Carole Shelley

Carole Augusta Shelley (16 August 1939 – 31 August 2018)[2][3] was a British-American actress who made her career in the United States. Her many stage roles included the character of Madame Morrible in the original Broadway cast of the musical Wicked. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in The Elephant Man in 1979.[2]

Carole Shelley
Shelley as Gwendolyn Pigeon in The Odd Couple, 1965
Born
Carole Augusta Shelley

16 August 1939
London, England
Died31 August 2018(2018-08-31) (aged 79)
New York City, New York, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1949–2018
Spouse(s)Albert G. Woods (1967–1971; his death)[1]

Life

Shelley was born in London, England, the daughter of Deborah (née Bloomstein), an opera singer of Russian Jewish descent, and Curtis Shelley, a composer of German Jewish origin.[4][5][6] Her father had emigrated to London before World War II.[1]

Stage career

Shelley made her Broadway debut as Gwendolyn Pigeon in the original 1965 production of The Odd Couple (starring Art Carney and Walter Matthau).[4][7] She reprised the role for the 1968 film version (with Jack Lemmon replacing Carney),[8] and for (the first part of) the first season of the subsequent television series (starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman).[9] She and Monica Evans, who co-starred as her sister Cecily Pigeon, were the only two performers to be in all three of The Odd Couple versions: stage, then film, then the first television adaptation—and in the same roles.[10]

In the 1970s, Shelley wanted to extend her range, feeling she was not using all her capabilities as an actor. She told The New York Times in a 1979 interview that she had "months of the most intensive deep-water swimming — more than I’d ever been called upon to do in my life" when she played Rosalind in As You Like It at the 1972 Stratford Festival in Ontario.[1][11] She received her first Tony Award nomination in 1975 for her performance as "Jane" in Absurd Person Singular.[12][7] Shelley won the 1979 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role as Mrs. Kendal in The Elephant Man,[9] and was nominated for the Tony Award as Featured Actress in a Play in 1987 for her performance in Stepping Out as "Maxine".[13] In 1982 she won an Obie Award for her performance Twelve Dreams.[14] Shelley also began appearing in musicals in the late 1990s, with the revivals of Show Boat as Parthy[15] and Cabaret as Fraulein Schneider in 1999.[16]

In 2003, Shelley created the role of Madame Morrible in the original Broadway cast of the musical Wicked,[17][7] a role which she later reprised in the show's national touring company in 2005[18] and in 2006 in the Chicago production.[19]

Shelley played the role of Grandma in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot at the Imperial Theatre, beginning performances in October 2008.[20] She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 2009.[21] In 2014, she succeeded Jane Carr as Miss Shingle in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.[7]

Film and television career

Shelley's early career included roles in British films such as It's Great to Be Young (1956), Carry On Regardless (1961), No My Darling Daughter (1961), The Cool Mikado (1962) and Carry On Cabby (1963). In 1968 Shelley starred as Gwendolyn Pigeon in the film The Odd Couple.[22] Thereafter she took on numerous roles in television and films such as The Boston Strangler (1968),[23] Some Kind of a Nut (1969),[23] The Whoopee Boys (1986),[23] Little Noises (1992),[24] The Road to Wellville (1994),[25] and she played Helen Moskowitz in the Emmy-winning 1998 Frasier episode "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz".[26]

She was featured as "Aunt Clara" alongside Nicole Kidman and former Wicked co-star Kristin Chenoweth in the 2005 film Bewitched.[27] She lent her voice to several roles in Disney animated films; notably, Amelia Gabble (the Goose) in The Aristocats (1970),[28] Lady Kluck, Maid Marian's sidekick and lady-in-waiting, in Robin Hood (1973),[29] and Lachesis the Fate in Hercules.[30] Shelley's "sister" co-star in all three versions of The Odd Couple, Monica Evans, also played her "goose" sister in The Aristocats, Abigail Gabble, and Maid Marian in Robin Hood as a nod to their roles as Pigeon Sisters.[2]

Her final role was a cameo at the beginning of John Mulaney’s 2018 comedy special Kid Gorgeous; she played Mulaney’s guide around Radio City Music Hall.

