Maxwell Martin
Anna Maxwell Martin
Anna Maxwell Martin , sometimes credited as Anna Maxwell-Martin, is a two-time BAFTA award-winning English actress who has won acclaim for her performances as Lyra in His Dark Materials at the Royal National Theatre, as Esther Summerson in the BBC's 2005 adaptation of Bleak House, and as N in...
(2006) playing the part.
The musical adaptation was itself adapted for film, in 1972's Cabaret
Cabaret (film)
Cabaret is a 1972 musical film directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey. The film is set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, under the ominous presence of the growing National Socialist Party....
. This Sally differs from her predecessors in that she is not British but American. Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
won the Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for her portrayal of Sally.