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Hollywood actor and singer who created the role of ‘Babe’ Williams in the Broadway musical The Pajama Game

Janis Paige, who has died aged 101, shone in films and numerous television shows, but her greatest triumph came in the Richard Adler/Jerry Ross Tony award-winning Broadway musical The Pajama Game in 1954.

Paige created the role of “Babe” Williams, the spirited leader of the union grievance committee at the Sleep Tite pajama factory, vigorously belting out the numbers I’m Not at All in Love, Small Talk and There Once Was a Man. This resulted in further stage leads for Paige as strong-willed women, to which her singing voice and vibrant personality were perfectly suited. She replaced Angela Lansbury on Broadway in Mame in 1968, and toured in shows including Gypsy, Applause, Annie Get Your Gun and Guys and Dolls.

Tony Bennett accepted the boundaries of his universe.

In the last few decades of his life, the period of his greatest success, he never tried to do a Rick Rubin/Johnny Cash-style album of recent pop and rock hits tweaked to suit his voice. Instead, he transported the contemporary artists he worked with — Lady Gaga especially — to his preferred musical arena: the Great American Songbook classics of Johnny Mercer, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, and so many more. Without seeing the cover, you’d never even know his “MTV Unplugged” album was an “MTV Unplugged” album just by listening to it. His last studio album, “The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern,” speaks to his appreciation of the craft of songwriting embodied by the entire Great American Songbook era, and how a singer can work in dialogue with that songwriter even decades after their death to create meaning.

Apple TV +’s “Schmigadoon” is the musical equivalent to a warm, happy smile. The six-part limited series that premiered on the streaming service last July is a smart, clever and fun parody of the classic musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. It was a golden era of the Broadway musical dominated by such influential, eminent composers as Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Alan Jay Lerner Lerner & Frederick Loewe, Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II, Leonard Bernstein & Stephen Sondheim, Meredith Willson, and Richard Adler & Jerry Ross.

Cecily Strong and Keegan-Michael Key star as two doctors who have grown tired in their relationship and decide to get on a camping retreat. Before you can say “Brigadoon” they get lost in the woods only to cross a bridge into a Hallmark Card of a town where every day is a musical. But checking out of Schmigadoon is no easy task. They can’t leave...

Rae Allen, the Tony-winning stage and screen veteran known for her role as nosy reporter Gloria Thorpe in “Damn Yankees” and as Quintina Blundetto on “The Sopranos,” died Wednesday, her rep Kyle Fritz confirmed to Variety. She was 95.

Born in Brooklyn as Rae Julia Theresa Abruzzo, Allen began her career on the stage after graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1947. Her first Broadway credit was in 1948, as an ensemble member in the George Abbott directed and written “Where’s Charley?” Over the next few years, Rae would continue to appear in Abbott’s various musicals, including “Call Me Madam” in 1950 and “The Pajama Game” in 1954, where she played the small role of Poopsie, a union activist at the factory the show is set in.

A year later, Rae reunited with Abbott and the composers and lyricists of “The Pajama Game,” Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, for “Damn Yankees.

Sally Ann Howes, the actress and singer best known for playing the role of Truly Scrumptious in 1968 musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, has died aged 91.

The news was confirmed by Howes’ nephew who said on Twitter that his “beloved Aunty died peacefully in her sleep”:

I can also confirm the passing of my beloved Aunty #SallyAnnhowes who died peacefully in her sleep yesterday. My brother & I thought Sally Ann might hold on until the #Christmas screening of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as this would have greatly appealed to her mischievous side. ❤️❤️

— tobyhowes (@tobybhowes) December 21, 2021

The British-American actress, whose career spanned six decades, was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1963 for Brigadoon.

Howes was born in London on 20 July 1930 into a family of actors. Her career launched in 1943 with movie Thursday’s Child. She went on to sign contracts with UK studios...

