Stephen Douglass

Stephen Douglass, born Stephen Fitch on September 27, 1921, in Mount Vernon, Ohio, was an American actor and singer whose Broadway career spanned from 1947 to 1963. He died on December 20, 2011, at the age of 90, following a prolonged battle with leukemia.

Douglass built his reputation on the Broadway stage through a series of notable roles across more than a decade of work. He became the final performer to portray Billy Bigelow in the original Broadway production of Carousel, and later originated the same role in the West End production in London. He created the role of Ulysses in The Golden Apple, the 1954 musical with music by Jerome Moross and lyrics by John Latouche. His performance as Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical in 1956. Additional Broadway credits included Make a Wish, The Pajama Game, Rumple, Destry Rides Again, 110 in the Shade, and I Do! I Do!. In 1966, he portrayed Gaylord Ravenal in the Lincoln Center revival of Show Boat.

Beyond the stage, Douglass occasionally appeared on television and took on operatic roles. In 1960, he played Olin Blitch in the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company's production of Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, alongside Phyllis Curtin in the title role and Richard Cassilly as Sam Polk. He also performed in several concerts for The Ivor Novello Appreciation Bureau at Littlewick Green.

Douglass married Edith Reis in 1942, and the couple had four children, residing in Bogota, New Jersey until her death in 1971. He subsequently married Welsh singer Christine Yates. In 1972, Douglass retired to England, though he continued performing in musicals, most notably taking on the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. His final stage appearance came in a 2003 U.K. production of Oklahoma! at The New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.