| Vivian Blaine | |
| Birth Name: | Vivian Stapleton |
| Birth Date: | 21 November 1921 |
| Birth Place: | Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Death Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Education: | South Side High School |
| Known For: | Guys and Dolls Something for the Boys State Fair |
| Years Active: | 1934–1985 |
Vivian Blaine (born Vivian Stapleton; November 21, 1921 – December 9, 1995) was an American actress and singer, best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production of Guys and Dolls, as well as appearing in the subsequent film version, in which she co-starred with Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons and Frank Sinatra.
Blaine was born in Newark, New Jersey to Leo Stapleton, an insurance agent,[1] and Wilhelmina Tepley.[2] The cherry-blonde-haired Blaine appeared on local stages as early as 1934 and she started touring after graduating from South Side High School.[3]
Blaine was a touring singer with dance bands starting in 1937.
At one point in the 1940s, she was the top-billed act at New York's Copacabana nightclub. In his book, Dean and Me: (A Love Story), Jerry Lewis wrote about appearing at the club when Blaine was on the same bill: "We [Lewis and [[Dean Martin]], as the double act Martin and Lewis] weren't even the top-billed act. That honor went to a Broadway singing star named Vivian Blaine, who'd conquered Manhattan, gone out to Hollywood to make movies for 20th Century Fox, then returned to the Big Apple in triumph. Vivian was a lovely and very talented actress and singer ..."[4]
In 1942, Blaine's agent and soon-to-be husband Manny Franks signed her to a contract with Twentieth Century-Fox, and she moved to Hollywood, sharing top billing with Laurel and Hardy in Jitterbugs (1943) and starring in Greenwich Village (1944), Something for the Boys (1944), Nob Hill (1945), and State Fair (1945).
Blaine appeared on Broadway in A Hatful of Rain; Say, Darling; Enter Laughing; Company; and Zorba, as well as participating in the touring companies of musicals such as Gypsy.
Blaine was a special guest during the This is Your Life tribute episode to Laurel and Hardy, seen over NBC-TV on December 1, 1954. Blaine had worked with the duo in the film Jitterbugs and had fond memories of the experience.
On the 25th annual Tony Awards in 1971, she appeared as a guest performer and sang "Adelaide's Lament" from Guys and Dolls.
Later in her career, her television career took off, with guest appearances on shows like Fantasy Island, The Love Boat (S2 E9 1978), and a recurring role in the cult hit Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.[5]
Her final onscreen appearance was in "Broadway Malady", a Season 1 episode of Murder, She Wrote.
In 1983, Blaine became the first celebrity to make public service announcements for AIDS-related causes. She made numerous appearances in support of the then-fledgling AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) and in 1983 recorded her cabaret act for AEI Records, which donated its royalties to the new group; this included the last recordings of her songs from Guys and Dolls. Her prior albums for Mercury Records have all subsequently been reissued on CD.[6]
According to Blaine, she was a registered Democrat and a lifelong practicing Roman Catholic.[7]
Blaine died of congestive heart failure in Beth Israel Hospital North in New York City on December 9, 1995, aged 74.[8]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | It Happened in Flatbush | Minor Role | ||
| Thru Different Eyes | Sue Boardman | |||
| Girl Trouble | Barbara | Alternate titles: Between You and Me / Man from Brazil | ||
| 1943 | He Hired the Boss | Sally Conway | ||
| Jitterbugs | Susan Cowan | |||
| 1944 | Greenwich Village | Bonnie Watson | ||
| Something for the Boys | Blossom Hart | |||
| 1945 | Nob Hill | Sally Templeton | ||
| State Fair | Emily Edwards | |||
| Doll Face | Mary Elizabeth 'Doll Face' Carroll | Alternate title: Come Back to Me | ||
| 1946 | If I'm Lucky | Linda Farrell | ||
| Three Little Girls in Blue | Liz Charters | |||
| 1952 | Skirts Ahoy! | Una Yancy | ||
| 1953 | Main Street to Broadway | Vivian Blaine | Uncredited | |
| 1955 | Guys and Dolls | Miss Adelaide | ||
| 1957 | Public Pigeon No. 1 | Rita DeLacey | ||
| 1972 | Richard | Washington Doctor | ||
| 1979 | The Dark | Courtney Floyd | ||
| 1982 | Parasite | Miss Elizabeth Daley | ||
| 1983 | I'm Going to Be Famous | Laura Lowell | (final film role) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | The Philco Television Playhouse | Episode - "Double Jeopardy" | ||
| 1954 | Center Stage | Episode - "Heart of a Clown" | ||
| 1954 | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Winnie Potter | Episode - "Let's Face It" | |
| 1955 | Damon Runyon Theater | Cutie Singleton | Episode - "Pick the Winner" | |
| 1955 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Georgina Allerton | Episode - "Dream Girl" | |
| 1955 | What's My Line? | Mystery Guest | ||
| 1956 | The Bob Hope Show | Episode - "The Awful Truth" | ||
| 1956 | G.E. Summer Originals | Episode - "It's Sunny Again" | ||
| 1957 | Lux Video Theatre | Coral | Episode - "The Undesirable" | |
| 1963 | Route 66 | Dixie Martin | Episode - "A Bunch of Lonely Pagliaccis" | |
| 1976 | Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman | Betty McCullough | 21 episodes | |
| 1978 | Fantasy Island | Mrs. Deverse | Episode - "The Big Dipper/The Pirate" | |
| 1978 | Marietta Cutler | TV movie | ||
| 1978 | The Love Boat | Barbara Sharp | Episode - "The Minister and the Stripper" | |
| 1979 | Vega$ | Lenora | Episode - "Everything I Touch" | |
| 1979 | The Cracker Factory | Helen | TV movie | |
| 1979 | Fast Friends | Sylvia | TV movie | |
| 1979 | Sooner or Later | Make-up Artist | TV movie | |
| 1979 | CHiPs | Vivian Blaine | Episode - "Roller Disco: Part 2" | |
| 1983 | Amanda's | Aunt Sonia | Episode - "Aunt Sonia" | |
| 1985 | Murder, She Wrote | Rita Bristol | Episode - "Broadway Malady" (final television role and final onscreen appearance) |