Ellen Hanley (May 15, 1926 – February 12, 2007) was a

musical theater 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, moveme ...

performer best known for playing Fiorello H. LaGuardia's first wife in the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' Fiorello!''. She was related to the British writers James and Gerald Hanley, and the playwright, novelist, and scriptwriter

William Hanley William Hanley (October 22, 1931 – May 25, 2012) was an American playwright, novelist, and scriptwriter, born in Lorain, Ohio. Hanley wrote plays for the theatre, radio and television and published three novels in the 1970s. He was related t ...

was her brother.

Early life

Ellen Hanley was born in

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located in Northeast Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River (Ohio), Black River about west of Cleveland. It is the List of cities in Ohio, ninth-most populous city in O ...

, one of three children of William Gerald and Anne Rodgers Hanley. William Hanley, Sr. was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, England in 1899, of Irish Catholic immigrants. He was a seaman prior to settling in the US, and then worked as a housepainter.

Career

Ellen Hanley made her Broadway debut in ''

Annie Get Your Gun Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (Malayalam actress) (born 1975), Indian actress who works in Malayalam-language films * ...

'' in 1946 playing the part of Mary. The following year she appeared in '' Barefoot Boy With Cheek'' and won a Theater World award for her performance as Clothilde Pfefferkorn. in the late 1940s and 1950s she "toured extensively in summer-stock shows" and also during the 1950s performed in Julius Monk's revues. In 1952 she had a part in the musical

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

'' Two's Company'', introducing the song "Roundabout". In 1959 she took over the leading role in ''First Impressions'' from

Polly Bergen Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer, and entrepreneur. She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan (singer), Helen ...

, playing Elizabeth Bennett in a musical based on ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is the second published novel (but third to be written) by English author Jane Austen, written when she was age 20-21, and later published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabe ...

''. She is best-known for playing Thea,

Fiorello LaGuardia Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 99th mayor of New Y ...

's first wife, in the Pulitzer Prize-winning in ''Fiorello!'', the

Jerry Bock Jerrold Lewis Bock (November 23, 1928November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical '' Fiorello!'' and the Tony A ...

Sheldon Harnick Sheldon Mayer Harnick (April 30, 1924 – June 23, 2023) was an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as '' Fiorello!'', '' She Loves Me'', and ''Fiddler on the Roof''. Ear ...

musical hit which ran for nearly 800 performances, from late 1959. She acted, in 1963, in a successful off-Broadway revival of ''The Boys From Syracuse'', a

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...

musical based on Shakespeare's ''

The Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play ...

''.

Personal life

In 1951, Hanley married

Ronny Graham Ronny Graham (August 26, 1919 – July 4, 1999) was an American actor and theater director, composer, lyricist, and writer. Life and career Graham was born Ronald Montcrief Stringer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second of five children born ...

, a fellow actor. They adopted two children, Nora and Julian. The couple divorced in 1963.

Death

Hanley died on February 12, 2007, aged 80, in

Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York metropolitan area, New York Metropolitan Area, is the List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, sixth-most populous city in Connecticut ...

, of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

after a long battle with cancer.

Appearances

*''

'' (1946-1949) as Mary *'' Barefoot Boy with Cheek'' (1947) as Clothilde Pfefferkorn *'' Two's Company'' (1952–1953) *'' First Impressions'' (1959) as Elizabeth Bennett *'' Fiorello!'' (1959–1961) as Thea *''

The Boys from Syracuse ''The Boys from Syracuse'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play '' The Comedy of Errors'', as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemp ...

'' (1963) *'' The Burns and Allen Show'': Episode 3

Awards

*Theatre World Award (1947) for Clothilde Pfefferkorn in ''Barefoot Boy With Cheek''.

Notes

References

Ellen Hanley, 80, Actress in Musicals, Dies
''New York Times'', February 14, 2007.

''USA Today'', February 12, 2007.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanley, Ellen 1926 births 2007 deaths Actresses from Norwalk, Connecticut American musical theatre actresses People from Lorain, Ohio 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women