Vivian Blaine
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2010) |
Vivian Blaine | |
|---|---|
 Vivian Blaine in Something for the Boys (1944) | |
| Born | Vivian Stapleton November 21, 1921 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | December 9, 1995 (aged 74) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Kensico Cemetery |
| Years active | 1937–1985 |
| Spouse(s) |
Manny Franks
(m. 1945; div. 1956)Stuart Clark
(m. 1973; "her death" is deprecated; use "died" instead. 1995) |
Vivian Blaine (November 21, 1921 – December 9, 1995) was an American actress and singer, best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production of Guys and Dolls, as well as appearing in the subsequent film version, in which she co-starred with Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons and Frank Sinatra.
Early years
She was born Vivian Stapleton, in Newark, New Jersey to Leo Stapleton, an insurance agent,[1] and Wilhelmina Tepley.[2] The cherry-blonde-haired Blaine appeared on local stages as early as 1934.
Personal appearances
Blaine was a touring singer with dance bands starting in 1937.
At one point in the 1940s, she was the top-billed act at New York's Copacabana nightclub. In his book, Dean and Me: (A Love Story), Jerry Lewis wrote about appearing at the club when Blaine was on the same bill: "We [Lewis and Dean Martin, as the double act Martin and Lewis] weren't even the top-billed act. That honor went to a Broadway singing star named Vivian Blaine, who'd conquered Manhattan, gone out to Hollywood to make movies for 20th Century Fox, then returned to the Big Apple in triumph. Vivian was a lovely and very talented actress and singer ..."[3]
Film
In 1942, Blaine's agent and soon-to-be husband Manny Franks signed her to a contract with Twentieth Century-Fox, and she relocated to Hollywood, sharing top billing with Laurel and Hardy in Jitterbugs (1943) and starring in Greenwich Village (1944), Something for the Boys (1944), with Carmen Miranda, Nob Hill (1945), and State Fair (1945), among other films.
Stage
Following her Fox years, Blaine returned to the stage, making her Broadway debut in the Frank Loesser musical Guys and Dolls in 1950. Her character Miss Adelaide has been engaged to inveterate gambler Nathan Detroit for 14 years, a condition which, according to her song "Adelaide's Lament", has given her a psychosomatic cold as well as chronic heartbreak. After the show's 1,200-performance run on Broadway, she reprised the role in London's West End in 1953, in Las Vegas at the Royal Nevada Hotel and then on film in 1955.
Blaine also appeared on Broadway in A Hatful of Rain, Say, Darling, Enter Laughing, Company, and Zorba, as well as participating in the touring companies of such musicals as Gypsy.
Television
As Blaine reached age 50, her television career took off, with guest appearances on shows like Fantasy Island, Murder, She Wrote and The Love Boat, and a recurring role in the cult hit Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.[4] On the 25th annual Tony Awards in 1971, she appeared as a guest performer and sang "Adelaide's Lament" from Guys and Dolls, providing a visual recording of the performance for posterity.
Blaine in her later years was managed by Rob Cipriano and L'Etoile Talent Agencies in New York City. Cipriano spent the early 1980s developing projects for Blaine, including Puppy Love, a TV sitcom with Jake LaMotta and Pat Cooper.[citation needed] She always commented that working with Cipriano reminded her of working with her first husband Manny Franks.
Personal life
Blaine's first marriage, to Franks, lasted from 1945 to 1956. She then married Milton Rackmil, president of Universal Studios and Decca Records, in 1959, and recorded several albums prior to their 1961 divorce. In 1973, Blaine married Stuart Clark. In 1983 she became the first celebrity to make public-service announcements for AIDS-related causes. She made numerous appearances in support of the then fledgling AIDS-Project Los Angeles (APLA) and in 1983 recorded her cabaret act for AEI Records which donated its royalties to the new group;[5] this included the last recordings of her songs from Guys and Dolls. Her prior albums for Mercury Records[6] have all subsequently been reissued on CD.[7]
Death
Blaine died of congestive heart failure on December 9, 1995, aged 74.[8]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | It Happened in Flatbush | Minor Role | |
| 1942 | Thru Different Eyes | Sue Boardman | |
| 1942 | Girl Trouble | Barbara | Alternate titles: Between You and Me / Man from Brazil |
| 1943 | He Hired the Boss | Sally Conway | |
| 1943 | Jitterbugs | Susan Cowan | |
| 1944 | Greenwich Village | Bonnie Watson | |
| 1944 | Something for the Boys | Blossom Hart | |
| 1945 | Nob Hill | Sally Templeton | |
| 1945 | State Fair | Emily Edwards | |
| 1945 | Doll Face | Mary Elizabeth 'Doll Face' Carroll | Alternate title: Come Back to Me |
| 1946 | If I'm Lucky | Linda Farrell | |
