Isabel Bigley (February 23, 1926 – September 30, 2006) was an American actress. She originated the part of Sarah Brown in Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls.
The Bronx-born Bigley's mother, a concert singer, guided her early interest in music, and her high school music teacher arranged for her to audition for a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music in Manhattan, which she received.[2]
She had been playing the role of Laurey in the London production of Oklahoma! in 1950 when she was offered the role of Sarah Brown, the "mission doll", in the original Broadway production of Guys and Dolls. For her performance, she received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. In 1953 she starred as Jeanie, the chorus girl, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein show Me and Juliet, a role created especially for her.
She performed frequently in the early days of television in such shows as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Colgate Comedy Hour.[3] On June 25, 1951, she appeared with other entertainers in a one-hour program on CBS that was the start of nationally broadcast color television.
Personal life
In 1953, she married Lawrence R. Barnett, then president of the Music Corporation of America. She retired in 1958 to raise their four sons and two daughters. She died in 2006, aged 80, from pulmonary disease at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.[2] Her widower died on June 11, 2012, aged 98.
Barnett and Bigley made many charitable contributions to arts education, including establishing a graduate program in arts policy and administration at Ohio State University.
Bigley lived in both Los Angeles and Rancho Mirage and in 2005 she was named chairwoman of the board of the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert.[4]
isabel, bigley, february, 1926, september, 2006, american, actress, originated, part, sarah, brown, frank, loesser, guys, dolls, born, 1926, february, 1926bronx, york, diedseptember, 2006, 2006, aged, angeles, california, resting, placewestwood, memorial, park. Isabel Bigley February 23 1926 September 30 2006 was an American actress She originated the part of Sarah Brown in Frank Loesser s Guys and Dolls Isabel BigleyBorn 1926 02 23 February 23 1926Bronx New York U S DiedSeptember 30 2006 2006 09 30 aged 80 Los Angeles California U S Resting placeWestwood Memorial Park Los Angeles California 1 Occupation s Actress singerSpouseLawrence Barnett m 1953 wbr Children6Vivian Blaine Sam Levene and Isabel Bigley on the ordergram to purchase tickets to the 1950 original Broadway production of Guys and Dolls Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Personal life 2 References 3 External linksBiography EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Isabel Bigley news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Bronx born Bigley s mother a concert singer guided her early interest in music and her high school music teacher arranged for her to audition for a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music in Manhattan which she received 2 She had been playing the role of Laurey in the London production of Oklahoma in 1950 when she was offered the role of Sarah Brown the mission doll in the original Broadway production of Guys and Dolls For her performance she received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical In 1953 she starred as Jeanie the chorus girl in the Rodgers and Hammerstein show Me and Juliet a role created especially for her She performed frequently in the early days of television in such shows as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Colgate Comedy Hour 3 On June 25 1951 she appeared with other entertainers in a one hour program on CBS that was the start of nationally broadcast color television Personal life Edit In 1953 she married Lawrence R Barnett then president of the Music Corporation of America She retired in 1958 to raise their four sons and two daughters She died in 2006 aged 80 from pulmonary disease at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles 2 Her widower died on June 11 2012 aged 98 Barnett and Bigley made many charitable contributions to arts education including establishing a graduate program in arts policy and administration at Ohio State University Bigley lived in both Los Angeles and Rancho Mirage and in 2005 she was named chairwoman of the board of the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert 4 References Edit Hollywood Death and Scandal Sites a b Obituary latimes com October 3 2006 Obituary nytimes com October 3 2006 Staff October 5 2006 Obituary Isabel Bigley Actress Variety Retrieved August 5 2012 External links EditIsabel Bigley at the Internet Broadway Database Isabel Bigley at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Isabel Bigley amp oldid 1161187640, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
