Lynn Aloysius Belvedere

Lynn Aloysius Belvedere is a fictional character created by Gwen Davenport for her 1947 novel Belvedere, and later adapted for film and television.[1]

Novel

Belvedere was written in 1947 by Gwen Davenport. Set during the final months of World War II, it concerns a writer who goes to work as a nanny for a dysfunctional family in suburban Louisville. Tacey King, a frustrated housewife and college-trained sculptor with two young boys and a baby girl, lives with her husband Harry in a lightly fictionalized stand-in for the wealthy Mockingbird Valley community (here called "Hummingbird Hill"). Tacey takes out an advertisement in the Saturday Review of Literature for a "struggling young novelist who would welcome pleasant room, board, in exchange sitting with children evenings," hoping to secure free domestic assistance during the wartime labor shortage, as well as liven up the house with an artistic presence.[2] Belvedere replies to the ad, and Tacey invites him to interview for the position in Louisville, believing "Lynn" to be a woman.

In Davenport's novel, almost nothing of Belvedere's age, experiences or background is mentioned, other than that he arrives for the job from Indianapolis (though he asks rhetorically later, with some bitterness, "do I look like a Hoosier?" when asked if he is from Indiana). He is a self-declared "genius" in the early stages of his "life's work," a trilogy of novels, the first of which is entitled David Copperhead. At one point, Tacey describes him as a "lonely misanthrope." At the end of the book, when Tacey questions Belvedere about his past and plans for the future, he reveals only that he was left by a woman who didn't believe his work as a writer could support her.

"We never really come to know this remarkable person," wrote one contemporary reviewer of Davenport's Belvedere, "for Tacey, Harry, the children and the neighbors could never do that."[3] Another reviewer compared Belvedere's temperament and presence in the King's household to that of the overbearing, self-centered writer played by Monty Woolley in the comic play and motion picture The Man Who Came to Dinner.[4] In fact, 20th Century Fox head Darryl Zanuck joked later that the studio had purchased the rights to the novel with Woolley in mind for the lead role.[5]

Physically, Belvedere is described as "immensely tall, with a narrow, emaciated body," and with "deep-set, burning eyes in a pallid face...high, slanted cheekbones and black hair that sprang back from a bulbous forehead," as variously "stern" or "brooding" with an "aloof" and "inscrutable" manner.[6] The first edition's cover art portrays Belvedere as a tall young man intensely studying a manuscript; later paperback editions released to capitalize on the movie would portray him with as an older man with a mustache with more of a resemblance to Clifton Webb, who would play the character onscreen.

In other media

Film

Three films featured the character, starring Clifton Webb as Lynn Belvedere:

The Belvedere of the motion pictures was less of an brooding young artist than in Davenport's novel, portrayed instead by Webb as a well-dressed, self-disciplined and elderly eccentric with the actor's distinctive mid-Atlantic accent, arrogant and acerbic, but committed to his role as a nanny. A self-proclaimed "genius" and "philosopher," Belvedere practices yoga, vegetarianism and Fletcherism.

Webb saw the Belvedere role as an opportunity to make a break from earlier film roles, such as in Laura (1944) and The Dark Corner (1946); Webb felt he was being increasingly typecast as a villain. Webb had been given a copy of Davenport's novel by a friend who thought he might be good in the role. When Webb approached Zanuck, the studio boss had also identified the role as a potential vehicle for him. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Webb said that Belvedere was "quite impersonal, very detached; nothing fazes him. He is with people but never becomes a part of them."[5]

In the first film, Harry and Tacey King hire Lynn Belvedere sight unseen as a nanny for their three young rambunctious boys, believing that "Lynn" is a woman. They are surprised that Lynn is a dapper older gentleman who has many skills and achievements; aside from being a proficient cook and handyman, at various points, he claims to have been a beekeeper, obstetrician, dog trainer, locksmith, boxer, and film director, as well as dance instructor to Arthur Murray and a field surgeon under General John J. Pershing. Belvedere declares that he detests children, but he quickly wins over the boys. Harry, however, is annoyed by Belvedere's superior attitude. After a number of misunderstandings and scandals, Belvedere writes a best-selling novel that exposes the secrets of the local residents.

