Pamela Blair
Encyclopedia
Pamela Blair known as Pam, is an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for originating the role of "Val" in the musical A Chorus Line
and several appearances on American soap opera
s.
Rockette in order to meet her idols, The Beatles
. At age 16, she moved to New York City to attend a private school, The National Academy of Ballet, in her senior year of high school. She later met a friend at a dance class who told her Michael Bennett
was looking for dancers for Promises, Promises
. Pam auditioned and was hired. Blair comments, "Whenever I don't seem to be getting anywhere in this business, I try to remember that I was once a chambermaid in a small motel in Vermont." She continued to build credits with Seesaw
, another Michael Bennett production, and then landed the coveted role of "Curly's Wife", the only female role in the James Earl Jones
Broadway revival of Of Mice and Men
which later opened at the Kennedy Center to critical acclaim. She also appeared in Sugar
, the stage musical version of the film Some Like It Hot
, in which she played "Sugar Kane", a role made famous by Marilyn Monroe
.
came from another dancer. "Val was based on Mitzi Hamilton, who actually underwent surgery to enhance her figure, and Pam Blair, whose mixture of angelic appearance and ribald tongue entertained Bennett enormously". The angelic looking yet sexy Val has a foul mouth, and introduces the popular Broadway song "Dance: 10; Looks: 3" which tells the story of an unattractive yet talented girl who uses plastic surgery to help her get cast in roles. The song is also known by its chorus, "Tits and Ass". Val is one of the larger roles, and Blair received much attention. Along with the cast, Blair won the 1976 Theatre World Award
for Ensemble Performance for the show.
She next originated the role of "Amber" (later "Angel") in 1978's The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
. Her turn as an eager to work prostitute
earned her a Drama Desk Award
nomination. She can be heard on the cast recording as the lead in Hard Candy Christmas
, although apparently another song was taken from her before the show opened. Further roles on Broadway include King of Hearts
(in the Geneviève Bujold
role), "Clelia" in The Nerd
, and "Joanne" in A Few Good Men, directed by her then estranged husband, Don Scardino
.
, Another World
, Ryan's Hope
, and All My Children
, for which she received a Daytime Emmy nomination. She has guest starred on such shows as Law & Order
, The Cosby Show
, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
. She appeared opposite Jodie Foster
in the TV film Svengali
and in feature films Mighty Aphrodite
directed by Woody Allen
, 21 Grams
with Sean Penn
and Benicio del Toro
, Before and After with Meryl Streep
and Liam Neeson
and Annie
as the maid Annette ("The silk, no the satin sheets, I think!").
Blair lived in California for a time, where she landed the role of Sabrina's mother on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
, although high profile on-camera success eluded her. However, she has continued to amass many regional and national credits, and still appears in sexually appealing roles such as "Heddi La Rue" in How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying
. In 2006, she appeared in the lead role of Miss Mona with the Phoenix Theater's production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
, directed by Michael Barnard. As noted above, Blair was in the original cast of the musical.
She married actor and director
, Don Scardino in 1984, and they divorced in 1991. She lived in Northern New Jersey
for a time, and now resides in Arizona
where she owns her own Therapeutic and Myofascial Massage Studio for athletes.
A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....
and several appearances on American soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s.
Early life and career
Born in Bennington, Vermont, to Edgar Joseph and Geraldine Marie (Cummings) Blair; she was raised in a small town with her pony, Tonka. She studied dance, played sports, and dreamed of becoming a Radio CityRadio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
Rockette in order to meet her idols, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. At age 16, she moved to New York City to attend a private school, The National Academy of Ballet, in her senior year of high school. She later met a friend at a dance class who told her Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett was an American musical theater director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven....
was looking for dancers for Promises, Promises
Promises, Promises
Promises, Promises is a musical based on the 1960 film The Apartment. The music is by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David, and book by Neil Simon. Musical numbers for the original Broadway production were choreographed by Michael Bennett; Robert Moore directed and David Merrick produced...
