Hylton, Jack
Producer
b. July 2, 1892 (Bolton, UK) - d. Jan. 29, 1965 (London)
A popular dance band leader, Hylton became a successful West End producer specializing in imported American hits such as Annie Get Your Gun (1947), Kiss Me Kate (1951), Call Me Madam (1952) and Paint Your Wagon (1953). His greatest homegrown success came with the long-running Salad Days (1954). Hylton's final production was the London staging of Camelot (1964).

Irwin, May
(b. Georgia Campbell)
b. June 22, 1862 (Whitby, Ontario) - d. Oct. 22, 1938 (NYC)
Ample physical proportions and a powerhouse "coon shouter" voice made Irwin one of the most popular comediennes of her time. After getting her start as a child on the variety stage, Irwin toured extensively with her sister Flo. They became the top sister act in early vaudeville, performing with Tony Pastor in 1877. May went solo in 1884, interrupting her vaudeville career for a number of Broadway plays, musical comedies and revues. Her greatest musical hit was The Widow Jones (1895), in which she introduced "The Bully Song" -- a raucous comedy number that became her signature song. Irwin and co-star John C. Rice performed a scene from that show for Thomas Edison's early silent film cameras. Widely known as "The Kiss," it ignited a scandalous (and profitable) public response. Irwin starred in several more forgotten but profitable Broadway musicals, all designed as vehicles for her, but the bulk of her career was spent as a headliner in vaudeville. She retired in the early 1920s, reputed to be one of the wealthiest women in show business up to that time.

Jackson, Ethel
Actress, singer
b. Feb. 3, 1877 (New York City) - d. Nov. 23, 1957 (East Islip, NY)
This attractive American soprano was studying music in Europe when she joined the chorus of the D'Oyly Carte troupe, appearing in the original production of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Grand Duke (1896). She returned to America to appear in such forgettable Broadway musicals as A Runaway Girl and Hotel Topsy Turvy (1902). She "retired" in frustration, but returned to the stage in The Blue Moon (1906). Soon afterward, she had the singular fortune to win the title role in the original Broadway production of Franz Lehar's blockbuster hit The Merry Widow (1907). With handsome co-star Donald Brian, Jackson waltzed into immortality -- but she was unable to parlay this success into lasting stardom. In the years that followed, she appeared intermittently in minor musicals and serious dramas, making her final Broadway bow in the stage version of Key Largo (1939).

Eggerth, Marta
Singer, actress
b. April 17, 1912 (Budapest)
Kiepura, Jan
Singer, actor
b. May 6, 1902 (Sonowicz, Poland) - d. Aug. 15, 1966 (Rye, NY)
After early careers in Europe, this husband-wife team found joint stardom in a long-running Broadway revival of Franz Lehar's perennial favorite, The Merry Widow (1943). This Viennese classic struck a nostalgic chord with wartime audiences, and the production raised Eggerth & Kiepura to immediate American stardom. They later co-starred in the Broadway failure Polonaise (1945), a Paris production of Princess Czardas (1950), and Vienna productions of Der Zarewitsch (1954) and Paganini (1956). Eggerth and Kiepura brought their Merry Widow to London for a brief run in 1955.

Eggerth also co-starred in the short-lived Rodgers & Hart musical Higher and Higher (1940). She only made occasional stage appearances in later years, including the Diana Rigg production of Colette (1982) and the Vienna production of Servus Du (1992).

King, Charles
Actor, singer
b. Oct. 31, 1898 (New York) - d. Jan. 11, 1944 (London)
This song and dance man got his start in minstrel shows and vaudeville, making his Broadway debut in the chorus of The Yankee Prince (1908). He was featured opposite Elsie Janis in The Slim Princess (1911), then appeared in A Winsome Widow (1912) and such revues as The Passing Show (1913) and Watch Your Step (1914). Stardom came when he played Jerry Conroy in Little Nellie Kelly (1922), introducing George M Cohan's nostalgic "Nellie Kelly, I Love You." As Bilge Smith in Hit the Deck (1927), he sang Vincent Youmans's "Sometimes I'm Happy." He also starred in Present Arms (1928).

King was tapped by MGM to star in the landmark musical film Broadway Melody (1929), where he introduced "You Were Meant For Me," and sang the jaunty title tune surrounded by lead footed chorines. King introduced "Happy Days Are Here Again" in Chasing Rainbows (1930), then returned to Broadway to appear in Cole Porter's The New Yorkers (1930). He made his last stage appearance in the short lived Sea Legs (1937), and was in London when he died at age 46.

