The Lambs, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States, located on 3 W. 51st Street in Manhattan, (not to be confused with The Lambs Club restaurant also located New York City); is getting ready to celebrate its 144th Anniversary this year. The club was founded in honor of Charles Lamb and his sister in 1869 in London, England, and opened in New York in 1874. The club was incorporated in 1877. It's now the organization's 144th year in existence in the United States. They will be celebrating this special milestone this upcoming holiday season 2018.

President-Shepherd Marc Baron speaks about his career and The Lambs future

Marc Baron, The Lambs president and club member for over 30 years—spoke to me about his career and where The Lambs are headed in the near future. First, he told me that The Lambs is continuing its outreach to increase its membership. Famous members have included Joyce Randolph of "The Honeymooners" fame, and actor Abe Vigoda, who passed away in 2016.

"We're always seeking more members—like any private club your dues pay all the bills," Baron explained. "We recently offered a few discounts to a few sister organizations, like the Twelfth Night Club— which is a similar club that was founded by the wives of The Lambs in approximately 1880."

The Lambs is a combination of a social club for people in the arts, a historical society that represents years of theater history, and it's also an arts foundation.

Baron told me how he got involved in becoming a Lambs member and a bit about his career and background. "I was invited to become a member of The Lambs by Gene Kelly's brother, Fred Kelly. Fred was a dancer who taught Gene how to dance, He was a choreographer and an early television director," Marc stated. "The other person who asked me to join was Lewis Hardee, who is a teacher, writer and past historian of The Lambs." He continued, "I've expanded my career, I'm an actor, singer, and writer and I've served on the board of SAG/AFTRA for over 10 years— and I'm also producing a movie called "Megaballs," which is a comedy about computer geeks, the lottery, and the mob." Baron adds, "I used to do a lot of work for actors and I worked on one filmed called, "The Family Business." It starred Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, and Sean Connery and it was directed by Sidney Lumet.

I got a lot of private lessons from him on directing."

Baron admits that he and Broderick became friendly and it was Matthew and Dustin who encouraged him to write his own screenplays. Baron kept in touch with Matthew for many years. Broderick was a featured guest at The Lambs luncheon over two years ago and was made an honorary Lamb.

The luncheon helped raise funds for their foundation. Broderick is Baron's first choice for his film, "Megaballs" but he hasn't approached him about it.

The Lambs Scott Glascock Scholarship award

The Lambs Scott Glascock Scholarship award is currently awarded to American Musical and Dramatic Academy students of New York each fall. Glascock left the money to the Lambs Foundation. The two $1,000 scholarships toward tuition (one for male and female students) are awarded to AMDA theater majors who have a high GPA, achieve positive recommendations from faculty and staff, and demonstrate financial need. They receive the amount of $1,000, an award certificate, an invitation to perform at The Lambs, and if 21 years or older, receive an honorary one-year Lambs membership.

Scott Glascock was The Lambs vice president who passed away two years ago and was also a Boy of The Lambs. The scholarship was named in his memory, in honor of his service and dedication to The Lambs and the arts. The most recent recipients of the scholarship were two talented Israeli AMDA students, Oz Shoshan and Maya Avisar. Marc said that The Lambs Foundation has plans to expand at some point to offer the scholarships to other drama academies in New York once a year. "If we can continue keeping our foundation healthy—we might add another scholarship at another school."
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