Ellen Hanley
Ellen Hanley | |
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Publicity Photo of Ellen Hanley | |
| Born | May 15, 1926 |
| Died | February 12, 2007 (aged 80) |
| Spouse | Ronny Graham (1951-1963) |
Ellen Hanley (May 15, 1926 – February 12, 2007) was a musical theater performer best known for playing Fiorello H. LaGuardia's first wife in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fiorello!. She was related to the British writers James and Gerald Hanley, and the playwright, novelist, and scriptwriter William Hanley was her brother.
Early life
[edit]Ellen Hanley was born in Lorain, Ohio, one of three children of William Gerald and Anne Rodgers Hanley.[1] William Hanley, Sr. was born in Liverpool, England in 1899,[2] of Irish Catholic immigrants. He was a seaman prior to settling in the US, and then worked as a housepainter.[3]
Career
[edit]Ellen Hanley made her Broadway debut in Annie Get Your Gun in 1946 playing the part of Mary. The following year she appeared in Barefoot Boy With Cheek and won a Theater World award for her performance as Clothilde Pfefferkorn.[4] in the late 1940s and 1950s she "toured extensively in summer-stock shows" and also during the 1950s performed in Julius Monk's revues.[4] In 1952 she had a part in the musical revue Two's Company, introducing the song "Roundabout". In 1959 she took over the leading role in First Impressions from Polly Bergen, playing Elizabeth Bennett in a musical based on Pride and Prejudice. She is best-known for playing Thea, Fiorello LaGuardia's first wife, in the Pulitzer Prize-winning in Fiorello!, the Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick musical hit which ran for nearly 800 performances, from late 1959.[4] She acted, in 1963, in a successful off-Broadway revival of The Boys From Syracuse, a Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart musical based on Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors.[5]
Personal life
[edit]In 1951, Hanley married Ronny Graham, a fellow actor. They adopted two children, Nora and Julian. The couple divorced in 1963.[4]
Death
[edit]Hanley died on February 12, 2007, aged 80, in Norwalk, Connecticut, of a stroke after a long battle with cancer.[5]
Appearances
[edit]- Annie Get Your Gun (1946-1949) as Mary
- Barefoot Boy with Cheek (1947) as Clothilde Pfefferkorn
- Two's Company (1952–1953)
- First Impressions (1959) as Elizabeth Bennett
- Fiorello! (1959–1961) as Thea
- The Boys from Syracuse (1963)
- The Burns and Allen Show: Episode 3
Awards
[edit]- Theatre World Award (1947) for Clothilde Pfefferkorn in Barefoot Boy With Cheek.[6]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Heves, Dennis (June 3, 2012). "William Hanley, Playwright and TV Writer, Dies at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- ^ "James Hanley's Life" in James Hanley's The Closed Harbour. London: Oneworld Classics, 2009, p. 202
- ^ James Hanley, Broken Water: An Autobiographical Excursion. London: Chatto & Windus, 1937, p.130, 134, 140, 246; Lorain Public Library System, local authors, Lorain.lib.oh.us
- ^ a b c d "Ellen Hanley, 80, Actress in Musicals, Dies". The New York Times. 2007-02-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
- ^ a b "Broadway performer Ellen Hanley dies". USATODAY.com. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
- ^ "Musical of the Month: Barefoot Boy With Cheek". The New York Public Library. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
References
[edit]- Ellen Hanley, 80, Actress in Musicals, Dies, New York Times, February 14, 2007.
- Broadway performer Ellen Hanley dies, USA Today, February 12, 2007.
External links
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