Ballard, Kaye
Actress, singer
(b. Catherine Gloria Balotta)
b. Nov. 20, 1926 (Cleveland, OH)
A gifted comedienne, Ballard appeared in USO shows before making her vaudeville debut on the RKO movie house circuit in 1943. She appeared in various national tours, as well as the London revue Touch and Go (1950) before making her New York debut as Helen of Troy in The Golden Apple (1954). Offbeat but sexy look, wicked comic timing and a socko belt voice brought Ballard rave reviews. After starring in the road flop Reuben Reuben (1955) she appeared in an ill-advised attempt to revive The Ziegfeld Follies (1957). That same year, Ballard played one of the stepsisters in Rodgers and Hammerstein's television musical Cinderella (1957), introducing "Why Would a Fellow Want a Girl Like Her?" with Agnes Ghostley.

Ballard originated the role of The Incomparable Rosalie in the Broadway hit Carnival (1961), introducing the hilarious "Humming." She became a popular favorite on American television, most notably in the NBC sitcom The Mothers-In-Law (1967-1970). Ballard enjoyed perennial success in cabarets, nightclubs and regional theatre productions, making only two return visits to Broadway -- in the title role of the short-lived Molly (1973), and taking over as Ruth in the long-running revival of The Pirates of Penzance (1982). 

Cerveris, Michael
Actor, Singer
b. Nov. 6. 1960 (Bethesda, MD)
This handsome tenor appeared in the TV series Fame before making his Broadway debut in the demanding title role of The Who's Tommy (1993) and earning his first Tony nomination. It was the first of many troubled characters Cerveris would play in the course of his musical stage career. He originated the role of shipbuilder Thomas Andrews in Titanic (1997), and took over the title role in the off-Broadway hit Hedwig and the Angry Inch in 1999 -- a performance he repeated in Los Angeles and London.

Cerveris received the Tony as Best Featured Actor for his performance as John Wilkes Booth in the Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins (2004). After co-starring with Patti Lupone in a Lincoln Center revival of Sondheim's Passion (2005), he teamed with her again for a Broadway revival of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd (2005). An avid fan of hard rock music, Cerveris has his own band and has released a solo CD. 

Etting, Ruth
Singer
b. Nov. 23, 1907 (David City, NE) - d. Sept. 24, 1978 (Colorado Springs)
Etting was studying art in Chicago when she took her first job in a nightclub chorus. Her good looks and naturally powerful singing voice soon won her featured spots, and later star status. Etting made her Broadway debut in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927, introducing Irving Berlin's showstopping "Shakin' the Blues Away." Ziegfeld gave her a featured role in the musical comedy Whoopee (1928), where she sang "Love Me Or Leave Me" -- which became her signature tune. After introducing "Get Happy" in the short-lived Nine Fifteen Revue (1930), Etting returned to Broadway a week later singing "Ten Cents a Dance" in Simple Simon. She made her final Broadway appearance reprising the classic "Shine On Harvest Moon" in Ziegfeld's valedictory Follies of 1931.

Etting's heartfelt way with a song made her one of the top-selling recording and radio stars of the 1920s and 30s. Because of Etting's unconventional beauty, Hollywood was never quite sure how to use her. She appeared in dozens of musical short subjects from the 1920s onwards, but only appeared in several early talking features, including Roman Scandals (1933). Her longtime marriage to small time Chicago mobster Martin "The Gimp" Snyder plagued her early career, and his attempt to murder Etting's second husband (Myrl Alderman) led to scandalous press coverage in the late 1930s. Etting enjoyed a comeback in nightclubs during the late 1940s, and her colorful story provided the basis for the entertaining (if semi-fictionalized) screen musical Love Me Or Leave Me (1955) -- Doris Day played Etting, with James Cagney as the obnoxious Snyder.