| 1946 | Three Little Girls in Blue | Liz Charters | |
| 1952 | Skirts Ahoy! | Una Yancy | |
| 1953 | Main Street to Broadway | Vivian Blaine | Uncredited |
| 1955 | Guys and Dolls | Miss Adelaide | |
| 1957 | Public Pigeon No. 1 | Rita DeLacey | |
| 1972 | Richard | Washington Doctor | |
| 1979 | The Dark | Courtney Floyd | |
| 1982 | Parasite | Miss Elizabeth Daley | |
| 1983 | I'm Going to Be Famous | Laura Lowell |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Episode - "Double Jeopardy" | |
| 1954 | Center Stage | Episode - "Heart of a Clown" | |
| 1954 | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Winnie Potter | Episode - "Let's Face It" |
| 1955 | Damon Runyon Theater | Cutie Singleton | Episode - "Pick the Winner" |
| 1955 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Georgina Allerton | Episode - "Dream Girl" |
| 1955 | What's My Line? | Mystery Guest | |
| 1956 | The Bob Hope Show | Episode - "The Awful Truth" | |
| 1956 | General Electric Summer Originals | Episode - "It's Sunny Again" | |
| 1957 | Lux Video Theatre | Coral | Episode - "The Undesirable" |
| 1963 | Route 66 | Dixie Martin | Episode - "A Bunch of Lonely Pagliaccis" |
| 1976 | Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman | Betty McCullough | 21 episodes |
| 1978 | Fantasy Island | Mrs. Deverse | Episode - "The Big Dipper/The Pirate" |
| 1978 | Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold | Marietta Cutler | TV film |
| 1978 | The Love Boat | Barbara Sharp | Episode - "The Minister and the Stripper" |
| 1979 | Vega$ | Lenora | Episode - "Everything I Touch" |
| 1979 | The Cracker Factory | Helen | TV film |
| 1979 | Fast Friends | Sylvia | TV film |
| 1979 | Sooner or Later | Make-up Artist | TV film |
| 1979 | CHiPs | Vivian Blaine | Episode - "Roller Disco: Part 2" |
| 1983 | Amanda's | Aunt Sonia | Episode - "Aunt Sonia" |
| 1985 | Murder, She Wrote | Rita Bristol | Episode - "Broadway Malady" (final appearance) |
Stage work
- One Touch of Venus (1948)
- Bloomer Girl (1949)
- Light Up the Sky (1949)
- Guys and Dolls (1950–53)
- Panama Hattie (1955)
- A Hatful of Rain (1956–58)
- Rain (1957)
- Say, Darling (1958)
- Gypsy (1960)
- A Streetcar Named Desire (1961)
- Born Yesterday (1961)
- Gypsy (1962)
- Enter Laughing (1963)
- Mr. President (1964)
- Guys and Dolls (1964-1966)
- Never Too Late (1965)
- Cactus Flower (1966–67)
- Damn Yankees (1967)
- Any Wednesday (1968)
- Don't Drink the Water (1968–69)
- Take Me Along (1968)
- The Marriage-Go-Round (1970)
- Zorba (1970–71)
- Company (1971–73)
- Light Up the Sky (1971)
- The Glass Menagerie (1972)
- Follies (1973)
- I Do! I Do! (1973)
- Twigs (1973–74)
- Hello, Dolly! (1974)
- The Best of Everybody (1975)
- Brothers and Sisters (1975)
- Light Up the Sky (1975)
- Almost on a Runway (1976)
- How the Other Half Loves (1977)
- Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1977–79)
- The Boy Friend (1979)
- The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1979)
- Zorba (1984) (replacement for Lila Kedrova)
- Hello, Dolly! (1985)
References
- ^ 1930 United States Federal Census
- ^ U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
- ^ Lewis, Jerry; Kaplan, James (2007). Dean and Me: (A Love Story). Crown/Archetype. ISBN 9780307423559. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- ^ "Vivian Blaine - About This Person - Movies & TV - NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. 2007-01-18. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ "Vivian Blaine - Live In Hollywood (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ "Vivian Blaine Singing Selections From Pal Joey/Annie Get Your Gun: Vivian Blaine: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ "VIVIAN BLAINE - Sings Songs from The Ziegfeld Follies & The Great White Way (SEPIA 1106)". Sepiarecords.com. 2008-02-12. Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ "Vivian Blaine, Broadway Star of 'Guys and Dolls', dies at 74". Bangor Daily News. 1995-12-15. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
Further reading
- Oderman, Stuart, Talking to the Piano Player 2. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 1-59393-320-7
External links
- Vivian Blaine at IMDb
- Vivian Blaine at the Internet Broadway Database
- Vivian Blaine at AllMovie
- Vivian Blaine at Find a Grave
- Vivian Blaine Papers at the New York Public Library
- Blaine performing "Adelaide's Lament" on Tony Awards on YouTube
- Vivian Blaine papers, 1916-1995, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
- 1921 births
- 1995 deaths
- Actresses from Newark, New Jersey
- American film actresses
- American musical theatre actresses
- American stage actresses
- American television actresses
- Apex Records artists
- Donaldson Award winners
- Musicians from Newark, New Jersey
- Burials at Kensico Cemetery
- 20th Century Fox contract players
- 20th-century American actresses
- 20th-century American singers
- 20th-century American women singers