A musical that charms even audiences that don’t like musicals, this adaptation of a big 1955 Broadway hit is noted for capturing much of the original’s power and brilliance — more legendary stage performances should be filmed like this, immortalizing theater history that otherwise disappears into the ether. Gwen Verdon, Ray Walston, Russ Brown and star replacement Tab Hunter shine, yet ‘unknown’ Broadway talent Shannon Bolin and Robert Shafer earn just as much applause. The Verdon-Bob Fosse creative hookup is at its strongest here, complete with a show-stopper of a dance duo. Come to think of it, almost every song in this thing stops the show, like one of Joe Hardy’s home runs: Wow!

Damn Yankees

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1958 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 111 min. / Street Date March 16, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Tab Hunter, Gwen Verdon, Ray Walston, Russ Brown, Shannon Bolin, Nathaniel Frey, James Komack, Rae Allen,...

New superlatives are needed to express just how good is this wonderful Americana musical from the 1950s boom years. The Broadway creator tapped Hollywood’s most qualified (and creative) director of musicals for the stage to screen conversion, retaining much of the original New York talent. Doris Day is a sensation as Babe Williams, whose romantic and labor problems play out at a sleepwear factory. The color design is a delight, every song is a keeper, and the talent on view makes one want to clap, sixty-five years later.

The Pajama Game

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1957 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 101 min. / Street Date January 26, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Doris Day, John Raitt, Carol Haney, Eddie Foy Jr., Reta Shaw, Barbara Nichols, Thelma Pelish, Jack Straw.

Cinematography: Harry Stradling Sr.

Film Editor: William H. Ziegler

Art Direction: Malcolm C. Bert

Choreography: Bob Fosse

Musical Supervision: Ray Heindorf

Songs by: Richard Adler,...

In June 1970, Elvis Presley made the trip east from his Graceland home in Memphis to Nashville, where he holed up in RCA Studio B on Music Row for five days of recording. Presley, who was in the midst of his Las Vegas comeback at the International Hotel, was joined by Music City sessions players like Charlie McCoy and Norbert Putnam — the legendary “Nashville Cats.” The result came to be known among fans as the “marathon sessions.”

Now, a new four-disc compilation assembles the masters from those halcyon days and captures Presley at his energetic best.

Today in 1954, The Pajama Game opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 1063 performances. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7 Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original production won a Tony for Best Musical, and the 2006 Broadway revival won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

1970: The Doctors' Julie stirred up trouble at Hope Memorial.

1976: Ryan's Hope's Faith realized what Kenneth was up to.

1981: Another World's Mac pleaded with Mitch for help.

2006: General Hospital's Bobbie threatened Tracy."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1939: Time magazine published a story about radio soap creators, Frank and Anne Hummert, explaining their prolific serial production operation (Blackett-Sample-Hummert Inc.). "By hiring dialogue writers, and not creators, the Hummerts save lots of money. Most serial writers in radio command $200 to $400 a week. For The Goldbergs, Gertrude Berg...

1970: The Doctors' Julie stirred up trouble at Hope Memorial.

1976: Ryan's Hope's Faith realized what Kenneth was up to.

1981: Another World's Mac pleaded with Mitch for help.

2006: General Hospital's Bobbie threatened Tracy."Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results."

― Machiavelli

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1939: Time magazine published a story about radio soap creators, Frank and Anne Hummert, explaining their...

Looking back at Cole Porter's Happy New Year. The joys of resolutions. Discussing Applause and the length of those songs. Fangirling on social media. Saraving Under The Influence. The backstage saga of Kwamina. Richard Adler and Sally Anne Howes have some 'creative differences.' Party lines are not so fun. Finding a Law and Order with a laugh track. Charlotte Rae wants to love Little Miss Pioneer. Lainie Kazan gets dumped for Katherine Helmond while Jean Stapleton stands by. George S. Irving sings a solo and 142 Tickets on the Aisle.

