Shirl Conway (born Shirley Elizabeth Crosman, June 13, 1916 – May 7, 2007) was an American television and

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 ...

actress.

Early years

A great-niece of actress

Henrietta Crosman Henrietta Foster Crosman (September 2, 1861 – October 31, 1944) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Crosman was born in Wheeling, Virginia, to George Crosman Jr. a Civil War Major, and Mary B. Wick, a niece of composer Step ...

, Conway graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1938 with a bachelor's degree in speech therapy. She was a John Robert Powers model.

Career

Banjo Eyes ''Banjo Eyes'' is a musical based on the play ''Three Men on a Horse'' by John Cecil Holm and George Abbott. It has a book by Joseph Quinlan and Izzy Ellinson, music by Vernon Duke, and lyrics by John La Touche and Harold Adamson. Produced by ...

'' (1940) was Conway's theatrical debut. She played Ruth Winters in the 1955

musical comedy 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, movemen ...

Plain and Fancy ''Plain and Fancy'' is a musical comedy with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, lyrics by Arnold Horwitt, and music by Albert Hague. One of the first depictions of an Amish community in American pop culture, it includes a traditional barn r ...

'' on Broadway, for which she won a

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� ...

. She also appeared on Broadway in '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' and toured in ''

Auntie Mame ''Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade'' is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the ward of his Aunt Mame Dennis, the sister of his dead father. The book is often desc ...

'', including performances in the capital cities of Australia. She played the role of Liz Thorpe in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

drama '' The Nurses'' (which ran from 1962 to 1965) for which she was nominated for an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

award in 1963 for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Series. Other TV credits include ''

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

'', '' The Defenders'', and ''

Caesar's Hour ''Caesar's Hour'' is a live, hour-long American sketch-comedy television program that aired on NBC from 1954 until 1957. The program starred, among others, Sid Caesar, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Janet Blair, and Milt Kamen, and f ...

''. She moved to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

in 1972, where she was the founding member of the Harstine Island Theatre Club, and starred in productions there into her 80s.

Personal life

Conway was married to engineer Gordon Larson and Bill Johnson, an actor.

Simonson, Robert Robert Simonson (born September 11, 1964) is an American journalist and author. Personal life Robert Simonson was born in Wisconsin; he has lived in Brooklyn since 1988. Career Robert Simonson began writing about cocktails, spirits and bars for ...

"Shirl Conway, Broadway and Television Actress, Dies at 90"
playbill, June 4, 2007

Selected filmography

* ''

The Strangers Came ''The Strangers Came'' is a 1949 British comedy film directed by Alfred Travers and starring Tommy Duggan, Shirl Conway and Shamus Locke. Some of the film was shot on location in Ireland. It was made as a second feature by the independent compa ...

'' (1949)

References

External links

Shirl Conway
in

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Shirl 1916 births 2007 deaths Theatre World Award winners 20th-century American actresses People from Cattaraugus County, New York People from Shelton, Washington Actresses from New York (state) University of Michigan alumni American stage actresses 21st-century American women