Kirk, Lisa
(b. Elsa Marie Kirk)
Actress, singer, dancer
b. Feb. 25, 1926 (Brownsville, PA) - d. Nov. 11, 1990 (NYC)
This versatile comic actress won fame introducing Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Gentleman is a Dope" in Allegro (1947). As the original Lois Lane/Biana in Kiss Me Mate (1948), she was the first to sing Cole Porter's "Why Can't You Behave," "Always True to You in My Fashion" and "Tom, Harry or Dick." Kirk remained active in nightclubs and regional theatre, returning periodically to musicals. She dubbed the songs for Rosalind Russell in the film version of Gypsy (1963),  took over the female lead in Broadway's Here's Love (1964), and played Lottie in Mack and Mabel (1974) -- where she introduced Jerry Herman's "Tap You Troubles Away." She was featured in the musical Home Again, Home Again -- which closed before reaching Broadway in 1979. A longtime smoker, Kirk died of lung cancer at age 62.

Klaw, Marcus
Producer, theatre owner
b. May 29, 1858 (Paducah, KY) - d. June 14, 1936 (Bracken Fell, Hassocks)
An experienced attorney, Klaw formed a partnership with Abe Erlanger, owning and managing a nationwide chain of theatres. In 1896, they formed the Theatrical Syndicate, which gave them monopolistic control of the bookings for almost every theater in the USA. Over the next sixteen years, they set the rates and handled access to more than 700 houses. Their shameless greed made them countless enemies among fellow managers as well as actors, musicians, etc.

Klaw and Erlanger served as producers for dozens of Broadway musicals, including George M Cohan's Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway (1906), Victor Herbert's Little Nemo (1908) and The Pink Lady (1911). They also financed the early editions of Florenz Ziegfeld's Follies, Broadway's first important revue series. After Klaw and Erlanger's partnership fell apart over the Actor's Equity strike of 1919, Klaw focused primarily on producing dramas.

Lane, Lupino
(b. Henry George Lupino)
Actor, singer, dancer
b. June 16, 1892 (London) - d. Nov. 10, 1959 (London)
This popular comic actor made his West End debut as a dancer in Watch Your Step and other revues. He was featured in the London and New York casts of Afgar (1919), and made revue appearances in both cities -- including the Ziegfeld Follies of 1924. He played Maurice Chevalier's valet in the early screen musical Love Parade (1929). Back in London, Lane produced and starred in Twenty to One (1935), a 383 performance hit in which he originated the character of Bill Snibson. He played this street smart cockney again in a series of popular sequels, beginning with the long running Me and My Girl (1937), in which Lane introduced Noel Gay's "The Lambeth Walk." He repeated the role on film, as well as in the stage hits La-Di-Da-Di-Da (1943), Meet Me Victoria (1944) and Sweetheart Mine (1946). Lane spent his later years appearing in occasional revivals of Me and My Girl.

Lang, Harold Richard
Dancer, actor, singer
b. Dec. 21. 1920 (Daly City, CA) - d. July 26, 1985 (Chico, CA)
After appearing with the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo and American Ballet Theatre, this athletic dancer made his Broadway debut in the ensembles of Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston (1945), Three To Make Ready (1946) and Look Ma, I'm Dancin (1948). Lang won stardom as Bill Calhoun in Kiss Me Kate (1948), introducing Cole Porter's "Bianca." After playing Ricky in the short lived Make a Wish (1951), he played the title role in a long running revival of Pal Joey (1952) -- a happy task he repeated in London two years later. A weak actor, Lang was unable to parlay his early dance-based success into a lasting Broadway career. He appeared in three disappointments -- Shangri-La (1956), a weak Ziegfeld Follies (1957), and a short-lived revival of On the Town (1959). His last New York appearance was as Teddy in I Can Get It For You Wholesale (1962). From 1970 onwards, Lang taught dance at California State University in Chico, remaining there until his death due to pancreatic cancer at age 64.

