Kaye Ballard
| Kaye Ballard | |
|---|---|
 Kaye Ballard at the Miami Book Fair International of 1986 |
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| Born | Catherine Gloria Balotta November 20, 1925 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Years active | 1951–2010 |
| Spouse | never married |
Kaye Ballard (born November 20, 1925) is an American musical theatre and television actress, comedienne, and singer.
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[edit] Life and career
Ballard was born as Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland, Ohio, to an Italian American family, the daughter of Lena (née Nacarato) and Vincent James Balotta.[1]
Ballard established herself as a musical comedienne in the 1940s, joining the Spike Jones touring revue of entertainers. Capable of playing broad physical comedy as well as stand-up dialogue routines, she became familiar in television and stage productions. A phrase that her mother had used when Kaye was a child, "Good luck with your MOUTH!" became one of her catch phrases. The phrase has been uttered in her sketches, and on television. During 1954, she was the first person to record the song "In Other Words" (later renamed "Fly Me To The Moon").
In 1957, she and Alice Ghostley played the two ugly stepsisters in the live telecast of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, starring Julie Andrews in the title role. From 1967–69, she co-starred as Kaye Buell, a woman whose son marries her next door neighbor's daughter, in the NBC sitcom The Mothers-in-Law, with Eve Arden playing her neighbor. She also appeared as a regular on The Doris Day Show as restaurant owner and Doris's friend, Angie Pallucci from 1970–72. Ballard made appearances on the American television game show Match Game. In 1976, she was a guest star on The Muppet Show. She also appeared on the TV series Alice, in which she played Seama, a phony medium known for her kleptomania, who puts a hex on Alice.
For Broadway drama, Ballard starred as Helen in The Golden Apple, where she introduced the song "Lazy Afternoon". She also portrayed Rosalie in Carnival! (with Jerry Orbach), Ruth in Joseph Papp's production of The Pirates of Penzance, and the title role in Molly. She created the role of the Countess and closed out-of-town in Marc Blitzstein's Reuben, Reuben and played Hattie Walker in the Paper Mill Playhouse's 1998 revival of Stephen Sondheim's Follies.[2]
Ballard also appeared as Molly Goldberg in an unsuccessful musical adaptation of the popular radio serial. In 2005, she appeared in a road-company production of Nunsense, which was written by Dan Goggin. In 2006, she completed her autobiography, How I Lost 10 Pounds in 53 Years.[2]
In 1995, Ballard was honored with a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars.[3]
Ballard appeared in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show as "Madam A-Go-Go", a mysterious fortune teller who appears in the episode "Fortune Teller." She also performed with The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies at the Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs, California.[4]
In December 2010, Ballard starred with Donna McKechnie and Liliane Montevecchi in a Santa Fe, New Mexico production of From Broadway with Love, staged at the Lensic Theater.[5]
Ballard is in the 2012 cabaret show Doin' It for Love, which premiered in Austin, Texas at the historic Paramount Theatre. Starring Ballard and Montevecchi, the cast included Broadway performer Lee Roy Reams. (The Austin performance benefited the Texas Humane Legislation Network.[6]} On March 9–10, 2012, the show travels to Los Angeles.[7]
[edit] Personal life
Ballard was romantically involved with famous actor Marlon Brando. A breast cancer survivor, Ballard has never married. She currently lives in Rancho Mirage, California, in the house she stayed in when she was working on The Mothers-in-Law, which was owned by her producer/friend Desi Arnaz.
[edit] Filmography
- The Girl Most Likely (1957)
- A House Is Not a Home (1964)
- Which Way to the Front? (1970)
- The Ritz (1976)
- Freaky Friday (1976)
- Falling in Love Again (1980)
- Pandemonium (1982)
- The Perils of P.K. (1986)
- Tiger Warsaw (1988)
- Eternity (1989)
- Modern Love (1990)
- Fate (1990)
- Joey Takes a Cab (1991)
- Ava's Magical Adventure (1994)
- The Modern Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1998)
- Baby Geniuses (1999)
- Little Insects (2000) (voice)
- The Million Dollar Kid (2000)
- Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003) (documentary)
- The Pool of Desire (2004) (short subject)
- Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age (2010) (documentary)
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/92/Kaye-Ballard.html
- ^ a b Ballard, Kaye (2006). How I Lost 10 Pounds in 53 Years. Random House.
- ^ Palm Springs Walk of Stars: By Date Dedicated
- ^ Mitchell, Gordon "Whitey" (2006). Star Walk: A Guide to the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. Palm Springs, California: Hall/Sloane. p. 6. ASIN 0963868349. ISBN 978-0-9638683-4-3.
- ^ http://www.playbill.com/news/article/142577-Kaye-Ballard-Donna-McKechnie-and-Liliane-Montevecchi-Set-for-From-Broadway-with-Love Playbill, September 1, 2010
- ^ http://www.kvue.com/news/An-Austin-non-profit-has-a-special-show-to-benefit-the-Humane-Treatment-of-Animals-138738419.html KVUE-TV
- ^ http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-201202021600--tms--lizsmittr--x-a20120203feb03,0,548035.story Chicago Tribune, Liz Smith, February 3, 2012
[edit] External links
- Kaye Ballard at the Internet Movie Database
- Kaye Ballard at the Internet Broadway Database
- Kaye Ballard at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Kaye Ballard website
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