Loretta Ables Sayre is an American actress and singer who performed

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

standards at luxury hotels in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

for three decades. During her career, Ables Sayre performed in a few

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

and guest-starred in several television shows, also doing work in commercials. In her 2007 Broadway debut as Bloody Mary in '' South Pacific'', she was nominated for a

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality featured roles in a ...

and also won the 2008 Theatre World Award.

Early life and career

Loretta Gail Ables was born in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

to a Filipino father and a mother of mixed Asian and European descent. She has an older sister and brother. Her father was 25 years older than her mother, and eventually the couple divorced. Her mother remarried, and Ables Sayre has two younger half-siblings. She was raised in

after her stepfather, who was in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, was transferred there when Ables Sayre was six years old. She attended Pearl Harbor Elementary School, Aliamanu Intermediate, and Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, participating in school plays and choirs. As a small child, inspired by her mother's

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (; born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a ...

and

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

recordings, Ables Sayre already knew that she wanted to become a singer. PBS interview of Ables Sayres
Transcript of ''Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox'', PBS Hawaii, July 28, 2009, accessed May 1, 2010 Ables Sayre began to build her singing career immediately after high school while working in hotel jobs. She soon became the opening singer for a hotel performer's act. In 1979, she sang with Hawaiian musicians Kapono and

Keola Beamer Keola Beamer (born Keolamaikalani Breckenridge Beamer February 18, 1951) is a Hawaiian slack-key guitar player, best known as the composer of "Honolulu City Lights" and an innovative musician who fused Hawaiian roots and contemporary music. Keola ...

on the local pop hit '' Honolulu City Lights'' and at the Reef Hotel in Waikiki. In 1981, she became the opening act for comedian Andy Bumatai at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. She went on to perform Jazz and R&B standards at hotels, clubs and conventions throughout the Honolulu-Waikiki area.Ables Sayre interview with Smith Galtney
Broadway.com, May 15, 2008, accessed May 1, 2010 In 1985, with Honolulu Theater for Youth, Ables Sayre appeared in ''Song for the Navigator'', which toured Micronesia, Australia and throughout the U.S., including performances at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in Washington, D.C. In 1989, she played Effie White in Tommy Aguilar's 1989 production of ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. It is based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, and p ...

'' at the Hawaii Theater."Cast: Loretta Ables Sayre"

Lincoln Center Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT ...

, accessed May 1, 2010 The same year, she became the featured vocalist at the

Halekulani Hotel Halekulani (var. Halekūlani) is an oceanfront luxury hotel located on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. Built in 1984, it contains 453 rooms in five buildings on of property. The name Halekūlani is a combination of Hawaiian language, Hawai ...

in Waikiki, where she performed for 10 years. She was voted "Favorite Female Vocalist" by the readers of '' Honolulu Magazine'' in 1993 in its "Best of the Best" issue.

Television, commercials and recent years

Ables Sayre has appeared in various television series filmed on location in Hawaii. She guest starred in the detective series '' Magnum, P.I.'', played Parissima Macadangdang in '' The Byrds of Paradise'', and had a recurring role, Aunty Jackson in '' Baywatch Hawaii''. She was Nannie Lee in ''Hawaii'' (2004), appeared in ''North Shore'' (2004) and played the recurring role of Kai's Auntie in ''

Beyond the Break ''Beyond the Break'' is an American drama television series about four women who join a competitive surfing circuit. It is set in Hawaii. The show was created by Michael D. Jacobs, David Brookwell and Sean McNamara. It aired on Noggin's teen pro ...

'' (2006–2007). She lends her voice to '' PBS Hawaii'' and has had additional roles in various local TV shows. In commercials, she played waitress Loretta in the Bank of Hawaii series of commercials called "Harry and Myra" and commercials for

State Farm State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property and casualty insurance, property, casualty and auto i ...

, the Hawaii State Department of Health, Oceanic

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...

and others. Her voice-over work includes commercials on radio and TV. Ables Sayre headlined at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental hotel from 1999 to 2006. There, she performed as the opening act for New Year's Eve concerts by such performers as

The Four Tops ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

(2000),

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

(2001),

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

(2002) and

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded with Jim Messina (musician), Jim Mess ...

(2003).Hetrick, Adam
"Happy Talk: Hawaii's Loretta Ables Sayre Is Bloody Mary for ''South Pacific'' Revival"
. October 1, 2007, accessed May 1, 2010 Ables Sayre released a CD, ''Dreamy'', in 2001, which was nominated for a Na Hoku Hanohano Award. She first starred in the lead role of Pua Ma Lusa in the 2002 Diamond Head Theatre production of musical ''You Somebody'' by Lee Cataluna and

. She reprised this role in 2007, winning the Hawaii State Theater Council's Po'okela Award for Leading Female in Musical. In 2008, she debuted on Broadway as Bloody Mary in ''South Pacific''. For her performance, she was nominated for

and also won the 2008 Theatre World Award.

Family

She is married to David Sayre.

References

External links

Sayre's official website
* * * on the ''

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ables Sayre, Loretta Living people Actresses from Honolulu American musical theatre actresses American musicians of Filipino descent American television actresses American voice actresses Musicians from Stockton, California Musicians from Honolulu Theatre World Award winners American jazz singers American women jazz singers Singers from California Jazz musicians from California Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers