Editing Clifton Webb (section)

===Broadway===
In 1909, using his new stage name, 19-year-old Clifton Webb had become a professional ballroom dancer, often partnering with "exceedingly decorative" star dancer Bonnie Glass (she would eventually replace him with [[Rudolph Valentino]]); they would perform in about two dozen operettas. His debut on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] began when ''The Purple Road'' opened at the [[Liberty Theatre (New York, New York)|Liberty Theatre]] on April 7, 1913; he played the role of Bosco for the 136 performances before closing in August. His mother (billed as Mabel Parmalee) was listed in the program as a member of the opening-night cast. His next musical was an [[Al Jolson]] vehicle, [[Sigmund Romberg]]'s ''Dancing Around'', which opened at the [[Winter Garden Theatre]] on October 10, 1914, ran for 145 performances, and closed in the following February. Later in 1915, Webb was cast in the all-star revue ''[[Ned Wayburn]]'s [[Town Topics (musical)|Town Topics]]'', which boasted 117 famous performers, including [[Will Rogers]], as listed in the [[Century Theatre (New York City)|Century Theatre]] opening-night program for September 23, 1915. It closed 68 performances later on November 20, 1915. In 1916, he had another short run with [[Cole Porter]]'s [[comic opera]] ''[[See America First]]'', which opened at the [[Maxine Elliott Theatre]] on March 28, 1916, and closed after 15 performances on April 8, 1916.
[[File:American Red Cross Pageant, Huntington, L.I., New York - 1917 - NARA - 20802268 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Webb (third from right) in a 1917 theatre production of ''[[National Red Cross Pageant]]'' with [[Eugene O'Brien (actor)|Eugene O'Brien]], [[Ivy Troutman]], [[Jeanne Eagels]], and others]]

The year 1917 proved to be better, with a 233-performance run of [[Jerome Kern]]'s ''[[Love O' Mike]]'', opening on January 15 at the [[Shubert Theatre (Broadway)|Shubert Theatre]]. After moving to [[Maxine Elliott's Theatre]], and then the [[Casino Theatre (New York, New York)|Casino Theatre]], it closed on September 29, 1917. Webb also appeared that year with other Broadway stars in the ''[[National Red Cross Pageant]]'' a 50-minute film of a stage production held to benefit the [[American Red Cross]]. Webb's final show of the 1910s, the musical ''Listen Lester'', had the longest run, 272 performances. It opened at the [[Knickerbocker Theatre (Broadway)|Knickerbocker Theatre]] on December 23, 1918, and closed in August 1919.

In the 1920s, Webb played in eight Broadway shows and made numerous other stage appearances, including [[vaudeville]], and a handful of [[silent cinema|silent films]]. The revue ''As You Were'', with additional songs by [[Cole Porter]], opened at the Central Theatre on January 29, 1920, running 143 performances until May 29, 1920. Webb was busy with films, tours, and an appearance at the [[London Pavilion]] in 1921 as Mr. St. Louis in ''Fun of the Fayre'' and in 1922 in ''[[Phi-Phi]]'' – he did not return to Broadway until 1923. He then played in the musical ''Jack and Jill'' at the [[Lunt-Fontanne Theatre|Globe Theatre]] for 92 performances between March 22 and June 9 of 1923, followed by Lynn Starling's comic play ''[[Meet the Wife (1923 Broadway play)|Meet the Wife]]'', which opened on November 26, 1923, and ran through the summer of 1924. One of the play's leads was 24-year-old [[Humphrey Bogart]]. In 1925, Webb appeared on stage in a dance act with vaudeville star and silent film actress [[Mary Hay (actress)|Mary Hay]]. Later that year, when her husband, [[Richard Barthelmess]] and she decided to produce and star the film ''New Toys'', they chose Webb to be second lead. The film proved to be financially successful, but 19 more years would pass before Webb appeared in another feature film.

Webb's mainstay was clearly [[Broadway theatre]]. Between 1913 and 1947, the tall, slender performer with the clear, gentle tenor appeared in 23 Broadway shows, starting with major supporting roles and quickly progressing to leads. He introduced [[George Gershwin|George]] and [[Ira Gershwin]]'s "[[I've Got a Crush on You]]" in ''Treasure Girl'' in 1928; [[Arthur Schwartz]] and [[Howard Dietz]]'s "[[I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan]]" in ''The Little Show'' in 1929; "Louisiana Hayride" in ''[[Flying Colors (musical)|Flying Colors]]'' in 1932; and [[Irving Berlin]]'s “[[Easter Parade (song)|Easter Parade]]" in the very successful revue ''As Thousands Cheer''. His steamy duet with [[Libby Holman]] of “[[Moanin' Low]]” stunned the crowd nightly.<ref>Green, Kay Broadway Musicals, Show By Show.1996 Hal Leonard Corporation. {{ISBN|0-7935-7750-0}}</ref> in 1933. One of his stage sketches, performed with co-star [[Fred Allen]], was filmed by [[Vitaphone]] as a short subject entitled ''[[The Still Alarm (1930 film)|The Still Alarm]]'' in 1930. Allen's experiences while working with Webb in the film appear in Allen's memoirs.

Most of Webb's Broadway shows were musicals, but he also starred in [[Oscar Wilde]]'s ''[[The Importance of Being Earnest]]'', and his longtime friend [[Noël Coward]]'s plays ''[[Blithe Spirit (play)|Blithe Spirit]]'' and ''[[Present Laughter]]''.