Ronny Graham

Graham was born Ronald Montcrief Stringer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second of five children born to vaudeville performers Florence (née Sweeney) and Thomas Graham Stringer (a.k.a. Steve Graham). Graham, a self-taught jazz pianist, began his career as a nightclub comic with a specialty in wry character monologues for which he provided the musical accompaniment, à la Dwight Fiske. During World War II, Graham served in the Army, where he entertained GIs with a piano trio. He made his Broadway debut in the revue New Faces of 1952, to which he contributed sketches and lyrics and in which he performed. He won a Theatre World Award for his efforts. He later made similar contributions to New Faces of 1956 and New Faces of 1962. He wrote the lyrics for Bravo Giovanni, which garnered him a Tony Award nomination, and directed a string of unsuccessful plays, two of which closed on opening n…