Vivian Blaine

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Vivian Blaine
from State Fair (1945)
Born	Vivian Stapleton November 21, 1921(1921-11-21) Newark, New Jersey
Died	December 9, 1995 (aged 74) New York City, New York
Spouse(s)	Manny Franks (1945-1956) Milton Rackmil (1959-1961) Stuart Clark (1973-1995)

Vivian Blaine (21 November 1921 – 9 December 1995) was an actress and singer best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production Guys and Dolls.

Born Vivian Stapleton, the cherry-blonde-haired Blaine appeared on local stages as early as 1934 and was a touring singer with dance bands starting in 1937. In 1942, her agent and soon-to-be husband Manny Franks signed her to a contract with Twentieth Century-Fox, and she relocated to Hollywood, sharing top billing with Laurel and Hardy in Jitterbugs (1943) and starring in Greenwich Village (1944), Nob Hill (1945), and State Fair (1945), among other films.

Following her Fox years, Blaine returned to the stage, making her Broadway debut in the Frank Loesser musical Guys and Dolls in 1950. Her character Adelaide has been engaged to inveterate gambler Nathan Detroit for 14 years, a condition which, according to her song "Adelaide's Lament", can foster physical illness as well as chronic heartbreak. After the show's 1200-performance run on Broadway, in which she starred opposite Sam Levene as Nathan Detroit and Robert Alda as fellow gambler Sky Masterson, she reprised the role in London's West End in 1953, and then on film in 1955, with Frank Sinatra playing Nathan and Marlon Brando in Sky's role.

Blaine also appeared on the Broadway stage in A Hatful of Rain, Say, Darling, Enter Laughing, Company, and Zorba, as well as participating in the touring companies of such musicals as Gypsy. As she reached age 50, her television career took off, with guest roles on shows like Fantasy Island and The Love Boat.

Blaine's first marriage, to Franks, lasted from 1945 to 1956. She then married Milton Rackmil, president of Universal Studios and Decca Records, in 1959, and recorded several albums prior to their 1961 divorce. In 1973, Blaine married Stuart Clark. In 1983 she 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 recorded her cabaret act which donated its royalties to the new group; this included the last recordings of her songs from "Guys and Dolls."
She died of congestive heart failure in 1995 at age 74.

Filmography

Vivian Blaine in 1946 film Doll Face.

• Thru Different Eyes (1942)
• Girl Trouble (1942)
• He Hired the Boss (1943)
• Jitterbugs (1943)
• Greenwich Village (1944)
• Something for the Boys (1944)
• The All-Star Bond Rally (1945) (short subject)
• Nob Hill (1945)
• State Fair (1945)
• If I'm Lucky (1946)
• Doll Face (1946)
• Three Little Girls in Blue (1946)
• Skirts Ahoy! (1952)
• Main Street to Broadway (1953)
• Guys and Dolls (1955)
• Public Pigeon No. One (1957)
• Richard (1972)
• The Dark (1979)
• The Cracker Factory (1979)
• Parasite (1982)
• I'm Going to Be Famous (1983)

Further reading

• Oderman, Stuart, Talking to the Piano Player 2. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN #1-59393-320-7.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vivian Blaine

• Vivian Blaine at the Internet Movie Database
• Vivian Blaine at the Internet Broadway Database
• Vivian Blaine at Allmovie
• Vivian Blaine Papers at the New York Public Library