Vivian Blaine Biography

Vivian Blaine (November 21, 1921 - December 9, 1995) was an American actress and singer best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production Guys and Dolls, as well appearing in the subsequent film version, in which she co-starred with Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons and Frank Sinatra.

Life and career

Born Vivian Stapleton, in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., 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), Something for the Boys (1944), both films with Carmen Miranda, 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", has given her a psychosomatic cold 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 appearances on shows like Fantasy Island, Murder She Wrote and The Love Boat, and a recurring role in the cult hit Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. On the 25th annual Tony Awards in 1971, she appeared as a guest performer and sang "Adelaide's Lament" from Guys and Dolls, providing a visual recording of the performance for posterity.

Blaine in her later years was managed by Rob Cipriano and L'Etoile Talent Agencies in New York City. Cipriano spent the early 1980s developing projects for Blaine, including Puppy Love, a TV sitcom with Jake LaMotta and Pat Cooper. She always commented that working with Cipriano reminded her of working with her first husband Manny Franks.

Personal life

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 in 1983 recorded her cabaret act for AEI Records which donated its royalties to the new group; this included the last recordings of her songs from Guys and Dolls. Her prior albums for Mercury Records have all subsequently been reissued on CD.

Death

Blaine died of congestive heart failure on December 9, 1995, aged 74.

Filmography

Film

• It Happened in Flatbush (1942)
• 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)
• Doll Face (1945)
• If I'm Lucky (1946)
• Three Little Girls in Blue (1946)
• Skirts Ahoy! (1952)
• Main Street to Broadway (1953)
• Guys and Dolls (1955)
• Public Pigeon No. 1 (1957)
• Richard (1972)
• The Dark (1979)
• Parasite (1982)
• I'm Going to Be Famous (1983)

Television

• Those Two (1951-52)
• Dream Girl (1955)
• Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold (1978)
• The Cracker Factory (1979)
• Fast Friends (1979)
• Sooner or Later (1979)
• Amanda's "? Episode: "Aunt Sonia" (1983)
• Murder, She Wrote "? Episode: "Broadway Malady" (1985)

Stage work

• One Touch of Venus (1948)
• Bloomer Girl (1949)
• Light Up the Sky (1949)
• Guys and Dolls (1950-53)
• Panama Hattie (1955)
• A Hatful of Rain (1956-58)
• Rain (1957)
• Say, Darling (1958)
• Gypsy (1960)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (1961)
• Born Yesterday (1961)
• Gypsy (1962)
• Enter Laughing (1963)
• Mr. President (1964)
• Guys and Dolls (1964-1966)
• Never Too Late (1965)
• Cactus Flower (1966-67)
• Damn Yankees (1967)
• Any Wednesday (1968)
• Don't Drink the Water (1968-69)
• Take Me Along (1968)
• The Marriage-Go-Round (1970)
• Zorba (1970-71)
• Company (1971-73)
• Light Up the Sky (1971)
• The Glass Menagerie (1972)
• Follies (1973)
• I Do! I Do! (1973)
• Twigs (1973-74)
• Hello, Dolly! (1974)
• The Best of Everybody (1975)
• Brothers and Sisters (1975)
• Light Up the Sky (1975)
• Almost on a Runway (1976)
• How the Other Half Loves (1977)
• Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1977-79)
• The Boy Friend (1979)
• The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1979)
• Zorba (1984) (replacement for Lila Kedrova)
• Hello, Dolly! (1985)