Eileen Rodgers

Eileen Rodgers (July 10, 1930 – July 13, 2003) was an American singer and Broadway performer born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before establishing herself in theater, she worked as a nightclub performer and served as lead vocalist with Charlie Spivak's orchestra. Her recording career included more than 30 singles and two LPs released on Columbia Records. Her 1956 single "Miracle of Love" reached number 18 on the Billboard pop chart and number 24 on the Cash Box pop chart, making it her most commercially successful recording. She also made frequent appearances on television variety shows and starred alongside Art Carney in a Chevrolet 50th Anniversary special.

Rodgers made her Broadway debut in 1959 with Fiorello!, performing the number "Gentleman Jimmy." The following year she appeared in the musical Tenderloin. In 1962, she took on the role of Reno Sweeney in an off-Broadway revival of Cole Porter's Anything Goes, heading the cast of a production that earned the New York Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Revival of 1962. A cast recording of that production was subsequently released on CD. In 1966, she served as standby for Ethel Merman in the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun.

Rodgers's final Broadway credit was the 1965 musical Kelly, which closed after a single performance. During the show's Philadelphia tryout, The Saturday Evening Post reported that she had burst into tears after a performance, saying she wished she were back in Tenderloin, describing that earlier show as a flop where people had at least been friendly.

Rodgers died of lung cancer on July 13, 2003, in Charlotte, North Carolina, three days after her 73rd birthday. She was survived by her husband, William Thompson, two sons, and three grandchildren.