This page will contain blogs about Dorothy Loudon, as they become available.Dorothy LoudonDorothy Loudon (September 17, 1933 - November 15, 2003) was a Broadway actress noted for her comedy and "belting" singing voice, which she used to deliver a wide range of musical comedy and Roaring Twenties songs. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts and began singing as a child. She moved to New York and landed a job as a featured nightclub performer. She became a lounge singer, mingling song with ad-libbed comedy, and was featured on televsion on "The Perry Como Show" and "The Ed Sullivan Show". She made her stage debut in 1962 in The World of Jules Feiffer, a Jules Feiffer play directed by Mike Nichols, with music by Stephen Sondheim. She made her Broadway debut in "Nowhere to Go But Up" which ran only two weeks but earned her outstanding reviews. She appeared in a series of commercial failures (The Fig Leaves Are Falling ran for four performances) which nonetheless garnered her favorable reviews and a nomination for a Tony Award in 1969. She looked back on these with typical humor, once answering the comment "Miss Loudon, I saw you in Comedy Tonight with the response, "Oh, you poor thing! I feel so bad for you!" She married Norman Paris, a composer who arranged the music for Sondheim's television muscial "Evening Primrose", and who wrote the theme song for the television game show "I've Got a Secret". Her best-remembered role is "Miss Hannigan" in Annie, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in 1977. She was widowed in 1977, and appeared as a recently widowed woman in Ballroom in 1979. Her performance of the song "Fifty Percent" from Ballroom on the Tony Awards was one of a series of triumphant performances on the yearly awards show, which included an outrageous version of "Broadway Baby" from Follies. Her version of Gershwin's "Vodka" had her throwing off a luxurious fur, (telling it to "wait in the car") to reveal a spectacular sleek blue sequined costume, adding "I am too good for this room. I am too good for this song! I am, however, not too good for this dress." Her television series, Dorothy, in 1979, had her portraying a former showgirl teaching music and drama at a stuffy Girls' School. She took over as Mrs. Lovett in Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, and co-starred with Katharine Hepburn in the play West Side Waltz in 1981. Her (non-musical) performance as a washed-up television comedienne in 1983's Noises Off received rave reviews, but the role was played in the movie by Carol Burnett (who also got Loudon's role in the 1982 film version of Annie). She appeared in two films, playing an agent in Garbo Talks and an eccentric in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. She died in New York of cancer and was interred in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York Plays
Television
Film
This page about Dorothy Loudon includes information from a Wikipedia article. Additional articles about Dorothy Loudon News stories about Dorothy Loudon External links for Dorothy Loudon Videos for Dorothy Loudon Wikis about Dorothy Loudon Discussion Groups about Dorothy Loudon Blogs about Dorothy Loudon Images of Dorothy Loudon |
|
She died in New York of cancer and was interred in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York. A lifelong atheist, she donated her body to medical science. She appeared in two films, playing an agent in Garbo Talks and an eccentric in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. McQueen died in Augusta, Georgia as a result of burns received when a kerosene heater she was attempting to light exploded and doused her in fuel. Her (non-musical) performance as a washed-up television comedienne in 1983's Noises Off received rave reviews, but the role was played in the movie by Carol Burnett (who also got Loudon's role in the 1982 film version of Annie). She had one more role of some substance in the 1986 film The Mosquito Coast. Lovett in Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, and co-starred with Katharine Hepburn in the play West Side Waltz in 1981. Her acting roles after this were very few, and she devoted herself to other pursuits including study, and received a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science in 1975. She took over as Mrs. By 1950 she had commenced a three year stint on the television series Beulah which reunited her with her Gone With The Wind co-star Hattie McDaniel. Her television series, Dorothy, in 1979, had her portraying a former showgirl teaching music and drama at a stuffy Girls' School. She continued to play maids and small parts in various films including Since You Went Away, (1944), Mildred Pierce, (1945) and Duel in the Sun, (1946) but by 1947 had grown tired of the ethnic stereotypes she was required to play and ended her film career. I am too good for this song! I am, however, not too good for this dress.". She made her first film appearance playing an uncredited bit part as a sales assistant in The Women in 1939 and later that year filmed what would become her most identifiable role - as Prissy the maid in Gone With The Wind. Her version of Gershwin's "Vodka" had her throwing off a luxurious fur, (telling it to "wait in the car") to reveal a spectacular sleek blue sequined costume, adding "I am too good for this room. Born Thelma McQueen in Tampa, Florida she trained as a dancer and took her stage name from "The Butterfly Dance" after performing it in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Her performance of the song "Fifty Percent" from Ballroom on the Tony Awards was one of a series of triumphant performances on the yearly awards show, which included an outrageous version of "Broadway Baby" from Follies. Butterfly McQueen (January 7, 1911 - December 22, 1995) was an American film and television actress. She was widowed in 1977, and appeared as a recently widowed woman in Ballroom in 1979. Her best-remembered role is "Miss Hannigan" in Annie, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in 1977. She married Norman Paris, a composer who arranged the music for Sondheim's television muscial "Evening Primrose", and who wrote the theme song for the television game show "I've Got a Secret". She looked back on these with typical humor, once answering the comment "Miss Loudon, I saw you in Comedy Tonight with the response, "Oh, you poor thing! I feel so bad for you!". She appeared in a series of commercial failures (The Fig Leaves Are Falling ran for four performances) which nonetheless garnered her favorable reviews and a nomination for a Tony Award in 1969. She made her Broadway debut in "Nowhere to Go But Up" which ran only two weeks but earned her outstanding reviews. She made her stage debut in 1962 in The World of Jules Feiffer, a Jules Feiffer play directed by Mike Nichols, with music by Stephen Sondheim. She became a lounge singer, mingling song with ad-libbed comedy, and was featured on televsion on "The Perry Como Show" and "The Ed Sullivan Show". She moved to New York and landed a job as a featured nightclub performer. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts and began singing as a child. Dorothy Loudon (September 17, 1933 - November 15, 2003) was a Broadway actress noted for her comedy and "belting" singing voice, which she used to deliver a wide range of musical comedy and Roaring Twenties songs. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil -1997. Garbo Talks - 1984. "Dorothy" - 1979. "The Garry Moore Show" - regular appearances 1962-1964. "It's a Business" - 1952. Dinner at Eight - 2002 (replaced in previews due to ill health). Comedy Tonight - 1994. Jerry's Girls - 1985. Noises Off - 1983. West Side Waltz - 1981. Sweeney Todd - 1980. Ballroom (musical) - 1979. Annie (musical) - 1977. The Women - 1973. Three Men on a Horse - 1969. The Fig Leaves Are Falling - 1969. Noël Coward's Sweet Potato - 1968. Nowhere to Go But Up - 1962. The World of Jules Feiffer - 1962. |