Horne, Lena
Singer, actress
b. Brooklyn, NY (June 30, 1917)
This strikingly attractive vocalist made her professional debut at age 16 in the chorus of Harlem's legendary Cotton Club, and sang for some years with Charlie Barnet's big band. She appeared in Broadway's short-lived Blackbirds of 1939 and became a favorite in New York nightclubs before MGM signed her to an extended contract. Horne was limited to featured songs in various films, making it easy for distributors to edit out her appearances in bigoted Southern states. However there was no way to edit out her sizzling performances in Cabin in the Sky (1943) and Stormy Weather (1943). Horne recorded with many of the top swing bands of the 1940s, and became the favorite pin-up girl for African American GI's during World War II.

In the 1950s, Horne's open involvement in the civil rights movement led to her being blacklisted from films and television. With the help of husband & arranger Lennie Hayton, she continued to make popular recordings and appear in nightclubs, including stints in Las Vegas. Horne starred in the successful Broadway musical Jamaica (1957), and sang with vocalist Harry Belafonte in a recorded jazz adaptaion of Porgy and Bess. Her later film roles include Glinda in The Wiz (1978), and she returned to Broadway in triumph with the one-woman hit Lena Horne: A Lady And Her Music (1981) -- earning Horne a special Tony for "distinguished achievement." She continued making concert and television appearances through the 1990s, winning the universal acclaim that had been denied to her decades earlier.

McCracken, Joan
Dancer, actress, singer
b. Dec. 31, 1922 (Philadelphia, PA) - d. Nov. 1, 1961 (Fire Island, NY)
By age 11, she was studying dance with Catherine Littlefield, dropping out of high school to join Littlefield's ballet company. McCracken toured Europe and danced at Radio City Music Hall before creating the role of Sylvie, "the girl who falls down" in Oklahoma (1943). Although she didn't have a word of dialogue, Agnes DeMille's landmark choreography made McCracken an immediate celebrity. In Bloomer Girl (1944), she graduated to a speaking role, but dancing was clearly her greatest strength. 

McCracken starred as "Maribelle Jones" in Jerome Robbins' dance musical Billion Dollar Baby (1945), and was featured in the short-lived Dance Me a Song (1950). She earned rave reviews as the acerbic "Betty Lorraine" in Me and Juliet (1953), introducing "It's Me!" A heart murmur made further dancing impossible, spurring McCracken to pursue dramatic roles in such plays as Odets's The Big Knife and Van Druten's I Am a Camera. She had two ill-fated marriages -- the the 1940s to dancer Jack Dunphy (who later became Truman Capote's longtime companion) and in the 1950s to Bob Fosse -- who was anything but faithful. When her health worsened, she retreated to her Fire Island home, where she died at age 38.

Santley, Joseph
(b. Joseph Mansfield)
Actor, singer
b. Jan. 10, 1889 (Salt Lake City, UT) - d. Aug. 8, 1971 (Los Angeles, CA)
To avoid being connected with famous actor Richard Mansfield (no relation), this clean cut performer used his stepfather's last name. Touring from early childhood, Santley had no formal schooling. A child star on the road, he had to wait until age 21 to enjoy Broadway musical stardom in A Matinee Idol (1910) and Judy Forgot (1910). He also starred in Irving Berlin's Stop! Look! Listen! (1914) and the national tour of Jerome Kern's Oh Boy! (1917). He co-starred with wife Ivy Sawyer in Betty (1916), the first of 11 musicals they would work together in over the next decade.

Santley and Sawyer proved inseparable both on and off stage, appearing in Oh, My Dear (1918), The Half Moon (1920), several editions of Berlin's Music Box Revue, and The Wild Rose (1926). Their final joint appearance was in Just Fancy (1927), which Santley also co-authored and directed. After taking over Fred Astaire's role in Gay Divorce (1933), Santley recognized that his youthful charms were fading. Retiring from the stage, he enjoyed a long second career as a Hollywood screenwriter and director, and later became a successful television producer.