. Pam auditioned and was hired. Blair comments, "Whenever I don't seem to be getting anywhere in this business, I try to remember that I was once a chambermaid in a small motel in Vermont." She continued to build credits with Seesaw
Seesaw (musical)
Seesaw is a musical with a book by Michael Bennett, music by Cy Coleman, and lyrics by Dorothy Fields.Based on the William Gibson play Two for the Seesaw, the plot focuses on a brief affair between Jerry Ryan, a young lawyer from Nebraska, and Gittel Mosca, a kooky, streetwise dancer from the Bronx...
, another Michael Bennett production, and then landed the coveted role of "Curly's Wife", the only female role in the James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
Broadway revival of Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men is a novella written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression in California, USA....
which later opened at the Kennedy Center to critical acclaim. She also appeared in Sugar
Sugar (musical)
Sugar is a musical with a book by Peter Stone, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Bob Merrill. It is based on the film Some Like It Hot, which was adapted by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond from a story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan...
, the stage musical version of the film Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot is an American comedy film, made in 1958 and released in 1959, which was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and George Raft. The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film is a remake by Wilder and I....
, in which she played "Sugar Kane", a role made famous by Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
.
A Chorus Line and Broadway fame
In 1974, Blair was invited by Michael Bennett to participate in the workshops from which A Chorus Line was developed. The character of "Valerie Clark" was in large part, based on her own life, although the surgical enhancementPlastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
came from another dancer. "Val was based on Mitzi Hamilton, who actually underwent surgery to enhance her figure, and Pam Blair, whose mixture of angelic appearance and ribald tongue entertained Bennett enormously". The angelic looking yet sexy Val has a foul mouth, and introduces the popular Broadway song "Dance: 10; Looks: 3" which tells the story of an unattractive yet talented girl who uses plastic surgery to help her get cast in roles. The song is also known by its chorus, "Tits and Ass". Val is one of the larger roles, and Blair received much attention. Along with the cast, Blair won the 1976 Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
for Ensemble Performance for the show.
She next originated the role of "Amber" (later "Angel") in 1978's The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall...
. Her turn as an eager to work prostitute
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
earned her a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
nomination. She can be heard on the cast recording as the lead in Hard Candy Christmas
Hard Candy Christmas
"Hard Candy Christmas" is a song written by composer/lyricist Carol Hall for the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.Near the end of the original play, individual girls of the brothel sing lines of the verses as they are preparing to leave; they join together on the refrains...
, although apparently another song was taken from her before the show opened. Further roles on Broadway include King of Hearts
King of Hearts (musical)
King of Hearts is a 1978 musical with a book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Jacob Brackman, and music by Peter Link, orchestrated by Bill Brohn. It is based on the 1966 anti-war cult film of the same name....
(in the Geneviève Bujold
Geneviève Bujold
Geneviève Bujold is a Canadian actress best known for her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the 1969 film Anne of the Thousand Days, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for best actress and was nominated for an Academy Award....
role), "Clelia" in The Nerd
The Nerd
The Nerd is a two-act comedy written by American actor/playwright Larry Shue.-Plot:Set in Terre Haute, Indiana in late 1979, The Nerd presents the story of Willum Cubbert, an unassuming young architect, friends Tansy and Axel and unexpected houseguest Rick, who had saved Willum's life in Vietnam...
, and "Joanne" in A Few Good Men, directed by her then estranged husband, Don Scardino
Don Scardino
Don Scardino is an American television director and producer and a former actor.-Acting:Born in New York City, Scardino began his career as an actor. His first Broadway credit was as an understudy in The Playroom in 1965. Additional Broadway acting credits include Johnny No-Trump, Godspell, and...
.
Television, film, and later career
Blair has made several appearances on American soap operas such as LovingLoving (TV series)
Caden Grant Carlton loves Mika Ayako Ryan more.Loving is an American television soap opera which aired on ABC's daytime lineup from June 26, 1983 to November 10, 1995 for 3,169 episodes...
, Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
, Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
, and All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
, for which she received a Daytime Emmy nomination. She has guest starred on such shows as Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd is an NBC/Lifetime comedy-drama that aired from 1987 to 1991. It was created by Jay Tarses and starred Blair Brown in the title role.-Premise:...
, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a teenage fictional character named Sabrina Spellman. The character was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo. The comic's characters have also appeared in various other media...
. She appeared opposite Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
in the TV film Svengali
Svengali (1931 film)
Svengali is a drama/horror film starring John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, and Bramwell Fletcher, directed by Archie Mayo, written by J. Grubb Alexander, and released by Warner Brothers. It is based on the gothic horror novel Trilby by George du Maurier. The film was originally released on May 22, 1931...
and in feature films Mighty Aphrodite
Mighty Aphrodite
Mighty Aphrodite is a 1995 romantic comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. The screenplay was inspired by the mythological tale of Pygmalion....
directed by Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
, 21 Grams
21 Grams
21 Grams is a 2003 American drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. It stars Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston, and Benicio del Toro....
with Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
and Benicio del Toro
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
, Before and After with Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
and Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
and Annie
Annie (film)
Annie is a 1982 American musical film directed by John Huston and choreographed by Arlene Phillips. The film is an adaption of the 1977 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. The movie features music by Charles Strouse,...
as the maid Annette ("The silk, no the satin sheets, I think!").
Blair lived in California for a time, where she landed the role of Sabrina's mother on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a teenage fictional character named Sabrina Spellman. The character was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo. The comic's characters have also appeared in various other media...
, although high profile on-camera success eluded her. However, she has continued to amass many regional and national credits, and still appears in sexually appealing roles such as "Heddi La Rue" in How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name....
. In 2006, she appeared in the lead role of Miss Mona with the Phoenix Theater's production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall...
, directed by Michael Barnard. As noted above, Blair was in the original cast of the musical.
She married actor and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, Don Scardino in 1984, and they divorced in 1991. She lived in Northern New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
for a time, and now resides in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
where she owns her own Therapeutic and Myofascial Massage Studio for athletes.
Awards
- 1976 Theatre World Special Award
- A Chorus Line (winner) (for Ensemble Performance )
- 1978 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
- The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (nominee)
- 1987 Daytime Emmy Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series
- All My Children (nominee)
Theater (Broadway)
- A Few Good Men (1989) ....Lt. Cmdr. Joanne Galloway
- The Nerd (1987) ....Clelia Waldgrave
- King of Hearts (1978) ....Jeunefille
- The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1978) ....Amber/Angel
- A Chorus Line (1975) ....Val
- Of Mice and Men (1974) ....Curley's Wife
- Seesaw (1973) ....Ensemble
- Sugar (1972) ....Ensemble, later Sugar Kane
- Wild and Wonderful (1971)....Ensemble
- Promises, Promises (1968)....Ensemble
Film and television
- 21 Grams (2003)
- The Last Dance (2000) (TV)
- Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (1998) (TV) .... Sabrina's Mom
- Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996) (voice only)
- Before and After (1996)
- Mighty Aphrodite (1995) .... Greek Chorus
- Another World (1994) (TV) .... Bonnie Broderick
- The Cosby Mysteries (1994) (TV)
- Law & Order (1994) (TV)
- Me and Veronica (1993)
- The Cosby Show (1989) (TV).... Karen
- The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1989) (TV)
- All My Children (1985) (TV) Series .... Maida Andrews
- Loving (1983–85) (TV) .... Rita Mae Bristow
- Svengali (1983) (TV) .... Trish
- AnnieAnnie (film)Annie is a 1982 American musical film directed by John Huston and choreographed by Arlene Phillips. The film is an adaption of the 1977 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. The movie features music by Charles Strouse,...
(1982) .... Annette - Ryan's Hope (1980) (TV)