Benay Venuta

Benay venuta is an American singer and actress. She was born Benvenuta Rose Crooke January 27, 1910 in San Francisco, California. Venuta was a graduate of Hollywood High School. She attended finishing school in Geneva and lived in London where she worked as a dancer before returning to the States. Her career in show business began as a teenage dancer in 1925. Returning to the States a few years later, she made her stage debut in "The Big Parade" in 1928, with nightclubs and vaudeville also a vital part of her early experience. Following a role in the musical revue "Tip Toes" (1929), the flashy blonde performer appeared ready for bigger things. Her Broadway career began quite auspiciously when, a complete unknown at the time, she replaced the irrepressible Ethel Merman in Cole Porter's huge hit "Anything Goes" in 1935. They were big and boisterous shoes to fill but Benay filled them well and was a great success. She and Merman became lifelong friends as well. With the die cast, Benay followed it with equally flashy roles in lesser Broadway musicals such as "Orchids Preferred" (1937), Kiss the Boys Goodbye" (1938), "By Jupiter" (1942), "Hazel Flagg" (1953), and "Copper and Brass" (1957). She maintained a steady income in between by touring and playing summer stock in a mixture of singing and straight-acting roles. Venuta made her first screen appearance in the silent Trail of '98 in 1928. She also appeared in Repeat Performance (1947), Annie Get Your Gun (1950, as Dolly Tate), Call Me Mister (1951), The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown (1957), Bullets over Broadway (1994) and others. She died September 01, 1995 in New York, New York, USA