Hazel Shermet

Hazel Shermet (August 1, 1920 – October 27, 2016) was an American actress, comedian, and singer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her career encompassed theater, radio, television, film, and voice acting across several decades. She studied acting at Carnegie Tech, now Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, graduating in 1941, and later trained at the Pasadena Playhouse. Before establishing herself as a performer, Shermet worked as an advertising copywriter at the Al Paul Lefton Co. agency in New York City at the age of 19, a background she credited throughout her career as a foundation for her professional longevity.

Shermet's Broadway credit came in 1947 with The Cradle Will Rock, in which she appeared opposite Jack Albertson, contributing as an attendant's voice. Her early stage work preceded a significant radio career that began in earnest in March 1950, when she was cast as Miss Duffy in Duffy's Tavern, a long-running radio situation comedy. She was the last actress to hold that role. Production of the show was based in Puerto Rico, where Shermet relocated, and it was there she met writer Larry Rhine, who served as the program's head writer. The two married in 1950 and had two children, remaining together until Rhine's death in 2000. Rhine received two Emmy nominations during his career as a television writer.

Following Duffy's Tavern, Shermet returned to radio comedy and singing, appearing alongside Fred Allen, Morey Amsterdam, Milton Berle, Henry Morgan, Kate Smith, and Henny Youngman. She was also a regular on Jack and Cliff in 1948. In early television, she starred in two programs on WOR-TV in New York City, including Songs You've Never Heard Before and Won't Want to Ever Hear Again, in which she performed viewer-requested songs.

After relocating to Los Angeles with Rhine in the early 1950s, Shermet expanded into film and television. Her first credited film role came in 1954's A Star Is Born, in which she played Jack Carson's secretary. Additional film appearances included Rockabilly Baby (1957), Auntie Mame (1958), The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960), Gypsy (1962), Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Love at First Bite (1979), and Body Slam (1986). Her television work began with a 1954 episode of Dragnet and grew to include a role as Louise Cooper in the NBC comedy Blondie (1957) and a recurring part as Pam on the CBS comedy Pete and Gladys from 1960 to 1961. In 1964, she appeared as Cousin Melancholia on an episode of The Addams Family. Her television credits across the 1950s through the 1980s further included The Beverly Hillbillies, My Favorite Martian, The Patty Duke Show, That Girl, I Dream of Jeannie, The Facts of Life, Gimme a Break!, and Punky Brewster.

Voice work formed a substantial part of Shermet's later career. She was heard on the CBS animated series The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan from 1972 to 1974, and from 1972 to 1977 she provided the voice of Henrietta Hippo for all 196 episodes of the syndicated children's program New Zoo Revue. She also voiced the recurring character Mrs. Bailey on the 1980s animated series Jem. In addition to her acting roles, Shermet appeared in more than 100 television commercials, with clients including Borax, Charmin, Head and Shoulders, and Hunt's Tomato Paste. At one point, seven national commercials featuring her aired simultaneously across the United States, earning her a cover appearance in The Commercial Actor Magazine as its actress of the month.

Shermet died of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles on October 27, 2016, at the age of 96. She was survived by her daughter Vicki, her son Robert Rhine, an actor and producer, and her granddaughter Julie, an Emmy-nominated costume designer.