Vivian Blaine

Vivian Blaine, born Vivian Stapleton on November 21, 1921, in Newark, New Jersey, was an American actress and singer whose Broadway career spanned from 1950 to 1983. The daughter of Leo Stapleton, an insurance agent, and Wilhelmina Tepley, Blaine began performing on local stages as early as 1934. After graduating from South Side High School, she began touring and joined dance bands as a traveling singer starting in 1937.

By the 1940s, Blaine had established herself as a prominent nightclub performer, earning top billing at New York's Copacabana. In his memoir Dean and Me: A Love Story, Jerry Lewis recalled sharing the bill with Blaine at the club, noting that she had already conquered Manhattan, made films in Hollywood, and returned to New York in triumph. Her film career began in earnest in 1942, when her agent and future husband Manny Franks secured her a contract with Twentieth Century-Fox. She subsequently appeared in a series of studio productions, sharing top billing with Laurel and Hardy in Jitterbugs (1943) and starring in Greenwich Village (1944), Something for the Boys (1944), Nob Hill (1945), and State Fair (1945).

Blaine is best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, a credit that defined her career and which she reprised in the film adaptation alongside Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, and Frank Sinatra. Her Broadway work extended well beyond that signature role, encompassing productions across multiple genres, including the drama A Hatful of Rain, the comedies Say, Darling and Enter Laughing, and the productions Company, Zorba, and Light Up the Sky. She also performed in touring productions of musicals including Gypsy.

On television, Blaine appeared as a special guest on the NBC tribute episode of This Is Your Life honoring Laurel and Hardy on December 1, 1954, drawing on her experience working with the duo in Jitterbugs. At the 25th Annual Tony Awards in 1971, she performed "Adelaide's Lament" from Guys and Dolls as a guest performer. Later television work included guest appearances on Fantasy Island and The Love Boat, as well as a recurring role on the cult series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Her final onscreen appearance came in a Season 1 episode of Murder, She Wrote titled "Broadway Malady."

In 1983, Blaine recorded her cabaret act for AEI Records, a release that included her final recordings of songs from Guys and Dolls; the label donated its royalties to AIDS Project Los Angeles, an organization Blaine actively supported through public service announcements and personal appearances. Her earlier recordings for Mercury Records have since been reissued on compact disc. Blaine died of congestive heart failure at Beth Israel Hospital North in New York City on December 9, 1995, at the age of 74.