History of The Lambs ®

America's First Professional Theatrical Club - Established in 1874

A comprehensive monograph on the history of The Lambs has been published by Lewis J. Hardee, Jr., once Historian of The Lambs, and now available entitled "The Lambs Theatre Club" and available from McFarland Publishing. A luncheon at The Lambs was held to celebrate this book. Read a report (in PDF format) on the luncheon and the book, written by Gary Shapiro as published in The N.Y. Sun 7/26/06 by clicking here. Click on the book below to order a copy.

What is The Lambs?

The history of The Lambs ® extends back to the early 19^th Century England when a group of lively folk of the theatre and arts frequently visited their friends, Charles Lamb and his sister Mary. In the spring of 1869, a men’s theatrical and dining club was formed in London and named in their honor.
          Christmas week of 1874 a companion club was formed here in New York by one of the London Lambs, Henry Montague: That first meeting was at the original Delmonico's Blue Room on 14th Street (photo below). Portraits of this popular, handsome matinee idol hang in our Clubhouse. The Lambs incorporated in 1877 and its journey continues today.
            The motto of the Club is Floreant Agni — "May The Lambs Flourish" — which, with many ups and downs, the Club has done for more than 137 years. Changing times in the early 1970's led to the sale of its landmark building on West 44^th Street. Since then, the Fold has been pleasantly situated here at 3 West. Originally restricted to gentlemen only, today’s club, attuned to modern sensibilities, has emerged and thrived as a society for both ladies and gentlemen.
          The roster of past and living Lambs reads like a Who's’ Who of American Theatre and includes Fred Astaire, Red Barber, Maurice Barrymore, and his sons John and Lionel, David Belasco, Ed Begley, Ralph Bellamy, Edgar Bergman, Irving Berlin, Joe E. Brown, Earl Carroll, George M. Cohan, Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks, Eddie Foy (Sr. & Jr.), Sir Cedric Hardwicke, William S. Hart, Victor Herbert, Bert Lahr, Alan J. Lerner, Frederick Loewe, Ring Lardner, Alan Mowbray, Conrad Nagel, Elliot Nugent, Pat O’Brien, Will Rogers, Charlie Ruggles, Otis Skinner, John Philip Sousa, Fred Waring, David Warfield, Bert Wheeler, Ed Herlihy, James Montgomery Flagg, Gene Autry, Howard Chandler Christy, and Hon. Robert Wagner. A searchable listing of past members is available by selecting the Consolidated Roster. The first ever Academy Award for writing was given to a Lamb - Edwin J. Burke.
   The Lambs, commonly known as The Lambs Club, is proud of its continuing contributions to charitable causes which The Lambs Foundation administers and funds. An early Shepherd of The Lambs was a leader in the founding of The Actors’ Fund of America; a close association between the Fund and The Lambs continues today. Numerous Lambs have served as Trustees of the Fund. Lambs were also instrumental in the founding of The Actors' Fund of America, ASCAP , Screen Actors Guild and Actors' Equity Association.

Read more on The Lambs involvement in developing the entertainment industry. Click here

Pictured above, the USS Lambs, a transport ship named to honor The Lambs contribution to WWI war relief. Built in Kearney, NJ and launched Nov. 24, 1918. Later sold and renamed the Exporter, then resold and renamed the Winona, and in 1945 loaned to the USSR and presumed lost at sea by 1977.

Above: Once the home of The Lambs, the original Delmonico's,
near Union Square.

The Lambs ® is a registered trademark of The Lambs, Inc. All site contents copyrighted © The Lambs. Please read disclaimer The Lambs, Inc. has been known as The Lambs Club for over 137 years