Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, musicals, feature films and television series. Stritch was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1995.
Elaine Stritch
February 2, 1925
July 17, 2014 (aged 89)
- Actress
- singer
- comedian
1944–2014
Stritch made her Broadway debut in the 1946 comedy Loco and went on to receive four Tony Award nominations: for the William Inge play Bus Stop (1956); the Noël Coward musical Sail Away (1962); the Stephen Sondheim musical Company (1970), which included her performance of the song "The Ladies Who Lunch"; and for the revival of the Edward Albee play A Delicate Balance (1996). Her one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event.
Stritch relocated to London in the 1970s and starred in several West End productions, including Tennessee Williams' Small Craft Warnings (1973) and Neil Simon's The Gingerbread Lady (1974). She also starred with Donald Sinden in the ITV sitcom Two's Company (1975–79), which earned her a 1979 BAFTA TV Award nomination. She won an Emmy Award in 1993 for her guest role on Law & Order and another for the 2004 television documentary of her one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty. From 2007 to 2012, she had a recurring role as Colleen Donaghy on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, a role that won her a third Emmy in 2007.
Early life[edit]
Stritch was born on February 2, 1925, in Detroit, Michigan,[1][2] the youngest daughter of Mildred (née Jobe), a homemaker, and George Joseph Stritch, an executive with B.F. Goodrich.[3] She had two older sisters, Georgene and Sally.[4] Her Catholic family was well-off.[5][6] Her father was of Irish descent, while her mother had Welsh ancestry. Cardinal Samuel Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago from 1940 to 1958, was one of her cousins.[7] She trained at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School for Social Research in New York City under Erwin Piscator,[8] alongside Marlon Brando, Bea Arthur, and Harry Belafonte.[9]
Career[edit]
Early stage career[edit]
Stritch made her stage debut in 1944. However, her Broadway debut was in Loco in 1946, directed by Jed Harris,[10] followed soon after by Made in Heaven (as a replacement) [11] and then Angel in the Wings (1947), a revue in which she performed comedy sketches and the song "Civilization".[12]
Stritch understudied Ethel Merman for Call Me Madam, and, at the same time, appeared in the 1952 revival of Pal Joey, singing "Zip".[12] Stritch later starred in the national tour of Call Me Madam, and appeared in a supporting role in the original Broadway production of William Inge's play Bus Stop. In 1958 she originated the leading role of Maggie Harris in the musical Goldilocks.
She starred in Noël Coward's Sail Away on Broadway in 1961. Stritch started in the show in a "relatively minor role and was only promoted over the title and given virtually all the best songs when it was reckoned that the leading lady...although excellent, was rather too operatic for a musical comedy".[13] During out-of-town tryouts in Boston, Coward was "unsure about the dramatic talents" of one of the leads, opera singer Jean Fenn.[14]
Personal life[edit]
Strich was married to the actor John Bay from 1973 until his death in 1982. He was part of the family that owns the Bay's English Muffins company, and Stritch sent English muffins as gifts to friends. Said John Kenley: "Every Christmas, she still sends me English muffins."[53][54] When she was based in London, Stritch and her husband lived at the Savoy Hotel.[8]
She was good friends with gossip columnist Liz Smith, with whom she shared a birthday (February 2).[55]
In March 2013, Stritch announced she was leaving New York and relocating to Birmingham, Michigan, close to where she grew up.[56]
Stritch was candid about her alcoholism.[57] She took her first drink at 14 and began using it as a crutch before performances to vanquish her stage fright and insecurities. Her drinking worsened after Bay's death, and she sought help after experiencing problems with the effects of alcoholism, including the onset of diabetes. Elaine Stritch at Liberty discusses the topic at length.[6]
Death[edit]
Stritch died in her sleep at the age of 89 at her home in Birmingham, Michigan, on July 17, 2014. She suffered from diabetes and had stomach cancer. At the time of her death, only three months after having had surgery for the disease, cancer was not cited as an immediate cause of her death.[58][59][60][61] She is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie, Illinois.
In popular culture[edit]
Stritch's voice and vocal delivery are spoofed in the Forbidden Broadway songs "The Ladies Who Screech"[82] and "Stritch", parodies of "The Ladies Who Lunch" and "Zip", songs she performed in the musicals Company and Pal Joey.
In 2009, a parody by Bats Langley entitled "How the Stritch Stole Christmas" (loosely based on "How the Grinch Stole Christmas") appeared on YouTube.[83]
On The Big Gay Sketch Show in 2007, she was spoofed (portrayed by Nicol Paone) as a Wal-Mart greeter who is still a theater gal at heart.[84] In a later episode, Stritch is spoofed as an airport security guard, who's still "on" and isn't able to tone down her over-the-top antics.[85] In yet another episode, "Stritch" is promoting her self-titled perfume "Stritchy" in dramatic fashion when she is confronted by the real-life Elaine Stritch, who makes a cameo appearance.[86]