Shelly Burch (born March 19, 1960) is an American actress and singer known to television audiences for her role as Delilah Ralston Garretson on ABC's daytime soap opera '' One Life to Live'', a role she played for eight years.

Life and career

Born in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, she began performing as a teenager in community and regional musicals, ultimately moving to Washington D.C. with her family when her father

Dean Burch Roy Dean Burch (December 20, 1927 – August 4, 1991) was an American lawyer and lobbyist. He served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from October 1969 to March 1974 and Counselor to the President in 1974, during the admi ...

entered Republican party politics in the 1964 White House run for the Presidency by Barry Goldwater. She continued working in the D.C. area and eventually entered Carnegie Mellon University, where she stayed until a move to New York in the 70's. Shelly was cast in her first Broadway show six months after her arrival. She played one of

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

's daughters in the revival of ''

Stop the World – I Want to Get Off ''Stop the World – I Want to Get Off'' is a 1961 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. According to Oscar Levant, the play's title was derived from graffiti. Plot The show, set against a circus backdr ...

'', which began its run in California and came to Lincoln Center, NY. In 1979, after several cabaret appearances, she snagged the role of Star-To-Be in ''

Annie 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 (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

'' on Broadway, and also played the role of Lily St. Regis. In 1980,

Tommy Tune Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and a star on the Hollywood Wal ...

cast her in his original Broadway production of ''

Nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

''. She played the role of Claudia and introduced Maury Yeston's "Unusual Way". The role earned her kudos, including one from

Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is curren ...

(then the drama critic for ''The New York Times''), in which he called her "a Modigliani goddess with another strong voice and an almost otherworldly presence". She also garnered a Drama Desk nomination for the role. She stayed with ''

'' until she was tapped to originate the role of the devilish Delilah Ralston on ABC-TV's long-running soap opera '' One Life to Live''.Passalacqua, Connie (October 22, 1989). "Shelly Burch has found something to sing about", ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'', p. 50. She stayed on the show for eight years, and at the same time honed her cabaret skills. In 1989, after having left Llanview (where ''One Life'' took place), she created the role of Julie for the Paper Mill Playhouse's production of ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'', which subsequently was filmed by

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

for

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is p ...

. In 1990, she moved to Florida, got married and had three children. During her Florida residency, she continued to perform regionally and sang in numerous churches and at the Holy Land. She also worked extensively at

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

and continued her cabaret and night club career. She also performed at diverse locations such as the Republican National Convention and RFK Stadium, stirring audiences with her version of "The Star Spangled Banner". In 2003, after roles such as

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

in "An Evening With..." and Aldonza in '' Man of La Mancha'', she called her old friend and ''

'' director

Martin Charnin Martin Charnin (November 24, 1934 – July 6, 2019) was an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director, and lyricist of the musical '' Annie.'' Life and career Charnin was born in New York ...

to come and create a new night club act for her. He did. The act played in Orlando, Washington D.C., and eventually in 2009 came to the Metropolitan Room in New York City. In 2004, family-in-hand, she moved to the Pacific Northwest and became a regular in the Seattle and environs theater scene. In 2006, she and Mr. Charnin married and they continued working together in the Pacific Northwest, until they returned to the East Coast in July 2012. Shelly has done several revues at The Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck, New York and several one-woman shows in New York City at

54 Below 54 Below is a cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Owned by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performers as Patt ...

and The Metropolitan Room all directed by Mr. Charnin. She is currently working on a one-woman entertainment entitled Incurably Romantic featuring the music and lyrics of Mr. Charnin opening in December 2019.

Film and television

* ''Oy Vey! My Son is Gay'' (2010) as Teresa, direction by Evgany Afineevsky * ''

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

'' as Diane, direction by Jonathan Segal * ''Her Meds'' as Aggie, direction by Matt Cibelli * '' One Life to Live'' as Delilah Ralston Garretson, direction by ABC-TV * ''

'' as Julie, direction by

– ''Great Performances'' * ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two M ...

'' (Guest Star) as Angelica / Vote of Confidence, direction by

NBC-TV The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

* '' Stop the World I Want to Get Off'' as Jane, direction by

Mel Shapiro Mel Shapiro is an American theatre director and writer, college professor, and author. Trained at Carnegie-Mellon University, Shapiro began his professional directing career at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and then as resident director at Arena Stage i ...

* '' Held for Ransom'' as Mrs. McCormack, direction by

Lee Stanley Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese s ...

* ''

Identity Crisis In psychology, identity crisis is a stage theory of identity development where it involves resolution of a conflict over the 8 stages of the lifespan.(Schultz, 216) The term was coined by German psychologist Erik Erikson. The stage of psychosoci ...

'' as Roxy, direction by

Melvin Van Peebles Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the 2000s. His feature film debut, '' The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' ...

* '' Cat's Eye'' as Jerrilyn, direction by

Lewis Teague Lewis Teague (born March 8, 1938) is an American film director, whose work includes ''Alligator'', '' Cat's Eye'', ''Cujo'', '' The Jewel of the Nile'', '' The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!'', ''Navy SEALs'' and '' Wedlock''. Biography Teague was ...

* ''

Spencer For Hire ''Spenser: For Hire'' is an American crime drama series based on Robert B. Parker's '' Spenser'' novels. The series, developed for TV by John Wilder and starring Robert Urich, was broadcast on ABC from September 20, 1985, until May 7, 1988. P ...

'' (Guest Star) as Diedre / Angel Desolation, direction by ABC-TV * ''So this Priest Walks Into a Bar'' as The Woman, direction by Mark Lundsten

Theatre and stage

* ''

'' – Broadway, direction by

* ''

'' – Broadway, direction by

* ''

'' – Broadway, direction by

* ''

'' – Paper Mill Playhouse, direction by Robert Johanson * '' Man of La Mancha'' – Mark Two Theatre, direction by Mark Howard * ''A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline'' – direction by Mark Howard * ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

'' – direction by

* ''Later Life'' – direction by

* ''

Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed ...

'' – direction by

* '' Annie Warbucks'' – direction by

* ''Love is Love'' – direction by

* '' Company'' – direction by David Armstrong * '' Shadowlands'' – direction by

* ''Rodgers &...'' – direction by

* '' 42nd Street'' – direction by

Steve Tompkins Steve Tompkins is an American television writer. He attended Harvard University and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon; he graduated in 1988. He has worked on such television shows such as ''The Critic'', ''In Living Color'', ''Entourage'', ''The Bernie ...

* ''The Melody Lingers On'' – direction by

* ''Broadway Spoken Here'' – direction by

* ''Day of Music'' – direction by Ludovic Moriot * ''Real to Reel'' – (Songs from the stage to screen) – direction by Martin Charnin * ''The Broadway Revues'' – (The Great Broadway Revues from The Follies to Sugar Babies) – direction by Martin Charnin * ''Incurably Romantic'' – The Mad Cow Theatre * ''Second Coming'' – 54 Below, New York City * ''One Night Only'' – The Emelin Theatre *I Happen To Like New York-The Emelin Theatre-Direction Martin Charnin *In The Secret Sea-Direction Martin Charnin *Forgotten Broadway-The Emelin Theatre-direction Martin Charnin *Songbird-Metropolitan Room-direction Martin Charnin *several revues-The Emelin Theatre-all directed by Martin Charnin *several night-club acts-all directed by Martin Charnin *Incurably Romantic-the music of Martin Charnin

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burch, Shelly 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American actresses Living people Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni 1960 births American stage actresses American film actresses