Carole Shelley

Carole Augusta Shelley (August 16, 1939 – August 31, 2018) was an English actress born in London who built her career across both the United States and the United Kingdom. Her father, Curtis Shelley, was a composer of German Jewish origin who had emigrated to London before World War II, and her mother, Deborah (née Bloomstein), was an opera singer of Russian Jewish descent. Shelley died of cancer in Manhattan at the age of 79.

Shelley made her Broadway debut in 1965 originating the role of Gwendolyn Pigeon in The Odd Couple, which starred Walter Matthau and Art Carney. She reprised the role in the 1968 film adaptation, in which Jack Lemmon replaced Carney, and in the first season of the subsequent television series starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman. She and Monica Evans, who played her sister Cecily Pigeon, were the only two performers to appear in all three versions of The Odd Couple in the same roles.

In the 1970s, Shelley sought to broaden her range as a performer. She played Rosalind in As You Like It at the 1972 Stratford Festival in Ontario, describing the preparation to The New York Times in 1979 as involving months of intensive work beyond anything previously required of her. Her first Tony Award nomination came in 1975 for her portrayal of Jane in Absurd Person Singular. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1979 for her performance as Mrs. Kendal in The Elephant Man. In 1982, she received an Obie Award for her work in Twelve Dreams. A third Tony nomination followed in 1987, for Featured Actress in a Play, for her role as Maxine in Stepping Out.

Shelley transitioned into musicals in the late 1990s, appearing in the 1999 Broadway revivals of Show Boat as Parthy and Cabaret as Fraulein Schneider. In 2003, she originated the role of Madame Morrible in the Broadway premiere of Wicked, later reprising the character in the show's first national touring company in 2005, in the Chicago production in 2006, and in a return Broadway engagement in 2007. She played Grandma in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot: The Musical at the Imperial Theatre beginning in October 2008, earning a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 2009. In 2014, she succeeded Jane Carr as Miss Shingle in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, which marked her final Broadway appearance. Her Broadway career spanned from 1965 to 2013, and also included a production of The Miser among other credits.

Beyond Broadway, Shelley appeared in a number of British films early in her career, including It's Great to Be Young (1956), Carry On Regardless (1961), No My Darling Daughter (1961), The Cool Mikado (1962), and Carry On Cabby (1963). Her American film work included The Boston Strangler (1968), Some Kind of a Nut (1969), The Whoopee Boys (1986), Little Noises (1992), and The Road to Wellville (1994). She played Helen Moskowitz in the Emmy-winning 1998 Frasier episode "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz" and appeared as Aunt Clara alongside Nicole Kidman and Kristin Chenoweth in the 2005 film Bewitched. Shelley also contributed voice work to several Disney animated features, including the role of Amelia Gabble in The Aristocats (1970), Lady Kluck in Robin Hood (1973), and Lachesis in Hercules. Monica Evans, her Odd Couple co-star, voiced her goose sister in The Aristocats and Maid Marian in Robin Hood, paralleling their pairing as the Pigeon Sisters. Shelley's final screen appearance was a cameo in John Mulaney's 2018 comedy special Kid Gorgeous, in which she played his guide through Radio City Music Hall.