Loretta Ables Sayre is an American actress and singer who performed

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

standards at luxury hotels in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

for three decades. During her career, Ables Sayre performed in a few

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

and guest-starred in several television shows, also doing work in commercials. In her 2007

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut as

Bloody Mary Bloody Mary originally referred to: * Mary I of England (1516–1558), Queen of England and Ireland, so called because of her persecution of Protestants Bloody Mary may also refer to: Film * '' Urban Legends: Bloody Mary'', a 2005 horror fil ...

in '' South Pacific'', she was nominated for a

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical has been presented since 1950. The award was not given at the first three Tony Award ceremonies. Nominees were not announced publicly until 1956. Winners and nominees 1950s ...

and also won the 2008

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway theatre, Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945� ...

Early life and career

Ables Sayre was born in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

to a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

father and a mother of mixed Asian and European descent. She has an older sister and brother. Her father was 25 years older than her mother, and eventually the couple divorced. Her mother remarried, and Ables Sayre has two younger half-siblings. She was raised in

after her stepfather, who was in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, was transferred there when Ables Sayre was six years old. She attended Pearl Harbor Elementary School, Aliamanu Intermediate, and

Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School, known as Radford High School, is a coeducational college preparatory public high school in the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii. Basic information The school is named after Navy Admiral Arthur Willia ...

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, participating in school plays and choirs. As a small child, inspired by her mother's

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

and

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

recordings, Ables Sayre already knew that she wanted to become a singer. PBS interview of Ables Sayres
Transcript of ''Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox'', PBS Hawaii, July 28, 2009, accessed May 1, 2010 Ables Sayre began to build her singing career immediately after high school while working in hotel jobs. She soon became the opening singer for a hotel performer's act. In 1979, she sang with Hawaiian musicians Kapono and

Keola Beamer Keola Beamer (born Keolamaikalani Breckenridge Beamer February 18, 1951) is a Hawaiian slack-key guitar player, best known as the composer of "Honolulu City Lights" and an innovative musician who fused Hawaiian roots and contemporary music. Keola ...

on the local pop hit ''

Honolulu City Lights "Honolulu City Lights" is a song composed by Hawaiian singer/songwriter Keola Beamer (b. 1951) in the 1970s which opens an album by the same name. The album won several of the Hawaiian music industry's Na Hoku Hanohano Awards in 1979, among ...

'' and at the Reef Hotel in

Waikiki Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the district ...

. In 1981, she became the opening act for comedian Andy Bumatai at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. She went on to perform Jazz and R&B standards at hotels, clubs and conventions throughout the Honolulu-Waikiki area.Ables Sayre interview with Smith Galtney
Broadway.com, May 15, 2008, accessed May 1, 2010 In 1985, with Honolulu Theater for Youth, Ables Sayre appeared in ''Song for the Navigator'', which toured Micronesia, Australia and throughout the U.S., including performances at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

in Washington, D.C. In 1989, she played Effie White in Tommy Aguilar's 1989 production of ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,Gro ...

'' at the Hawaii Theater."Cast: Loretta Ables Sayre"

Lincoln Center Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Broad ...

, accessed May 1, 2010 The same year, she became the featured vocalist at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki, where she performed for 10 years. She was voted "Favorite Female Vocalist" by the readers of ''

Honolulu Magazine ''Honolulu'' is a city magazine covering Honolulu and the Hawaii region. It dates back to 1888 when it was called ''Paradise of the Pacific.'' It is the oldest magazine in the state of Hawaii and is the longest published magazine west of the Missi ...

'' in 1993 in its "Best of the Best" issue.

Television, commercials and recent years

Ables Sayre has appeared in various television series filmed on location in Hawaii. She guest starred in the detective series ''

Magnum, P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on ...

'', played Parissima Macadangdang in ''

The Byrds of Paradise ''The Byrds of Paradise'' is an American drama television series that ran on ABC from March 3 to June 23, 1994, during the 1993–94 season. One of the few series executive produced by Steven Bochco that he did not help create, the hour-long drama ...

'', and had a recurring role, Aunty Jackson in ''

Baywatch Hawaii ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonan ...

''. She was Nannie Lee in ''Hawaii'' (2004), appeared in ''North Shore'' (2004) and played the recurring role of Kai's Auntie in ''

Beyond the Break ''Beyond the Break'' is an American drama series about four women who join a competitive surfing circuit. It is set in Hawaii. The show was created by Michael D. Jacobs, David Brookwell and Sean McNamara. It aired on Noggin's teen programming bl ...

'' (2006–2007). She lends her voice to ''

PBS Hawaii KHET (channel 11), branded as PBS Hawai'i, is a PBS member television station in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, serving the Hawaiian Islands. Owned by the Hawaii Public Television Foundation, the station maintains studios on Sand Island Access ...

'' and has had additional roles in various local TV shows. In commercials, she played waitress Loretta in the

Bank of Hawaii The Bank of Hawaii Corporation ( haw, Panakō o Hawaii; abbreviated BOH) is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is Hawaii's second oldest bank and its largest locally owned bank in that the majority of the voting sto ...

series of commercials called "Harry and Myra" and commercials for

State Farm State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Overview State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the la ...

, the Hawaii State Department of Health, Oceanic

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

and others. Her voice-over work includes commercials on radio and TV. Ables Sayre headlined at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental hotel from 1999 to 2006. There, she performed as the opening act for New Year's Eve concerts by such performers as

The Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

(2000),

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

(2001),

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

(2002) and

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...

(2003).Hetrick, Adam
"Happy Talk: Hawaii's Loretta Ables Sayre Is Bloody Mary for ''South Pacific'' Revival"
. October 1, 2007, accessed May 1, 2010 Ables Sayre released a CD, ''Dreamy'', in 2001, which was nominated for a

Na Hoku Hanohano Award The Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, occasionally called the Nā Hōkū Awards or Hoku Awards, are the premier music awards in Hawaii.Berger, John"A night of Na Hoku Hanohano" ''Honolulu Star-Advertiser''. May 22, 2011.Haug, Kawehi"Hoku awardees shine ...

. She first starred in the lead role of Pua Ma Lusa in the 2002

Diamond Head Theatre The Diamond Head Theatre is a cultural institution in the United States. Calling itself the ''Broadway of the Pacific'', it is located on the slopes of Diamond Head in Honolulu, Hawaii. Opened in 1915, it is Hawaii's oldest performing arts cent ...

production of musical ''You Somebody'' by Lee Cataluna and

. She reprised this role in 2007, winning the Hawaii State Theater Council's Po'okela Award for Leading Female in Musical. In 2008, she debuted on Broadway as Bloody Mary in ''South Pacific''. For her performance, she was nominated for

and also won the 2008

Family

She is married to David Sayre.

References

External links

Sayre's official website
* * * on the ''

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ables Sayre, Loretta Living people Actresses from Honolulu American musical theatre actresses American musicians of Filipino descent American television actresses American voice actresses Musicians from Stockton, California Musicians from Honolulu Theatre World Award winners American jazz singers American women jazz singers Singers from California Jazz musicians from California Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women singers