Grace Keagy (née Stambaugh; December 16, 1921 – October 4, 2009) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actress, best known for her work on the stage in character roles. She is best known for her Drama Desk Award-nominated performance as "Rosa" in the original 1979 production of

Joseph Stein Joseph Stein (May 30, 1912 – October 24, 2010) was an American playwright best known for writing the books for such musicals as ''Fiddler on the Roof'' and '' Zorba''. Biography Born in New York City to Jewish parents, Charles and Emma ( ...

and Alan Jay Lerner's ''

Carmelina ''Carmelina'' is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Alan Jay Lerner, lyrics by Lerner, and music by Burton Lane. Based on the 1968 film '' Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell'', it focuses on an Italian woman who has raised her teenaged daughte ...

''.

Career

Grace Stambaugh was born in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

and ultimately settled in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

where she taught voice and piano between 1964 and 1968. She made her first professional stage appearance in 1967 as Dame Margery in Thomas Dekker's '' The Shoemaker's Holiday'' at the Guthrie Theater after which she became active in regional theatre productions. She made her

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

debut in 1975 as Queen Isabella of Bavaria in the original production of Larry Grossman and lyrics by

Hal Hackady Harold Clayton MacHackady (February 10, 1922 – October 12, 2015), best known as Hal Hackady, and sometimes credited as Hal Hackaday, was an American lyricist, librettist and screenwriter. Life He was born in Middletown, Connecticut in 192 ...

's ''

Goodtime Charley ''Goodtime Charley'' is a musical with a book by Sidney Michaels, music by Larry Grossman, and lyrics by Hal Hackady. A humorous take on actual historical events, it focuses on the Dauphin of France, who evolves from a hedonistic young man e ...

''. In 1979, she returned to Broadway in January to portray several smaller roles in the original production of

Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricist ...

's ''

The Grand Tour ''The Grand Tour'' is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman, made for Amazon exclusively for its online streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November ...

''. After the show closed in March, she went into rehearsals for ''Carmelina'' which premiered on April 8, 1979 at the St. James Theatre. Although the show ran for only a few weeks, Keagy garnered high praise from critics for her performance and earned a Drama Desk Award nomination. She almost immediately joined the original cast of Richard Rodgers's musical version '' I Remember Mama'', replacing Dolores Wilson as Aunt Jenny. After that show closed in September, she spent the following year touring the United States as Aunt Eller in ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...

''. Keagy remained active in theatre during the early 1980s, returning to Broadway for the original productions of Tom Savage's ''

Musical Chairs Musical chairs, also known as Trip to Jerusalem, is a game of elimination involving players, chairs, and music. It is a staple of many parties worldwide. Gameplay A set of chairs is arranged with one fewer chair than the number of players ...

'' (1980) and

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...

and

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Riv ...

's ''

Woman of the Year ''Woman of the Year'' is a 1942 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by George Stevens and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The film was written by Ring Lardner Jr. and Michael Kanin (with uncredited work on the rewritten ...

'' (1983). She made her first television appearance as a guest star on ''

Our Family Honor ''Our Family Honor'' is an American drama television series that aired on ABC from September 17, 1985, until January 3, 1986, as part of its 1985 fall lineup. Launched as a two-hour TV-movie, ''Our Family Honor'' is about two New York City fa ...

'' in 1985, later appearing in '' Four Eyes and Six Guns'' (1992), ''

Mrs. Santa Claus ''Mrs. Santa Claus'' is a 1996 American television film, made-for-television musical film, musical fantasy film, fantasy comedy film, comedy film directed by Terry Hughes (director), Terry Hughes, with a score by Jerry Herman, starring Angela Lan ...

'' (1996) and numerous times on

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

s like ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...

'', '' One Life to Live'', '' The Doctors'', '' Ryan's Hope'', and ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show fo ...

''.

Family

Keagy was predeceased by her husband, Robert B. Keagy, and her brother William Stambaugh. She was survived by five children, twelve grandchildren, and extended family.

Death

Grace Keagy died on October 4, 2009 in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

, aged 87, from

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

References

Sources

Biography of Grace Keagy

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keagy, Grace 1921 births 2009 deaths American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from ovarian cancer Actresses from Minneapolis Actresses from Rochester, New York Actresses from Youngstown, Ohio 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women