English

Alternative forms

Noun

stage-door Johnny ‎(plural stage-door Johnnies or stage-door Johnnys)

1. (idiomatic) A man who is infatuated with one or more theatrical actresses and who routinely lingers in and around theatres in an effort to meet and form relationships with the female object(s) of his affection.
   • 1917, P. G. Wodehouse, "Extricating Young Gussie," in The Man With Two Left Feet and Other Stories:

     "You went off and married that—whatever that stage-door johnny's name was—and it broke me all up."

   • 1989 July 25, Terry Trucco, "A London Accent for 'Anything Goes'," New York Times (retrieved 13 Jan 2012):

     "One woman met her husband because of the show," he said. "She was in the chorus and he was a stage-door Johnny."

   • 2009, Rhys Bowen, Tell Me, Pretty Maiden, ISBN 9780312943752, p. 95:

     There is always some stage-door Johnnie waiting to take out a chorus girl.

2. (idiomatic) A devoted fan of live theatre and of performing artists, who habitually spends time in and around theatres.
   • 1994 Feb. 13, Frank Rich, "After 13 Years of Drama and Farce. . . Exit the Critic," New York Times (retrieved 13 Jan 2012):

     The stage was my obsession from age 6. . . . By my early teens, I had become so conspicuous a Stage Door Johnny that the manager of the National Theater, Washington's one Broadway tryout house in the pre-Kennedy Center era, took pity on me and hired me as a ticket taker.

Synonyms

• (man who is infatuated): groupie, lothario