Kathy Barr

Kathy Barr (born Marilyn Sultana Aboulafia; June 4, 1929 – June 21, 2008) was an American vocalist who performed and recorded popular, jazz, musical theater, and operettas. Her stage name was drawn from the first and married surname of her maternal grandmother, Katie Barr.

Biography

Barr was born on June 4, 1929, in the Bronx, New York, to Ovadia "Ovid" Aboulafia (1900–1978), who, himself, was born in Çeşme, Turkey, and Eabeta "Tessie" Barr (1908–1978), a native New Yorker.

Barr flourished from the 1950s through the mid-1960s in musical theater, nightclubs, television, and radio. She was acclaimed for her coloratura soprano range, three and one-half octaves by at least one account (see Annotations below, "Vocal Range Context"), and her ability to sing pop, jazz, and classical.

Upon marrying for the second time, in 1965, Barr retired from as a recording artist, although she continued to perform club dates (one-nighters) and regional musical theater productions until around 1968. These later roles included Billy Dawn (Judy Holliday's role) in '' Born Yesterday'' (November 25, 1967–January 7, 1968) at the Hamlet Street Theater (now named the Rauh Theater) in Pittsburgh; and a hymn singer seeking to save men's souls in ''Guys and Dolls'', starring Tony Martin, at the Meadowbrook Theater Restaurant in Cedar Grove, New Jersey (May 29, 1968–June 30, 1968).

Personal life

Her first marriage was to Milton ("Milt" or "Milty") Leon Schwartz (1901–1992), on June 20, 1954, in The Bronx. Schwartz, who was years older, had been a saxophonist with the Al Trace Orchestra; he was co-owner with Ralph Mitchell (''né'' Ralph Michelev; 1916–2004) of the acclaimed Chicago jazz club the Preview Lounge, at 7 West Randolph Street, that ran from about 1945 until the summer of 1960. At the same address, Schwartz and Mitchell also owned the Modern Jazz Room (formerly the Encore Room and formerly Mambo City), upstairs.

Her and Schwartz' marriage was annulled in New York Supreme Court on May 28, 1956, refereed by Ed Koch (who years later become Mayor of New York City).

In 1958, news media reported that Aboulafia was officially changing her name to Kathy Barr.

In 1965, in Manhattan, under her birth name, "Marilyn Aboulafia," she married Irwin M. Glickman (1930–2011). In 1966, she and Glickman had a daughter — Sylvia Beth Glickman. In 1968, reflecting on her disappointment about her first marriage, Barr confided that she was happy in her second marriage and declared, "This time, I wanted to work at it."

Barr died in Hollywood, Florida, on June 21, 2008.

Her daughter Sylvia married Jeffrey Zina Johnston in 2005. Sylvia and Jeff had two sons, both born in Hollywood, Florida: John Michael Thunder Johnston, born in 2005, and Lightning James Marshall Hawk Johnston, born in 2008.

Discography

Albums

Singles

: ‡ Audio courtesy of YouTube

Radio transcription disc

* → via ''Rand's Esoteric OTR,'' a blog of Randy Riddle () at randsesotericotr.podbean.com.

Note: The program, hosted by Lt. Bob Osterberg, USMC (''né'' Robert Pierce Osterberg; 1929–2016), interviewed Kathy Barr and featured tracks from her new album, ''Follow Me.'' The show title, ''Magic in Music'', is titled ''Magic of Music'' on the AFRTS disk label.

Musical theater roles

* '' Marinka'', as Marinka (leading soprano role)
: Winter Garden Theatre, New York
: Australia touring production
: Tivoli circuit, Melbourne: Opened May 28, 1948, at the Tivoli Theater, Melbourne
: At the age of 19, Barr was elevated to the role of Marinka after being the understudy for Kathryn Grayson
* '' Wizard of Oz'', as Dorothy Gale (leading soprano role)
: Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, August 1 thru August 6, 1949

References

Annotations

Citations

Sources

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"Still good friends."

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1. (US Newsstream database)

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Kathy
1929 births
2008 deaths
American people of Turkish descent
Singers from New York (state)
20th-century American singers
20th-century American women singers
21st-century American women musicians