| Doretta Morrow | |
|---|---|
| Born | Doretta Marano January 27, 1927 Brooklyn, New York |
| Died | February 28, 1968 (aged 41) London, England |
| Occupation | Stage, television actress |
Doretta Morrow (January 27, 1927 – February 28, 1968) was an American actress, singer, and dancer who appeared in stage and television productions during the 1940s and 1950s. She is best remembered for creating roles in the original productions of three successful Broadway musicals: Kitty Verdun in Where's Charley? (1948), Tuptim in The King and I (1951), and Marsinah in Kismet (1953). She also starred in the 1951 Hollywood film Because You're Mine in which she appeared as Mario Lanza's love interest, and appeared in several television musical films. She retired from performance in 1960 at the age of 33.
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Morrow was born as Doretta Marano in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, New York in 1927. The singer Vic Damone was her cousion. At the age of 2 she moved with her family to Venice, Italy where they remained for more than a decade. In Venice she began studying piano and singing and at the age of 15 Morrow decided she wanted to become a professional singer. At the age of 16 she and her family moved back to New York and Morrow entered New Utrecht High School.[1] In New York she studied singing with soprano Alice Zeppilli.[2]
After graduating from New Utrecht High School, Morrow was cast in the musical Shooting Star in 1945 which opened in Boston but never made it to New York. In 1946 she made her Broadway debut in the revival of Victor Herbert's The Red Mill, replacing Ann Andre early on in the show's run in the role of Gretchen. A hit with the public, she played the role for a total of 17 months. In October 1948 she created the role of Kitty Verdun in the original production of Where's Charley?; notably introducing the song "My Darling, My Darling" (duet with Byron Palmer). She remained with the production until it closed in September 1950.[1]
Morrow made her television debut in 1949, performing on The Ed Sullivan Show. She appeared on that show several more times through 1958. She sang as a guest performer on several other variety programs during the 1950s, including Cavalcade of Stars, The Voice of Firestone, Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue, The Arthur Murray Party, The Steve Allen Show, and General Motors 50th Anniversary Show among others. For the Pulitzer Prize Playhouse show she filmed a 1950 television version of the Kurt Weil musical Knickerbocker Holiday in which she played Tina Tienhoven. She also played Monique DuPont in a 1951 television version of the musical Miss Liberty for the Musical Comedy Time program, and performed the role of Polly Peachum in a 1952 television adaptation of The Beggar's Opera for CBS. She also starred in the television movies Once Upon an Eastertime (1954) and The Adventures of Marco Polo (1956). She made her last television appearance as a guest actress in a 1959 episode of The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen.
In March 1951 Morrow created the role of Tuptim in the original Broadway production of Rogers and Hammerstein's The King and I opposite Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner. In the production she introduced the songs "I Have Dreamed" and "We Kiss in a Shadow"; both duets with Larry Douglas. She left the production in late 1951 to film her first and only Hollywood movie, Because You're Mine, in which she starred opposite Mario Lanza. In 1953 she returned to Broadway for the last time to create the role of Marsinah in the original cast of Kismet. She had previously appeared at the show's world premiere in Los Angeles with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera (LACLO); a performance which notably introduced the song "Baubles, Bangles, & Beads" to the public. She also portrayed Marsinah in the original West End production of Kismet in 1955. In 1957 she portrayed the title role in the first national tour of the musical Fanny. Her final stage appearance was in 1959 in the original West End cast of Cole Porter's Aladdin in the role of The Princess.[1]
Morrow retired from performance in 1960 just before her second marriage to Albert Hardman, an underwriter for Lloyd's of London. Her first marriage to Fred A. Miller, a cargo airline executive, ended in divorce in 1955. With Hardman she had one daughter who was born in 1966. She died in London in 1968, aged 41, from cancer.[1]