Death

Shelley died on 31 August 2018 at the age of 79 in New York City. The cause was cancer.[1]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1949Give Us This DayBit partUncredited
1949The Cure for Love
1956It's Great to Be YoungPeggy, The Angel Hill Kids
1961Carry On RegardlessHelen Delling
1961No, My Darling DaughterFirst Typist
1963The Cool MikadoMrs. Smith
1963Carry on CabbyDumb Driver
1968The Odd CoupleGwendolyn
1968The Boston StranglerDana Banks
1969Some Kind of a NutRita
1970The AristocatsAmelia Gabble, the gooseVoice
1973Robin HoodLady Kluck, the chickenVoice
1986The Whoopee BoysHenrietta Phelps
1991Little NoisesAunt Shirley
1991The SuperIrene Kritski
1994Quiz ShowCornwall Aunt
1994The Road to WellvilleMrs. Hookstratten
1997Jungle 2 JungleFiona
1997HerculesLachesisVoice
2000Labor PainsMadge
2005BewitchedAunt Clara
2018John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio CityMystery Chaperonefinal credit
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gollark: I mean, if a PG version were available, I would maybe use it.
gollark: It does, you keep the copyright notice in!
gollark: As in, the server won't return more than that, to avoid taxing the CPU for hours.

References
  1. Slotnik, Daniel E. (4 September 2018). "Carole Shelley, a Tony Winner and a Pigeon Sister, Dies at 79". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  2. Bartlett, Rhett. "Carole Shelley, One of the Pigeon Sisters From 'The Odd Couple,' Dies at 79" The Hollywood Reporter, 1 September 2018
  3. "Carole Shelley Passes Away at 79" broadwayworld.com, 1 September 2018
  4. "Carole Shelley Biography" tcm.com. Retrieved 6 April 2013
  5. "Carole Shelley Biography" FilmReference.com. Retrieved 27 August 2011
  6. "Archives". Articles.philly.com. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  7. "Carole Shelley Stage" Playbill Vault, retrieved 1 September 2018
  8. " The Odd Couple, 1968 film" tcm.com. Retrieved 5 April 2013
  9. "Carole Shelley, From All Movie Guide" The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2013
  10. Hoffman, Barbara. "The Kooky Pigeon Sisters" New York Post, 10 May 2018
  11. "Study Guides, 'As You Like It', History" stratfordfestival.ca. Retrieved 6 April 2013
  12. Murgatroyd, Simon " 'Absurd Person Singular': The Broadway Experience. Reprinted" Archived 9 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine alanayckbourn.net. Retrieved 5 April 2013
  13. " Steppng Out " playbillvault.com. Retrieved 5 April 2013
  14. Twelve Dreams Archived 12 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved 24 December 2011
  15. "Musical Notes, Posted Oct 1, 1995" Archived 6 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine rnh.com. Retrieved 5 April 2013
  16. McGrath, Sean. "Luckinbill, Shelley, Clark, Stuhlberg Join Broadway's 'Cabaret', May 4" Playbill, 3 May 1999
  17. Gans, Andrew. "Shiz Whiz: Carole Shelley Returns to Broadway's Wicked Aug. 28" Playbill, 28 August 2007
  18. Hernandez, Ernio and Gans, Andrew. "Original Wicked Star Rejoins Musical for National Tour in December" Playbill, 26 October 2005
  19. Gans, Andrew. "Carole Shelley Begins Limited Chicago Wicked Engagement April 25" Playbill, 25 April 2006
  20. Gans, Andrew. "Gwynne, Jbara, Shelley and Fontana Will Be Part of Broadway's Billy Elliot Cast" Playbill, 15 July 2008
  21. Gans, Andrew and Jones, Kenneth. "Nominations for 2009 Tony Awards Announced; Billy Elliot Earns 15 Nominations" Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Playbill, 5 May 2009.
  22. "The Odd Couple Cast" afi.com, retrieved 2 September 2018
  23. "Carole Shelley Film Credits" afi.com, retrieved 2 September 2018
  24. " 'Little Noises' Cast and Crew" allmovie.com, retrieved 1 September 2018
  25. " 'The Road to Wellville' Cast and Crew" allmovie.com, retrieved 1 September 2018
  26. "Carole Shelley Filmography". AllMovie.com. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  27. Bewiched' Cast The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2013
  28. " The Aristocats Cast" The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2013
  29. Robin Hood Cast The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2013
  30. 'Hercules' Cast The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2013
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