Carole Shelley
Carole Augusta Shelley (16 August 1939 – 31 August 2018)[2][3] was an English actress who made her career in the United States and United Kingdom. Her many stage roles included Gwendolyn Pigeon in The Odd Couple and Madame Morrible in the original Broadway cast of the musical Wicked. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in The Elephant Man in 1979.[2]
Carole Shelley | |
|---|---|
Shelley as Gwendolyn Pigeon in The Odd Couple, 1965 | |
| Born | Carole Augusta Shelley 16 August 1939 London, England |
| Died | 31 August 2018 (aged 79) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1949–2018 |
| Spouse | Albert G. Woods (1967–1971; his death)[1] |
Early life
Shelley was born in London, England, the daughter of Deborah (née Bloomstein), an opera singer of Russian Jewish descent, and Curtis Shelley, a composer of German Jewish origin.[4][5] Her father had emigrated to London before World War II.[1]
Career
Stage career
Shelley made her Broadway debut as Gwendolyn Pigeon in the original 1965 production of The Odd Couple (starring Art Carney and Walter Matthau).[4][6] She reprised the role for the 1968 film version (with Jack Lemmon replacing Carney),[7] and the first season of the subsequent television series (starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman).[8] She and Monica Evans, who co-starred as her sister Cecily Pigeon, were the only two performers to appear in the original play The Odd Couple and both the film and original television adaptation—and in the same roles.[9]
In the 1970s, Shelley wanted to extend her range, feeling she was not using all her capabilities as an actor. She told The New York Times in a 1979 interview that she had "months of the most intensive deep-water swimming — more than I’d ever been called upon to do in my life" when she played Rosalind in As You Like It at the 1972 Stratford Festival in Ontario.[1][10] She received her first Tony Award nomination in 1975 for her performance as "Jane" in Absurd Person Singular.[11][6] Shelley won the 1979 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role as Mrs. Kendal in The Elephant Man,[8] and was nominated for the Tony Award as Featured Actress in a Play in 1987 for her performance in Stepping Out as "Maxine".[12] In 1982 she won an Obie Award for her performance Twelve Dreams.[13] Shelley also began appearing in musicals in the late 1990s, with the revivals of Show Boat as Parthy[14] and Cabaret as Fraulein Schneider in 1999.[15]
In 2003, Shelley created the role of Madame Morrible in the original Broadway cast of the musical Wicked,[16][6] a role which she later reprised in the show's national touring company in 2005[17] and in 2006 in the Chicago production.[18]
Shelley played the role of Grandma in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot at the Imperial Theatre, beginning performances in October 2008.[19] She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 2009.[20] In 2014, she succeeded Jane Carr as Miss Shingle in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.[6]
Film and television career
Shelley's early career included roles in British films such as It's Great to Be Young (1956), Carry On Regardless (1961), No My Darling Daughter (1961), The Cool Mikado (1962) and Carry On Cabby (1963). In 1968 Shelley starred as Gwendolyn Pigeon in the film The Odd Couple.[21] Thereafter she took on numerous roles in television and films such as The Boston Strangler (1968),[22] Some Kind of a Nut (1969),[22] The Whoopee Boys (1986),[22] Little Noises (1992),[23] The Road to Wellville (1994),[24] and she played Helen Moskowitz in the Emmy-winning 1998 Frasier episode "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz".[25]
She was featured as "Aunt Clara" alongside Nicole Kidman and former Wicked co-star Kristin Chenoweth in the 2005 film Bewitched.[26] She lent her voice to several roles in Disney animated films; notably, Amelia Gabble (the Goose) in The Aristocats (1970),[27] Lady Kluck, Maid Marian's sidekick and lady-in-waiting, in Robin Hood (1973),[28] and Lachesis the Fate in Hercules.[29] Shelley's "sister" co-star in all three versions of The Odd Couple, Monica Evans, also played her "goose" sister in The Aristocats, Abigail Gabble, and Maid Marian in Robin Hood as a nod to their roles as Pigeon Sisters.[2]
Her final role was a cameo at the beginning of John Mulaney’s 2018 comedy special Kid Gorgeous; she played Mulaney’s guide around Radio City Music Hall.
