Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1930,[1] she began her career as a nightclub performer, later singing as lead vocalist with Charlie Spivak's orchestra. She later recorded more than 30 singles and two LPs for Columbia Records,[2] her most successful single being "Miracle of Love" in 1956, which reached number 18 and 24 respectively, on the Billboard and Cash Box pop charts.
Her Broadway debut was in 1959's Fiorello!, where she sang the show-stopping "Gentleman Jimmy". In 1960, she appeared in Tenderloin. Two years later, in 1962, she headed the off-Broadway revival cast of Cole Porter's Anything Goes in the role of Reno Sweeney, a recording of which is currently available on CD. The show won the New York Outer Circle Critics' Award as Best Revival of 1962.[3]
In 1965, Rodgers appeared in the infamous musical flop Kelly which closed on Broadway after one performance. The Saturday Evening Post reported that Rodgers had burst into tears after a performance during the show's Philadelphia tryout, remarking, "I wish I was back in Tenderloin. It was a flop, but at least people were friendly."[4] She served as a standby for Ethel Merman in the 1966 revival of Annie Get Your Gun.[2] Rodgers made frequent appearances on television variety shows and starred with Art Carney in a Chevrolet 50th Anniversary special.[2]
Death
Eileen Rodgers Thompson died of lung cancer on July 13, 2003 in Charlotte, North Carolina, three days after her 73rd birthday. She was survived by her husband, two sons and two grandchildren.
References
^Born on July 10, 1930 as per Social Security Death Index; died on July 13, 2003 under the name Eileen Thompson
eileen, rodgers, july, 1930, july, 2003, american, singer, broadway, performer, born, 1930, july, 1930pittsburgh, pennsylvania, diedjuly, 2003, 2003, aged, charlotte, north, carolina, genrespop, showtunesoccupation, actress, singer, contents, career, death, re. Eileen Rodgers July 10 1930 July 13 2003 was an American singer and Broadway performer Eileen RodgersBorn 1930 07 10 July 10 1930Pittsburgh Pennsylvania U S DiedJuly 13 2003 2003 07 13 aged 73 Charlotte North Carolina U S GenresPop ShowtunesOccupation s Actress Singer Contents 1 Career 2 Death 3 References 4 External linksCareer EditBorn in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in 1930 1 she began her career as a nightclub performer later singing as lead vocalist with Charlie Spivak s orchestra She later recorded more than 30 singles and two LPs for Columbia Records 2 her most successful single being Miracle of Love in 1956 which reached number 18 and 24 respectively on the Billboard and Cash Box pop charts Her Broadway debut was in 1959 s Fiorello where she sang the show stopping Gentleman Jimmy In 1960 she appeared in Tenderloin Two years later in 1962 she headed the off Broadway revival cast of Cole Porter s Anything Goes in the role of Reno Sweeney a recording of which is currently available on CD The show won the New York Outer Circle Critics Award as Best Revival of 1962 3 In 1965 Rodgers appeared in the infamous musical flop Kelly which closed on Broadway after one performance The Saturday Evening Post reported that Rodgers had burst into tears after a performance during the show s Philadelphia tryout remarking I wish I was back in Tenderloin It was a flop but at least people were friendly 4 She served as a standby for Ethel Merman in the 1966 revival of Annie Get Your Gun 2 Rodgers made frequent appearances on television variety shows and starred with Art Carney in a Chevrolet 50th Anniversary special 2 Death EditEileen Rodgers Thompson died of lung cancer on July 13 2003 in Charlotte North Carolina three days after her 73rd birthday She was survived by her husband two sons and two grandchildren References Edit Born on July 10 1930 as per Social Security Death Index died on July 13 2003 under the name Eileen Thompson a b c Eileen Rodgers Obituary at TheaterMania com Anything Goes CD Liner Notes Epic Records Mandelbaum Ken Not Since Carrie Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops Page 15 St Martin s Griffin 1991 External links EditEileen Rodgers at the Internet Broadway Database Obituary at TheaterMania com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eileen Rodgers amp oldid 1116827741, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
