Benay Venuta
| Benay Venuta | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Benvenuta Rose Crooke January 27, 1910 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | September 1, 1995 (aged 85) New York City, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Lung cancer |
| Years active | 1935-1994 |
| Spouse(s) |
Dr. Kenneth Kelly (m. 1936–38) Armand Deutsch (m. 1939–50) (2 children) Fred Clark (m. 1952–62) |
Benay Venuta (January 27, 1910 – September 1, 1995) was an American actress, singer and dancer.
Born Benvenuta Rose Crooke in San Francisco, Venuta was a graduate of Hollywood High School. She attended finishing school in Geneva and lived in London where she worked as a dancer before returning to the States.
Her father was English, and her mother was Swiss-Italian.
Venuta made her first screen appearance in the silent Trail of '98 in 1928. She also appeared in Annie Get Your Gun (as Dolly Tate), Call Me Mister, and Bullets over Broadway. (Another source says her first movie role was in Repeat Performance.)
Venuta made her Broadway debut when she replaced Ethel Merman in the lead role of Reno Sweeney in Cole Porter's Anything Goes in 1935. The two remained close friends and co-starred in a revival of Annie Get Your Gun in 1966. Additional Broadway credits included By Jupiter (1942), Hazel Flagg (1953), and Romantic Comedy (1979).
Venuta's and regional theatre credits included A Little Night Music, Bus Stop, Gypsy, Come Blow Your Horn, Auntie Mame, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Little Me, and Pal Joey.
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