Personal life
In 1967, she was married to Albert G. Woods, who died in 1971.[citation needed]
Death
Shelley died of cancer on August 31, 2018, at the age of 79 in New York City.[1]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Give Us This Day | Bit part | Uncredited |
| 1949 | The Cure for Love | ||
| 1956 | It's Great to Be Young | Peggy, The Angel Hill Kids | |
| 1961 | Carry On Regardless | Helen Delling | |
| 1961 | No, My Darling Daughter | First Typist | |
| 1963 | The Cool Mikado | Mrs. Smith | |
| 1963 | Carry on Cabby | Dumb Driver | |
| 1968 | The Odd Couple | Gwendolyn | |
| 1968 | The Boston Strangler | Dana Banks | |
| 1969 | Some Kind of a Nut | Rita | |
| 1970 | The Aristocats | Amelia Gabble, the goose | Voice |
| 1973 | Robin Hood | Lady Kluck, the chicken | Voice |
| 1986 | The Whoopee Boys | Henrietta Phelps | |
| 1991 | Little Noises | Aunt Shirley | |
| 1991 | The Super | Irene Kritski | |
| 1994 | Quiz Show | Cornwall Aunt | |
| 1994 | The Road to Wellville | Mrs. Hookstratten | |
| 1997 | Jungle 2 Jungle | Fiona | |
| 1997 | Hercules | Lachesis | Voice |
| 2000 | Labor Pains | Madge | |
| 2005 | Bewitched | Aunt Clara | |
| 2018 | John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City | Mystery Chaperone | final credit |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961–1962 | BBC Sunday-Night Play | Betty Hobson | Episodes: "A Fair Cop" and "A Clear Chase" |
| 1963 | The Dickie Henderson Show | Elsie Partridge | Episode: "The Maid" |
| 1963 | Laughter from the Whitehall | Bernice Warren | Episode: "High Temperature" |
| 1985–1987 | The Berenstain Bears | Additional Female Voices (voice) | 12 episodes |
| 1991-1994 | One Life to Live | Babs Bartlett | Unknown episodes |
| 1998 | Hercules | Lachesis (voice) | 3 episodes Credited as Carole Schelley |
| 1998 | Frasier | Helen Moskowitz | Episode: "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz" |
| 2000 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Judge Pamela Mizener | Episode: "Nocturne" |
| 2002 | Third Watch | Sister Rose | Episode: "Cold Front" |
| 2004 | Scooter: Get a Clue! | Aunt Eugenia (voice) | Episode: "Here Comes the Shocker" |
References
- ^ a b c d Slotnik, Daniel E. (4 September 2018). "Carole Shelley, a Tony Winner and a Pigeon Sister, Dies at 79". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ a b c Bartlett, Rhett. "Carole Shelley, One of the Pigeon Sisters From 'The Odd Couple,' Dies at 79" The Hollywood Reporter, 1 September 2018
- ^ "Carole Shelley Passes Away at 79" broadwayworld.com, 1 September 2018
- ^ a b "Carole Shelley Biography" tcm.com. Retrieved 6 April 2013
- ^ "Archives". Articles.philly.com. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Carole Shelley Stage" Playbill Vault, retrieved 1 September 2018
- ^ " The Odd Couple, 1968 film" tcm.com. Retrieved 5 April 2013
- ^ a b The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2013
- ^ Hoffman, Barbara. "The Kooky Pigeon Sisters" New York Post, 10 May 2018
- ^ stratfordfestival.ca. Retrieved 6 April 2013
- ^ Murgatroyd, Simon " 'Absurd Person Singular': The Broadway Experience. Reprinted" 9 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine alanayckbourn.net. Retrieved 5 April 2013
- ^ " Steppng Out " playbillvault.com. Retrieved 5 April 2013
- ^ Twelve Dreams 12 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 24 December 2011
- ^ "Musical Notes, Posted Oct 1, 1995" 6 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine rnh.com. Retrieved 5 April 2013
- ^ McGrath, Sean. "Luckinbill, Shelley, Clark, Stuhlberg Join Broadway's 'Cabaret', May 4" Playbill, 3 May 1999
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Shiz Whiz: Carole Shelley Returns to Broadway's Wicked Aug. 28" Playbill, 28 August 2007
- ^ Hernandez, Ernio and Gans, Andrew. "Original Wicked Star Rejoins Musical for National Tour in December" Playbill, 26 October 2005
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Carole Shelley Begins Limited Chicago Wicked Engagement April 25" Playbill, 25 April 2006
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Gwynne, Jbara, Shelley and Fontana Will Be Part of Broadway's Billy Elliot Cast" Playbill, 15 July 2008
- ^ Gans, Andrew and Jones, Kenneth. "Nominations for 2009 Tony Awards Announced; Billy Elliot Earns 15 Nominations" 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Playbill, 5 May 2009.
- ^ "The Odd Couple Cast" afi.com, retrieved 2 September 2018
- ^ a b c "Carole Shelley Film Credits" afi.com, retrieved 2 September 2018
- ^ " 'Little Noises' Cast and Crew" allmovie.com, retrieved 1 September 2018
- ^ " 'The Road to Wellville' Cast and Crew" allmovie.com, retrieved 1 September 2018
- ^ "Carole Shelley Filmography". AllMovie.com. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2013
- ^ " The Aristocats Cast" The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2013
- ^ Robin Hood Cast The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2013
- ^ 'Hercules' Cast The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2013
External links
- Carole Shelley at the Internet Broadway Database
- Carole Shelley at IMDb
- Carole Shelley at Find a Grave
- Carole Shelley at the Internet Off-Broadway Database