Vivienne Segal
Encyclopedia
Vivienne Sonia Segal was an American
actress and singer.
Segal was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. She is best remembered for creating the role of Vera Simpson in Richard Rodgers
and Lorenz Hart
's Pal Joey and introduced the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
". Pal Joey opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre December 25, 1940, with a cast that included Gene Kelly
and June Havoc
.
Since the 1940 production went unrecorded, a studio cast was assembled in 1950 to record the musical. In 2003, this recording was reissued by Columbia Broadway Masterworks in a release featuring such Rodgers and Hart tunes as “I Could Write a Book”, “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”, “Zip”, and “Take Him,” as well as two bonus tracks: Lang singing “I Could Write a Book” (from the CBS TV show Shower of Stars
) and Segal—interviewed by Mike Wallace
on the CBS
radio show Stage Struck -- recalled Hart's promise to write her a show and then sings “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”. She was also a performer on the CBS radio program Accordiana
in 1934.
Segal's first marriage to actor Robert Ames
ended in divorce, and she then married television executive Hubbell Robinson. She died in Beverly Hills in 1992, aged 95. She was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
in Los Angeles
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and singer.
Segal was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. She is best remembered for creating the role of Vera Simpson in Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
and Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
's Pal Joey and introduced the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" is a show tune and popular song from the 1940 Rodgers and Hart musical Pal Joey. The song was introduced by Vivienne Segal in the 1940 Broadway production, and also sung by Miss Segal both on the 1950 hit record and in the 1952 Broadway revival...
". Pal Joey opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre December 25, 1940, with a cast that included Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
and June Havoc
June Havoc
June Havoc was a Canadian-born American actress, dancer, writer, and theater director. Havoc was a child Vaudeville performer under the tutelage of her mother. She later acted on Broadway and in Hollywood and stage directed . She last appeared on television in 1990 on General Hospital...
.
Since the 1940 production went unrecorded, a studio cast was assembled in 1950 to record the musical. In 2003, this recording was reissued by Columbia Broadway Masterworks in a release featuring such Rodgers and Hart tunes as “I Could Write a Book”, “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”, “Zip”, and “Take Him,” as well as two bonus tracks: Lang singing “I Could Write a Book” (from the CBS TV show Shower of Stars
Shower of Stars
Shower of Stars is an American variety television series broadcast in the United States from 1954 to 1958 by CBS. The series was also known as Chrysler Shower of Stars. Unusually at the time for CBS, the series was telecast in color.-Overview:...
) and Segal—interviewed by Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
radio show Stage Struck -- recalled Hart's promise to write her a show and then sings “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”. She was also a performer on the CBS radio program Accordiana
Accordiana
Accordiana was a musical radio series which was heard on CBS in 1934, airing at 8:30pm on Tuesday evenings.The 30-minute program featured soprano Vivienne Segal and tenor Oliver Smith....
in 1934.
Segal's first marriage to actor Robert Ames
Robert Ames
Robert Downing Ames was an American stage and film actor whose career was cut short by his untimely death at age 42.-Birth:Robert Ames was born on March 23, 1889 at Hartford, Connecticut, wher his father, Louis Mason Ames, was employed as an accountant for an insurance company and his mother, Mary...
ended in divorce, and she then married television executive Hubbell Robinson. She died in Beverly Hills in 1992, aged 95. She was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Musical theater
- 1915 The Blue ParadiseThe Blue ParadiseThe Blue Paradise is a musical with music by Edmund Eysler and Sigmund Romberg, lyrics by Herbert Reynolds, and a book by Edgar Smith, based on the operetta Ein Tag im Paradies by Eysler with original text by Leo Stein and Bela Jenbach. The story is set in a Viennese cafe, where a man realizes...
- 1917 My Lady's Glove
- 1917 Miss 1917Miss 1917Miss 1917 is a musical revue with a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, music by Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern and others, and lyrics by Harry B. Smith, Otto Harbach, Henry Blossom and others...
- 1918 Oh, Lady! Lady!!Oh, Lady! Lady!!Oh, Lady! Lady!! is a musical with music by Jerome Kern, a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse and lyrics by Wodehouse. It was written for the Princess Theatre on Broadway, where it played in 1918 and ran for 219 performances. The story concerns an engaged young man, Bill, whose ex-fiancée...
- 1919 The Little Whopper
- 1921 A Dangerous MaidA Dangerous MaidA Dangerous Maid is a musical with a book by Charles W. Bell, music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The script is based on Bell's 1918 play A Dislocated Honeymoon. The story concerns an ex-showgirl who elopes with a society boy, but his family tries to break up the marriage...
(as a replacement) - 1922 The Yankee Princess
- 1923 AdrienneAdrienneAdrienne is the French feminine form of the male name Adrien. Its meaning is literally "dark one."-People named Adrienne:* Adrienne Albert Adrienne is the French feminine form of the male name Adrien. Its meaning is literally "dark one."-People named Adrienne:* Adrienne Albert Adrienne is the...
- 1924 Ziegfeld FolliesZiegfeld FolliesThe Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
- 1925 Ziegfeld FolliesZiegfeld FolliesThe Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
- 1925 Florida Girl
- 1926 Castles in the AirCastles in the AirCastles in the Air is a musical comedy, with a book and lyrics by Raymond W. Peck and music by Percy Wenrich . The story concerns two young men, Monty Blair and John Brown, who mistake an exclusive Westchester resort for an inn. They decide to pretend to be nobility, and Monty introduces John as...
- 1926 The Desert SongThe Desert SongThe Desert Song is an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel. It was inspired by the 1925 uprising of the Riffs, a group of Moroccan fighters, against French colonial rule. It was also inspired by stories of Lawrence of...
- 1928 The Three MusketeersThe Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard...
- 1931 The Chocolate SoldierThe Chocolate SoldierThe Chocolate Soldier is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, Arms and the Man...
- 1938 I Married an AngelI Married an AngelI Married An Angel is a musical comedy by Rodgers and Hart. It was adapted from a play by Hungarian playwright János Vaszary, entitled Angyalt Vettem Felesegul. The book was by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, with music by Rodgers and lyrics by Hart. The story concerns a wealthy banker who,...
- 1940 Pal Joey
- 1943 A Connecticut Yankee Broadway revival
- 1947 Music in My Heart
- 1950 Great to Be Alive!
- 1952 Pal Joey Broadway revival
Films
- 1930 Song of the West
- 1930 Bride of the Regiment
- 1930 Golden DawnGolden Dawn (film)Golden Dawn is a musical operetta released by Warner Brothers and photographed entirely in Technicolor. The film is based on the semi-hit stage musical of the same name by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach.-Songs:...
- 1930 Viennese Nights
- 1934 The Cat and the Fiddle
Sources
- Sies, Luther F. Encyclopedia of American Radio: 1920-1960. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2000. ISBN 0-7864-0452-3