Latouche, John Treville
Lyricist
b. Nov. 13, 1917 (Richmond, VA) - d. Aug. 7, 1956 (Calais, VT)
With a gift for literate rhyme, Latouche contributed individual lyrics to such shows as Pins and Needles (1938) before collaborating with Vernon Duke on the full scores of Cabin in the Sky (1940) and Banjo Eyes (1941). After a decade filled with such disappointments as Duke Ellington's Beggar's Holiday (1946), Latouche scored a critical triumph with composer Jerome Moross -- The Golden Apple (1954). After the unsuccessful Carol Channing vehicle The Vamp (1955), he collaborated with composer Douglas Moore on the acclaimed opera The Ballad of Baby Doe (1956). Latouche worked with Leonard Bernstein on the brilliant cult favorite Candide (1956), but was felled by a heart attack at age 38 several months before its premiere.

Leander, Zara
(b. Zara Stina Hedberg)
Actress, singer
b. Mar. 15, 1907 (Lake Vaner, Sweden) - d. June 23, 1981 (Stockholm)
A low but attractive singing voice and exceptional, statuesque beauty took this performer from local Swedish productions to a starring role in the Vienna stage hit Axel and der Himmelstur (1936). She repeated this triumph on screen, becoming Germany's most popular musical film stars. As World War II broke out, Leander refused offers from Britain and the US, preferring to remain #1 in Germany. She saved one or two useful colleagues from Nazi persecution, but looked the other way when friends and even relatives were carted off to concentration camps.

With Adolph Hitler among her fans, Leander overcame the antagonism of propaganda minister Josef Goebbels and starred in a series of screen musicals designed to boost German morale. When Leander's producer could not find enough tall women for a production number in Die Grosse Liebe (The Great Love - 1942), Hitler's personal SS guards were ordered to become a living wall of long-limbed angelic "chorines," exchanging their uniforms for fluttery gowns and picture hats. Die Grosse Liebe became one of Germany's most popular wartime screen hits, and gay songwriter Bruno Baltz's ironic "It Isn't the End of the World" and "I Know One Day a Miracle Will Happen" became Reich favorites.

Leander left Germany well before the Nazi's were defeated, but she was forever labeled as one of Hitler's stars -- the "Diva of the Third Reich." Unapologetic, she overcame hostility and eventually enjoyed something of a renaissance in films and occasional stage musicals. Leander played Madame Armfeldt in the Viennese (1975) and Swedish productions of A Little Night Music.

Lecocq, Charles Alexander
Composer
b. June 3, 1832 (Paris) - d. Oct. 24, 1918 (Paris)
A contemporary of Offenbach, Lecocq is not as well remembered -- but he made a prolific contribution to the golden age of French operetta in a career that stretched from 1857 to 1910. Marked by sparkling, sophisticated scores, Lecocq's greatest hits included La Fille de Madame Angot (1872) and La Petit Duc (1878), the only two of his fifty-plus scores that are still heard with any regularity today.

Lee, Gypsy Rose
(b. Rose Louise Hovic)
Actress, stripper
b. Jan. 9, 1914 (Seattle) - d. Apr. 26, 1970 (Los Angeles)
A childhood in vaudeville followed by years as burlesque's stellar "intellectual" stripper led Ms. Lee to an occasional career in musical theatre. From the ensemble of Ziegfeld's Hot-Cha (1932), she graduated to major roles in Melody (1933) and the Shubert produced Ziegfeld Follies of 1936. Lee took over the title role of DuDarry Was a Lady when Ethel Merman left in 1940, and co-starred with comedian Bobby Clark in Mike Todd's burlesque-flavored hit Star and Garter (1942). Lee's memoirs formed the basis for the hit musical Gypsy (1959). Three times married and divorced, her career was cut short by cancer at age 56.

Leigh, Carolyn Paula
Lyricist
b. Aug. 21, 1926 (New York City) - d. Nov. 19, 1981 (NYC)
Leigh went from radio to pop lyric writing, providing the words to several Frank Sinatra hits ("Young at Heart," "Witchcraft," etc). Her first stab at Broadway came with several of the lyrics for Mary Martin's Peter Pan (1954), including "I Won't Grow Up" and "I'm Flying." Leigh contributed to several forgettable revues, including the so-called Ziegfeld Follies of 1957. She had better luck collaborating with composer Cy Coleman on several book musicals, starting with Wildcat (1960) -- in which Lucille Ball introduced the popular "Hey, Look Me Over." Little Me (1962) included two pop hits -- "I've Got Your Number" and "Real Live Girl." For her final Broadway project, Leigh teamed with film composer Elmer Bernstein for the poorly received How Now Dow Jones (1967), which included the catchy march "Step to the Rear."