Roundabout Theatre Company Todd Haimes, Artistic DirectorCEO has just announced that Matthew Morrison Joe Hardy, Annie Golden Doris, Julie Halston Sister and Adrienne Warren Gloria Thorpe have joined the Benefit Concert Reading of Damn Yankees, the Tony award-winning musical comedy by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop with music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The evening will bring these beloved stars of stage and screen back to the Broadway stage for one night only with Whoopi Goldberg as Applegate, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lola, Danny Burstein as Van Buren and Victoria Clark as Meg Boyd.

Roundabout Theatre Company Todd Haimes, Artistic DirectorCEO has just announced that Danny Burstein Van Buren and Victoria Clark Meg Boyd have joined the Benefit Concert Reading of Damn Yankees, the Tony award-winning musical comedy by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop with music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The evening will bring these beloved stars of stage and screen back to the Broadway stage for one night only Tony and Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg is also set to star as Applegate and Golden Globe winner Maggie Gyllenhaal will star as Lola.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presents The Pajama Game, directed by Alan Paul in his Arena Stage debut, with music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, and book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell. Featuring Musical Direction by James Cunningham and Choreography by Parker Esse, The Pajama Game runs October 27-December 24 in the iconic in-the-round Fichandler Stage. BroadwayWorld has a peek at the company at their first rehearsal below...

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the complete company for The Pajama Game directed by Alan Paul in his Arena Stage debut, with music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, and book by George Abbott and Richard Bissell.

Labor Day celebrates working people and the labor unions that brought working people the 40-hour work week, the 8-hour day, overtime pay, work-place safety, paid holidays and vacations, and a host of other protections and benefits. To honor those hard-working people and organized labor, here is a list (in no particular order) of a dozen worthy narrative films for Labor Day.

Norma Rae (1979)

For many people, the words “labor union” bring to mind the image of Sally Field standing up in defiance in “Norma Rae.” Field won an Oscar for her unforgettable, inspiring character, a worker in a Southern textile factory who becomes involved in labor organizing and stands up to management after the factory workers’ health is threatened in the workplace. This stirring drama, based on a true story, also stars Beau Bridges as Norma Rae’s husband Sonny and Ron Leibman as an union organizer from the Northeast.

Today in 1995, the first Broadway revival of Damn Yankees closed at the Marquis Theatre, where it ran for 533 performances. Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

Today in 1954, The Pajama Game opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 1063 performances. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7 Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original production won a Tony for Best Musical, and the 2006 Broadway revival won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

Today in 1954, Damn Yankees opened at the 46th Street Theatre now the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 1019 performances. Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

Today in 2006, The Pajama Game opened at the America Airlines Theatre, where it ran for 129 performances. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7 Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original Broadway production opened on May 13, 1954, and ran for 1,063 performances.

Today in 1995, the first Broadway revival of Damn Yankees closed at the Marquis Theatre, where it ran for 533 performances. Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

Today in 1954, The Pajama Game opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 1063 performances. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7 Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original production won a Tony for Best Musical, and the 2006 Broadway revival won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

Today in 1954, Damn Yankees opened at the 46th Street Theatre now the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 1019 performances. Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

Today in 2006, The Pajama Game opened at the America Airlines Theatre, where it ran for 129 performances. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7 Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original Broadway production opened on May 13, 1954, and ran for 1,063 performances.

Today in 1995, the first Broadway revival of Damn Yankees closed at the Marquis Theatre, where it ran for 533 performances. Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

Today in 1954, The Pajama Game opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 1063 performances. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7 Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original production won a Tony for Best Musical, and the 2006 Broadway revival won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

Today in 1954, Damn Yankees opened at the 46th Street Theatre now the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 1019 performances. Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

Today in 2006, The Pajama Game opened at the America Airlines Theatre, where it ran for 129 performances. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7 Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original Broadway production opened on May 13, 1954, and ran for 1,063 performances.