Subsequently, he goes to college to complete a four-year degree in one year, where he reveals his formal education ended in kindergarten, and explores the phenomenon of growing old.

Television

Main article: Mr. Belvedere

Multiple attempts failed to bring the character to television; three pilots based on the Belvedere character were made, with Reginald Gardiner in 1956, Hans Conried in 1959, and Victor Buono in 1965.[7][8] A successful television series first aired on ABC in 1985, with Christopher Hewett in the role.

In the series, Lynn Belvedere is hired by George (Bob Uecker) and Marsha Owens (Ilene Graff) as a housekeeper for their three children. They are surprised that "Lynn" is a dapper older gentleman, the confusion over Belvedere's given name the only element from the original source material retained in this adaptation. The three children are: oldest son Kevin (Rob Stone), daughter Heather (Tracy Wells) and youngest child Wesley (Brice Beckham). Wesley in particular develops a very close relationship with Mr. Belvedere. Being a cultured man with many skills and achievements (having even once worked for Winston Churchill), he also comes to serve as some sort of a "counselor" to the Owens clan, helping them solve their dilemmas and stay out of mischief. Each episode ends with Mr. Belvedere writing in his journal, recounting the events of the day (which is heard by the audience via his narration) with the Owens family and what he got out of it in terms of a lesson.

A United Press International profile from 1985 described Hewett's Belvedere as a "stouter, somewhat more genial incarnation" of Webb's "austerely elegant" take on the character.[9] While Hewett admired Clifton Webb's portrayal of the character, he "never tried to copy it, because I'm 20 years older than Clifton Webb was then, and I'm certainly 20 times bigger. And you can't do a character in a weekly series with that kind of acerbic bitchiness he did so well. To do it week after week you would have to have some relief and show a warmer side."[10] Hewett said in an interview he modeled his interpretation of Belvedere on the sorts of butlers and valets played on-screen by English character actor Arthur Treacher, noting that "Arthur never went out of fashion."[11] As the show progressed, Hewett imbued the character with a warmer quality, drawing on memories of his "very wise" childhood nannies in England, putting "a lot of my nanny" in his portrayal of Belvedere. "When something hurt," he told an interviewer in 1989, "she would help and console me. Mother was for high tea, Nanny was for washing behind your ears."[12]

References

  1. ^ "Gwen Davenport, 92, 'Belvedere' Author". The New York Times. April 15, 2002. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  2. ^ Hall, Wade; Gene Berry and Jeffrey Campbell Collection (Library of Congress), eds. (2005). The Kentucky anthology: two hundred years of writing in the Bluegrass State. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2376-9. OCLC 61881096.
  3. ^ "Belvedere, by Gwen Davenport". The Buffalo News. July 5, 1947.
  4. ^ ""If You Don't Like Children, This Volume is Not For You"". The Lexington Herald. August 24, 1947.
  5. ^ a b Scheuer, Philip K. (Mar 28, 1948). "Unique Screen Character Developed by Clifton Webb". Los Angeles Times. pp. 47–49.
  6. ^ Davenport, Lynn (January 1, 1947). Belvedere (1st ed.). Bobbs-Merrill. p. 56. ASIN B0006AR5J8.
  7. ^ Melanie Proctor (July 14, 1988). "Mr. Belvedere at your service". New Straits Times. p. 14. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  8. ^ Marla Brooks (30 March 2005). "The American Family on Television: A Chronology of 121 Shows, 1948-2004". McFarland. p. 149. ISBN 9780786420742. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  9. ^ "Mr. Belvedere is what every wife needs". Evansville Press. March 14, 1985. p. 15.
  10. ^ Hanaeur, Joan (January 28, 1986). "Christopher Hewett insists he doesn't butle anymore". Daily Item (Lynn, Mass.). p. 22.
  11. ^ Witbeck, Charles (June 13, 1985). "'Belvedere' returns despite bad ratings". Staten Island Advance. p. 36.
  12. ^ Sanello, Frank (January 8, 1989). "Talking with Christopher Hewett". Okmulgee Daily Times. p. 14.