Hope Holiday (born Hope Jane Zee) is an American actress, perhaps best known for her role as Mrs. Margie MacDougall, Jack Lemmon's partner in self-pity on Christmas Eve night, in the

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hol ...

film ''

The Apartment ''The Apartment'' is a 1960 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond. It stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, Dav ...

'' (1960).

Early years

Holiday was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and was raised in Manhattan. Her father, a burlesque entertainer who was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, changed his name from Allen Zaslawsky to Allen Zee before his daughters were born. She attended Public School 117 in Jamaica, Queens, and then went to Forest Hills High School. She dropped out of high school and sang at the Copacabana nightclub. Her father was also described by

Ed Sullivan Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television personality, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New Yor ...

as a "Capitol Theater exec." Her mother, Doris, worked in the production department at radio station WHN in New York City. Her father at one time was night manager of WHN. She has an older sister, Judy, whose stage name was Judy Sinclair.

Name change

A column in the June 30, 1954, issue of the '' Brooklyn Eagle'' noted Zee's change of names: "At the Guy Lombardo extravaganza, 'Arabian Night,' the lassie that almost walked away with the show was Hope Holiday. Hope, before this show, used the name of Hope Zee ..." She later recalled:

I had a featured role as the Teeny Weeny Genie and got to sing two songs. Before this show I had been billed as "Hope Zee," but since my father was a producer of the show along with Lombardo, he purposely changed my name in the program, as he didn't want audiences thinking there was any nepotism involved. I literally had no say in choosing my new name. Since he loved
Judy Holliday Judy Holliday (born Judith Tuvim, June 21, 1921 – June 7, 1965) was an American actress, comedian and singer.Obituary '' Variety'', June 9, 1965, p. 71. She began her career as part of a nightclub act before working in Broadway plays and mus ...
, Daddy decided to call me "Hope Holiday" without the extra "L." I hated the name at first but ending up keeping it.

Career

Stage

Holiday has extensive

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 ...

musical comedy background, beginning with dancing in the chorus lines in '' Top Banana'' and ''

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 Hope Zee, she also was understudy to

Rose Marie Rose Marie (born Rose Marie Mazzetta; August 15, 1923 – December 28, 2017) was an American actress, singer, comedian, and vaudeville performer with a career ultimately spanning nine decades, which included film, radio, records, theater, night ...

in ''Top Banana'', but when the star had to be gone for a week, Zee was laid off, and

Audrey Meadows Audrey Meadows ( Cotter, February 8, 1922 – February 3, 1996) was an American actress best known for her role as the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy ''The Honeymooners''. She was the younger sister of ...

was hired to take over the part. In 1949, she played Fifi and was a member of the singing ensemble of '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes''. In the 1956 Broadway production of ''

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbilly, hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written a ...

,'', Holiday was understudy for Mammy Yokum in addition to being a featured dancer.

Singing

In the early 1950s, Holiday (billed as Hope Zee) sang with

Ralph Flanagan Ralph Elias Flenniken (April 7, 1914 – December 30, 1995), known professionally as Ralph Flanagan, was an American big band leader, pianist, composer, and arranger for the orchestras of Hal McIntyre, Sammy Kaye, Blue Barron, Charlie Barnet, a ...

's orchestra. An August 4, 1950, newspaper column by Dorothy Kilgallen reported, "Hope Zee ... quit '' 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes''' last week to become vocalist with Ralph Flanagan's band ..."

Personal life

Holiday is the widow of actor

Frank Marth Frank Marth (July 29, 1922 – January 12, 2014) was an American film and television actor. He may be best known as a cast-member of ''Cavalcade of Stars'' (1949; 1950–1957), especially segments of ''The Honeymooners'', which later became a ...

. They were married April 9, 1967. Marth died in January 2014.

Selected filmography

Actress

* ''

'' (1959) .... Chorus Dancer (uncredited) * ''

'' (1960) .... Mrs. Margie MacDougall * ''

The Ladies Man ''The Ladies Man'' is a 1961 American comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on June 28, 1961 by Paramount Pictures. Plot Herbert H. Heebert is a young man who loses his girlfriend, swears off romance, and then takes ...

'' (1961) .... Miss Anxious * '' Have Gun Will Travel'' (1961, TV Series) .... Big Red * ''

Irma la Douce ''Irma la Douce'' (, "Irma the Sweet") is a 1963 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond, based on the 1956 French stage musical of the same name by Marguerite Monnot and Alexa ...

'' (1963) .... Lolita * ''

The New Phil Silvers Show ''The New Phil Silvers Show'' is an American situation comedy television series starring Phil Silvers which centers around a factory foreman who is always involved in get-rich-quick schemes. Original episodes aired from September 28, 1963, until A ...

'' (1963, TV Series, Episode "The Son of Pygmalion,") .... Mildred Flitterman * '' The Rounders'' (1965) .... Sister * ''

How to Seduce a Woman ''How to Seduce a Woman'' is a 1974 American comedy film, directed by Charles Martin. It stars Angus Duncan, Angel Tompkins, and Alexandra Hay, and was released in late January 1974. Plot synopsis Employees of a well-off con man and lady's man ...

'' (1974) .... Mary * ''The Hughes Mystery'' (1979) * ''The Return of Mod Squad'' (1979, TV Movie) .... Willy * '' The Last Reunion'' (1980) .... Sally the Singer * '' Texas Lightning'' (1981) .... Mrs. Stover * '' Raw Force'' (1982) .... Hazel Buck * ''

Killpoint ''Killpoint'' is a 1984 American action film directed by Frank Harris that stars Richard Roundtree, Cameron Mitchell, Leo Fong Leo Fong (; 23 November 1928 – 18 February 2022) was a Chinese-American martial artist, actor, boxer, and Method ...

'' (1984) .... Anita * ''Low Blow'' (1986) .... School Head Mistress (uncredited)

Production & Casting

* '' Texas Lightning'' (1981; associate producer) * ''

'' (1984; associate producer, casting director) * ''Rage to Kill'' (1987; executive producer) * ''Code Name Vengeance'' (1987; executive producer) * ''

Space Mutiny ''Space Mutiny'' (also known as ''Mutiny in Space'') is a 1988 South African - US space opera action film about a mutiny aboard the generation ship known as the ''Southern Sun''. The film has since developed a cult following after being featu ...

'' (1988; executive producer)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holiday, Hope Living people Actresses from New York City American film actresses Film producers from New York (state) American television actresses American stage actresses People from Brooklyn 20th-century American actresses American women film producers Forest Hills High School (New York) alumni Jewish American actresses 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)