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 patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

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 HSU ...

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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, the daughter of Peggy (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Highley) and Louis Gustave Wienecke, a petroleum engineer. She was raised in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and opened her own dancing school there before going to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to pursue a career as a professional actress and dancer.

Acting career

She appeared on Broadway in six original productions: * '' Guys and Dolls'' as a dancer and as understudy for "Miss Adelaide" (1950–1953) * '' Silk Stockings'' as "Janice Dayton" (1955–1956) * '' Damn Yankees'' as "Lola" as replacement for Gwen Verdon (1955–1957) * '' Rumple'' as "Kate Drew" (1957) * '' Bye Bye Birdie'' as "Rose Grant" as replacement for Chita Rivera (1960–1961) * '' Sly Fox'' as "Miss Fancy" (1976–1978) She also appeared at the 1964 World's Fair alternating with Chita Rivera in ''Wonder World''. The Michael Kidd/ 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'' (aka '' Sergeant Bilko'') to '' Naked City'' to ''

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

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

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

'', '' St. Elsewhere'', '' Remington Steele'', '' 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) in Chicago. The show ran on NBC from September 16, 1984, to March 9, 1986, and ag ...

'', ''

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 MacGyver (1985 TV series), 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in Mac ...

'', '' Who's the Boss'', '' Designing Women'', ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'', and ''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This television series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves ...

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

Animal rights activism

In 1966, Wyler began to work for

causes after visiting a dilapidated dog shelter in Warwick, N.Y.Gretchen Wyler official website
In 1971, she became the first female to serve on the board of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) but later fell out with the board."Gretchen Wyler, 75; Broadway actress became animal activist"
latimes.com. Retrieved 26 January 2024. She filed a lawsuit against the board of ASPCA which was settled out of court. Wyler opposed

animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of animals, as model organisms, in experiments that seek answers to scientific and medical questions. This approach can be contrasted ...

and argued that "animals should have the right to run if they have legs, swim if they have fins and fly if they have wings". Wyler became a

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

in 1969 for ethical reasons. She was featured on the front cover of ''The British Vegetarian'' magazine, published by the

Vegetarian Society The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom (VSUK) is a British Registered charity in England, registered charity. It campaigns for dietary changes, licenses Vegetarian Society Approved trademarks for Vegetarianism, vegetarian and Veganism, v ...

. 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. 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 global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

Death

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

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyler, Gretchen 1932 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American dancers 21st-century American women Actresses from Oklahoma City American animal rights activists American female dancers American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American anti-vivisectionists Dancers from Oklahoma Deaths from breast cancer in California People from Camarillo, California People from Bartlesville, Oklahoma Singers from Oklahoma