Today in 1995, the first Broadway revival of Damn Yankees closed at the Marquis Theatre, where it ran for 533 performances. Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

Today in 1954, The Pajama Game opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 1063 performances. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7 Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original production won a Tony for Best Musical, and the 2006 Broadway revival won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

Today in 1954, Damn Yankees opened at the 46th Street Theatre now the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 1019 performances. Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

Today in 2006, The Pajama Game opened at the America Airlines Theatre, where it ran for 129 performances. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7 Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original Broadway production opened on May 13, 1954, and ran for 1,063 performances.

Today in 1995, the first Broadway revival of Damn Yankees closed at the Marquis Theatre, where it ran for 533 performances. Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

Richard Adler, the Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist renowned for his songs for such Broadway hits as "Damn Yankees" and "The Pajama Game" and who organized President John F. Kennedy's birthday with Marilyn Monroe, died Thursday in New York. He was 90. Adler died in his home in Southampton, New York, his widow, Susan A. Ivory, told the Associated Press. He staged and produced several shows for U.S. presidents, including Kennedy's 1962 birthday featuring Monroe's breathy, seductive rendition of "Happy Birthday." But his songs went well beyond the average birthday ditty.  Among his most...

New York -- Composer-lyricist Richard Adler, whose evergreen pop standards include "Heart," "Hey There," "Hernando's Hideaway," "Whatever Lola Wants" and "Steam Heat," died June 21 at his home in Southampton, N.Y. He was 90. Fresh out of the U.S. Naval Reserve after World War II, Adler partnered with co-composer and lyricist Jerry Ross, receiving the mentorship of Broadway great Frank Loesser. Their first notable collaboration was on the song "Rags to Riches," which became a No. 1 hit for Tony Bennett in 1953. Photos: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2012  After getting their

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New York -- Composer and lyricist Richard Adler, who won Tony Awards for co-writing songs for such hit Broadway musicals as "The Pajama Game" and "Damn Yankees" and who staged and produced President John F. Kennedy's birthday celebration featuring a breathy Marilyn Monroe, has died. He was 90.

Adler died Thursday at his home in Southampton, N.Y., his widow, Susan A. Ivory, said.

Some of Adler's biggest songs are "You Gotta Have Heart," "Hey, There," "Hernando's Hideaway," "Whatever Lola Wants," "Steam Heat," "Rags to Riches," and "Everybody Loves a Lover."

Adler staged and produced several shows for U.S. presidents, including the unforgettable 1962 extravaganza for Kennedy at Madison Square Garden where Monroe sang "Happy Birthday."

He and Jerry Ross wrote the music and lyrics to "The Pajama Game," a frothy comedy about labor-management relations at the Sleep-Tite Pajama Factory, which won the best musical Tony in 1955.

In a 2006 interview with The Associated Press,...

Today in 1954, The Pajama Game opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 1063 performances. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7 Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original production won a Tony for Best Musical, and the 2006 Broadway revival won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

Today in 1954, Damn Yankees opened at the 46th Street Theatre now the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 1019 performances. Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League Baseball.

Today in 2006, The Pajama Game opened at the America Airlines Theatre, where it ran for 129 performances. The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7 Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded. In the midst of this ordeal, love blossoms between Babe, the grievance committee head, and Sid, the new factory superintendent. The original Broadway production opened on May 13, 1954, and ran for 1,063 performances.

Composer of a string of Broadway musicals, he was best known for Fiddler On the Roof

Days after speaking at a memorial service for his Fiddler On the Roof collaborator Joseph Stein, the composer Jerry Bock has died, aged 81. With Stein and the lyricist Sheldon Harnick, Bock wrote some of the most loved and admired Broadway songs of the last century. Fiddler On the Roof, set in Tsarist Russia and starring Zero Mostel as Tevye the milkman, opened on Broadway in 1964 and broke all box-office records, running for more than 3,200 performances.

The show made Bock world-famous for his lilting, instantly familiar Jewish melodies and catchy rhythms. There was consummate artistry in the way he could set to music even so banal an exchange as "Do you love me?" "Do I what?" "Do you love me?" "Do I love you...?" with its tender, affirmative swerve in the last phrase.

Between 1956 and...