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Isabel Bigley

Biography

b. 23 Feb 1926, the Bronx, NEW YORK, NY, USA, d. 30 Sept 2006, LA, California, USA. After college, Bigley studied on the Juilliard College of Music in NY and produced her Broadway debut in 1946 within the chorus of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! It had been with this display that she travelled to London in 1947 and prior to the display shut she was playing the best function of Laurey Williams. This led right to the function of Sarah Dark brown in Men And Dolls on Broadway. Bigley as well as the present were large successes and she gained a Tony Prize in 1951 for Greatest Performance BY WAY OF A Featured Or Helping Actress IN THE Musical. She also made an appearance on the initial cast documenting, including performing ‘If I Had been A Bell’. She implemented this present with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Me And Juliet (1953), playing the function of Jeanie, which have been especially designed for her, and was once again very popular even though present failed to discover the achievement that its composers acquired enjoyed making use of their previous functions. Despite playing leading assignments in these essential displays, Bigley’s Broadway profession faltered, perhaps due to changing instances and the various kind of display that were right now becoming well-known. In 1951 Bigly got made an appearance in Premiere, an all-star tv production which was an extremely early usage of colour on the market, and through the middle-50s, her profession moved with this path. On tv, she made an appearance in numerous special offers so when a visitor on many best displays but by the finish of the 10 years she chosen retirement. She do, though, remain energetic in theatrical issues. She had wedded theatrical agent Lawrence Barnett in 1953, and in old age the couple set up scholarships at Ohio Condition University.

Quick Facts


Full Name Isabel Bigley
Died September 30, 2006, Los Angeles, California, United States
Profession Actor, Singer
Education Juilliard School
Nationality American
Spouse Lawrence Barnett
Awards Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Grammy Hall of Fame
Music Songs If I Were A Bell, I've Never Been In Love Before, I'll Know, Marry the Man Today, That's The Way It Happens, Runyonland Music / Fugue for Tinhorns, A Very Special Day, It's Me, I'm Your Girl, Runyonland Music / Fugue for Tinhorns / Follow the Fold, No Other Love, Reprise: Guys & Dolls, The Big Black Giant, Marriage Type Love, Keep It Gay, Guys and Dolls, No Other Love Have I, Medley: Marry The Man Today, It Feels Good, Guys and Dolls: Runyonland Music. Fugue for Tinhorns. Follow the Fold, A Very Special Day, That's the Way It Happens, Medley: Runyonland Music, Fugue for Tinhorns, Follow the Fold, People Will Say We're in Love, Overture/ A Very Special Day, Act I: Guys and Dolls, Overture / Fugue for Tinhorns, Act I: I'll Know, Me and Juliet: Intermission Talk, Intermission Talk, Me and Juliet: A Very Special Day, Me and Juliet: I'm Your Girl, Finale
Albums Rodgers and Hammerstein's Me and Juliet, Highlights from Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Me and Juliet', Sing Rodgers and Hammerstein


  • Facts
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#Fact
1 Isabel and Lawrence Barnett established a graduate program in arts policy and administration at Ohio State University, the first of its kind in the United States.
2 Along with her husband who in 1985 founded the ALS Association, Isabel shared a passion for finding a cure for ALS. Together they went on to establish the Lawrence and Isabel Barnett Post-Doctoral Fellowship for Research, as well as supporting world-class ALS research scientists throughout the globe.
3 She co-starred on Broadway with soap veteran Bill Hayes in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Me and Juliet." The role was written especially for her.
4 Married Lawrence Barnett, president of the talent agency Music Corporation of America in 1953; she subsequently retired from the stage in the late 50s to concentrate on raising a family, living in Rye, New York for over 30 years. The couple had six children: Lawrence Jr., Robert, William, James, Claudia and Laurey.
5 Originated the missionary role of Sarah Brown in "Guys and Dolls" on Broadway and played the part for over three years.
6 Tall, slender and lovely musical leading lady who made her Broadway debut in the chorus of "Oklahoma!" in 1946. She then took over the role of Laurey in the London production opposite Howard Keel and continued with the role for three years.
7 Her mother was a concert singer and Isabel trained early as a singer herself, studying at Juilliard and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
8 Won Broadway's 1951 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Musical) for "Guys and Dolls."


Actress

Actress

TitleYearStatusCharacter
General Electric Guest House 1951 TV Series
BBC Sunday-Night Theatre 1950 TV Series Adele

Self

Self

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Heart & Soul: The Life and Music of Frank Loesser 2006 TV Movie documentary Herself
The Ed Sullivan Show 1951-1953 TV Series Herself
Coke Time 1953 TV Series Herself
The Colgate Comedy Hour 1952 TV Series Herself - Singer
This Is Show Business 1951 TV Series Herself
Premiere 1951 TV Special
The Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue 1951 TV Series Herself
Kaleidoscope 1950 TV Series Herself in Song Time segment

Archive Footage

Archive Footage

TitleYearStatusCharacter
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age 2017 Documentary post-production Herself

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