Isabel Bigley

Infobox actor
name = Isabel Bigley

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imagesize = 180px
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date|1926|2|23
birthplace = Bronx, New York, USA
deathdate = death date and age|2006|9|30|1926|2|23
deathplace = Los Angeles, California, USA
occupation = Actor
spouse = Lawrence Barnett (1953-2006)
yearsactive =
website =
tonyawards = Best Featured Actress in a Musical
1951 "Guys and Dolls"

Isabel Bigley (23 February 1926 – 30 September 2006) was an American actress, perhaps best remembered for originating the part of Sarah Brown in Frank Loesser's "Guys and Dolls".

Biography

The Bronx-born Bigley had been playing the role of Laurey in the London production of "Oklahoma!" in 1951 when she was offered the role of Sarah Brown, the "mission doll," in "Guys and Dolls". She received the Antoinette Perry Award (Tony) for "Best Performance by a Featured or Supporting Actress in a Musical" in 1951 for that role. Bigley premièred the song "If I Were A Bell" in the show and features in the original cast recording. That record is widely considered among the all-time great original cast recordings of Broadway shows.

In 1953 she starred as Jeanie, the chorus girl, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein show "Me and Juliet", a role created especially for her. Isabel Bigley performed frequently in the early days of television in such shows as "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "The Colgate Comedy Hour". On 25 June 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 children. Barnett and their six children survive her.

She and her husband made many charitable contributions to arts education, including establishing a graduate program in arts policy and administration at Ohio State University. In 2005 Bigley was named chairwoman of the board of the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California.

References

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External links

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