A Fortean by association, if not inclination.
John M. Griggs was born in Evanston, Illinois around 1909 to Gilbert M. and Cecil E. Griggs. Gilbert, born 1880, had come from New York and was a cashier in a brokerage house; Cecil, some six years his senior, had come from Maine. The Griggs family had come to Illinois by 1900—perhaps even earlier—and Cecil’s family, the Zimmermans, had been there since at least 1880. She attended Northwestern University. The two married in 1906, John their first child. Around 1916, Marion, a daughter, was born.
By 1930, with Gilbert, Cecil, and Marian still in Illinois, John was in Detroit, pursuing a career as an actor. He was 21. His obituary has his first Broadway appearance in George Arliss’s “Merchant of Venice,” but as best I can tell that ran in 1928 and Grigg’s name doesn’t start to appear on the Internet Broadway Database before the early 1930s. At any rate, we can say that he was in New York by the early 1930s at the latest. By 1940, he was married to an English-born actress Alice—who may have performed under the stage name Mary Newnham Davis. Alice was about six years older than Griggs, not unlike the age differences in his parents. His obituary has him broadcasting for Voice of America during World War II, although I can find no enlistment records. Griggs’ mother, Cecil, died in August 1942.
John M. Griggs was born in Evanston, Illinois around 1909 to Gilbert M. and Cecil E. Griggs. Gilbert, born 1880, had come from New York and was a cashier in a brokerage house; Cecil, some six years his senior, had come from Maine. The Griggs family had come to Illinois by 1900—perhaps even earlier—and Cecil’s family, the Zimmermans, had been there since at least 1880. She attended Northwestern University. The two married in 1906, John their first child. Around 1916, Marion, a daughter, was born.
By 1930, with Gilbert, Cecil, and Marian still in Illinois, John was in Detroit, pursuing a career as an actor. He was 21. His obituary has his first Broadway appearance in George Arliss’s “Merchant of Venice,” but as best I can tell that ran in 1928 and Grigg’s name doesn’t start to appear on the Internet Broadway Database before the early 1930s. At any rate, we can say that he was in New York by the early 1930s at the latest. By 1940, he was married to an English-born actress Alice—who may have performed under the stage name Mary Newnham Davis. Alice was about six years older than Griggs, not unlike the age differences in his parents. His obituary has him broadcasting for Voice of America during World War II, although I can find no enlistment records. Griggs’ mother, Cecil, died in August 1942.