Gloria LeRoy

Gloria Jacqueline LeRoy (November 7, 1925 – May 26, 2018) was an American actress and performer whose career spanned stage, film, and television across several decades. Born in Bucyrus, Ohio, to vaudeville performers Loletta and Russell LeRoy, she grew up in a family deeply rooted in entertainment. When LeRoy was young, the family relocated to New York, where her parents operated a dance school. Both Gloria and her brother Kenneth trained there; Kenneth would go on to perform on Broadway as a dancer and singer and became the first actor to portray Bernardo in West Side Story.

LeRoy made her Broadway debut in 1943 at the age of 17, appearing as a Specialty Dancer in the musical Artists and Models alongside Jackie Gleason. Her early professional work outside of Broadway included performing as a dancer and singer in nightclubs for impresario Lou Walters, the father of Barbara Walters, at the Latin Quarter. From 1951 to 1952, she headlined Nouvelle Eve, a Parisian cabaret import, at the Hotel El Rancho Vegas. She also toured with Ann Corio's This Was Burlesque as a tassel-twirler.

Her Broadway career continued with appearances in The Most Happy Fella and George M!, extending her stage work through 1970. She was cast as Ernestina Money in a production of Hello, Dolly! in 1964 but was ultimately replaced by Mary Jo Catlett. Her transition to film came when producer Norman Lear saw her perform on stage and cast her in The Night They Raided Minsky's in 1968. She became widely recognized for her recurring television role as Mildred "Boom Boom" Turner on the 1970s sitcom All in the Family.

LeRoy accumulated numerous television credits over the following decades. She appeared in Three's Company as Nancy in the episode "The Goodbye Guy" in 1980 and played Chesty LaRue in the Married... with Children episode "Live Nude Peg" in 1997. Her soap opera work included the role of Queenie on Days of Our Lives in 1989, Beatrice Tucker on The Young and the Restless in 1998, and Ruth on Passions in 2000. In 2001, she appeared in the season eight Frasier episode "A Day in May" as Mrs. Smolenski. Later television appearances included the 2007 pilot of Rules of Engagement, a 2009 role as Rose Kemper in season five of Desperate Housewives, and recurring appearances as Aunt Ginger in seasons one and two of the Showtime series Shameless. Her final screen work came in 2015 in season three of the HBO series Getting On. LeRoy died in Los Angeles, California, on May 26, 2018, at the age of 92.