Gretchen Wyler (born Gretchen Patricia Wienecke; February 16, 1932 – May 27, 2007) was an American actress and dancer. She was also an

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

advocate and founder of the

Genesis Awards The Genesis Awards are awarded annually by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by the HSUS ...

for animal protection. Gretchen Wyler

Biography

Early life

Wyler was born Gretchen Patricia Wienecke in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, the daughter of Peggy ( née Highley) and Louis Gustave Wienecke, a petroleum engineer. She was raised in

Bartlesville, Oklahoma Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The Ca ...

and opened her own dancing school there before going to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to pursue a career as a professional actress and dancer.

Acting career

She appeared on Broadway in six original productions: * ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

'' as a dancer and as understudy for "Miss Adelaide" (1950–1953) * '' Silk Stockings'' as "Janice Dayton" (1955–1956) * ''

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, 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., dur ...

'' as "Lola" as replacement for

Gwen Verdon Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon (January 13, 1925October 18, 2000) was an American actress and dancer. She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for t ...

(1955–1957) * '' Rumple'' as "Kate Drew" (1957) * ''

Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored ...

'' as "Rose Grant" as replacement for

Chita Rivera Chita Rivera (born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson; January 23, 1933), is an American actress, singer and dancer best known for originating roles in Broadway musicals including Anita in ''West Side Story'', Velma Kelly in ''Chic ...

(1960–1961) * ''

Sly Fox ''Sly Fox'' is a comedic play by Larry Gelbart, based on Ben Jonson's ''Volpone'' (''The Fox''), updating the setting from Renaissance Venice to 19th century San Francisco, and changing the tone from satire to farce. The play revolves around the ...

'' as "Miss Fancy" (1976–1978) She also appeared at the 1964 World's Fair alternating with

in ''Wonder World''. The

Michael Kidd Michael Kidd (August 12, 1915 – December 23, 2007) was an American film and stage choreographer, dancer and actor, whose career spanned five decades, and staged some of the leading Broadway and film musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Kidd, stron ...

/ Jule Styne extravaganza played at the outdoor amphitheater. Eventually she went west to Hollywood to pursue movie stardom, which eluded her, but did co-star in the sitcom '' On Our Own'' (1977-1978) and appeared on many television programs, ranging from ''

The Phil Silvers Show ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half-a ...

'' (aka ''

Sergeant Bilko ''The Phil Silvers Show'', originally titled ''You'll Never Get Rich'', is a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959. A pilot titled "Audition Show" was made in 1955, but it was never broadcast. 143 other episodes were broadcast – all half- ...

'') to '' Naked City'' to ''

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

'', '' Diagnosis: Unknown'', '' Charlie's Angels'', ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'', '' St. Elsewhere'', ''

Remington Steele ''Remington Steele'' is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from O ...

'', '' Falcon Crest'', '' Santa Barbara'', ''

Punky Brewster ''Punky Brewster'' is an American Situation comedy, sitcom television series about a young girl (Soleil Moon Frye) being raised by a foster parent (George Gaynes). The show ran on NBC from September 16, 1984, to March 9, 1986, and again in Broad ...

'', ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both p ...

'', '' Who's the Boss'', ''

Designing Women ''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, to May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason ...

'', '' Friends'', and '' Judging Amy''. She made a number of appearances as a panelist on the game show '' To Tell the Truth''; her last television appearance was on ''

Chicken Soup for the Soul Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is an American self-help, consumer goods and media company based in Cos Cob, Connecticut. It is known for the ''Chicken Soup for the Soul'' book series. The first book, like most subsequent titles in the ...

''. She appeared in Rick McKay's 2004 award-winning feature documentary, '' Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There'', in which she recounted her "aggressive" nature and an almost

Eve Harrington ''All About Eve'' is a 1950 American drama film written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on the 1946 short story "The Wisdom of Eve" by Mary Orr, although Orr does not receive a screen credi ...

-esque ambition, when she recalled trying on the star ( Yvonne Adair)'s outfits when she was merely second understudy in the pre-Broadway touring production of '' Silk Stockings''. When Adair collapsed in the middle of a show one night, and the first understudy (Sherry O'Neil) had surreptitiously gone to

to audition for another play (which Wyler knew), Wyler stepped in, and played the role when the show arrived on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. Wyler had already filmed her appearance in McKay's sequel, ''Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age'' (2008) before she died.

Animal welfare activism

In 1966, Wyler began to work for animal welfare causes after visiting a dilapidated dog shelter in Warwick, N.Y.Gretchen Wyler official website
In 1972, she became the first woman to serve on the board for the

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective me ...

. In 1986, she was Vice Chairperson of The Fund for Animals. In 1991, she founded The Ark Trust, presenter of the annual

for animal protection; this event is now a program of The

Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...

. In 2005, Wyler was inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame for her dedicated career in animal advocacy. In 2007, the first Gretchen Wyler Award was given to

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. Wyler was a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

Death

Wyler died on May 27, 2007, aged 75, from complications of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

.Gretchen Wyler, 75, Actress and Advocate for Animals, Dies
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Filmography

References

External links

"Broadway: The Golden Age" - Wyler's last film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyler, Gretchen 1932 births 2007 deaths American female dancers Dancers from Oklahoma American animal welfare workers American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Deaths from breast cancer People from Camarillo, California People from Bartlesville, Oklahoma Actresses from Oklahoma City Deaths from cancer in California 20th-century American actresses Singers from Oklahoma 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American dancers 21st-century American women