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.
Ellen Hanley | |
|---|---|
Publicity Photo of Ellen Hanley | |
| Born | May 15, 1926 |
| Died | February 12, 2007 (aged 80) |
| Spouse | Ronny Graham (1951-1963) |
Early life
editEllen 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
editEllen 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
editIn 1951, Hanley married Ronny Graham, a fellow actor. They adopted two children, Nora and Julian. The couple divorced in 1963.[4]
Death
editHanley 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.