Maria Karnilova (August 3, 1920 – April 20, 2001) was an American dancer and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She was initially known legally as Maria Karniloff. She was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Filip (Philip) and Stefanida Dovgolenko (or Dowholonok), emigrants from Tsarist Russia. The family later moved to

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 ...

. She started her professional career in 1927 in the Children's Ballet of the Metropolitan Opera and joined the corps when Ballet Theater, now American Ballet Theater, was founded in 1939. She adopted the name Karniloff, and later, Karnilova as her professional name. Her professional surname was often ascribed as her own mother's maiden name, however, that is inaccurate as her mother's maiden name was "Shlonskaya". Karnilova made her

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 ...

debut in 1946 in '' Call Me Mister''. She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for the original 1964 production of '' Fiddler on the Roof'' starring Zero Mostel and was nominated as Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for '' Zorba'' (1968). Other Broadway credits include ''

Miss Liberty ''Miss Liberty'' is a 1949 Broadway musical with a book by Robert E. Sherwood and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. It is based on the sculpting of the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World'') in 1886. The score includes the song ...

'' (1949), '' Two's Company'' (1952), ''

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

' Ballet: U.S.A.'' (1958), ''

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'' (as the original "Tessie Tura"; 1959), ''

Bravo Giovanni ''Bravo Giovanni'' is a musical with a book by A. J. Russell, lyrics by Ronny Graham, and music by Milton Schafer. It is based upon Howard Shaw's 1959 novel, ''The Crime of Giovanni Venturi''. The musical was conceived as a vehicle for opera sta ...

'' (1962), '' Gigi'' (1973), '' God's Favorite'' (1974), '' Bring Back Birdie'' (1981), and the 1981 revival of ''Fiddler''. Her film credits include '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown'' (1964) and ''

Married to the Mob ''Married to the Mob'' is a 1988 American crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, and Alec Baldwin. Pfeiffer plays Angela de Marco, a gangster's widow from B ...

'' (1988).

Family

She was married to actor George S. Irving from 1948 until her death from undisclosed causes in Manhattan at the age of 80 in 2001. She was survived by her husband, two children, three grandchildren, and extended family. Her widower, George S. Irving, died in 2016, aged 94.

Filmography

References

External links

Profile
ibdb.com; accessed April 18, 2018. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Karnilova, Maria 1920 births 2001 deaths Actresses from New York City American ballerinas American musical theatre actresses American film actresses American people of Russian descent Tony Award winners Musicians from New York City 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American ballet dancers