Marcia Lewis (August 18, 1938 – December 21, 2010) was an American character actress and singer. She was nominated twice for the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

as Best Featured Actress in a Musical (''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

'' and '' Grease'') and twice for the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (''Chicago'' and '' Rags'').

Life and career

Lewis was born in

Melrose, Massachusetts Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population as of the 2020 census was 29,817. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston. It is situate ...

, and raised in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

.Official website
marcialewis.com, retrieved January 25, 2010 She earned her RN from Jewish Hospital School of Nursing in Cincinnati in 1959 and worked as a registered nurse at the University of Cincinnati Hospital (Ohio) and Mount Sinai Hospital (NYC). "Marcia Lewis biography"
filmreference.com, retrieved January 25, 2010
talkinbroadway.com, retrieved January 25, 2010

Stage and television

Lewis made her Broadway debut in the original production of '' Hello, Dolly!'', taking over the role of Ernestina. Additional theater credits include '' The Time of Your Life'' (1969), '' Annie'', taking over the role of Miss Hannigan in April 1981, '' Rags'' (1986) (nominee,

, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical), ''Roza'' (1987), '' Orpheus Descending'' with

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress. In her career spanning over six decades, she has garnered List of awards and nominations received by Vanessa Redgrave, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony A ...

(1989), and the 1990 revival of ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

'' as Golde. Lewis appeared in the 1994 revival of '' Grease'' as Miss Lynch, and was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She appeared as the Matron in the 1996 revival of ''

''. For her work, she received nominations for the Tony Award, Best Featured Actress in a Musical and

, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.Marcia Lewis Broadway credits
ibdb.com, retrieved January 25, 2010 She appeared at the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

Theatre of the Zanies in ''An Impudent Wolf'' (1965), the Players Theatre in ''Who's Who Baby?'' (1968), and

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. ...

in ''Romance Language'' in 1984 and ''When She Danced'' in 1990. Lewis toured in ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

'' as Fraulein Schneider and appeared in ''Chicago'' at the Mandalay Bay hotel in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, Nevada, for three months. Her television credits include guest appearances on ''

The Bob Newhart Show ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American television sitcom produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psychol ...

'' (1975), ''

Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, '' Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police ...

'' (1975), ''

The Bionic Woman ''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction film, science fiction Action-adventure fiction, action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson (producer), Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel Cyborg (novel), ''Cyborg'' by ...

'' (1976), ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

'' (1977, 1979), the TV movie ''When She Was Bad'' (1979) and '' Kate and Allie'' (1988).

Performing and personal life

As a singer, Lewis performed in most of the leading cabarets and

supper club A supper club is a traditional dining establishment that also functions as a social club. The term may describe different establishments depending on the region, but in general, supper clubs tend to present themselves as having a high-class imag ...

s in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, including Rainbow & Stars, Upstairs at the Duplex, Upstairs at the Downstairs, Grande Finale, Reno Sweeney's, Freddy's Eighty-Eights, Town Hall, The Village Gate, and the Russian Tea Room. Lewis also appeared in concert at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. Lewis' solo album ''Nowadays'' (1998), a collection of showtunes and standards recorded with the Mark Hummel Quartet, is available on the Original Cast Records label. Lewis married her second husband, Fred D. Bryan, a

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

financial adviser, on June 24, 2001. Lewis died on December 21, 2010, at her home in

Brentwood, Tennessee Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census."Two-Time Tony Award Nominee Marcia Lewis Dies at 72"
broadway.com, 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2010-12-21.

References

External links

Official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Marcia 1938 births 2010 deaths Deaths from cancer in Tennessee American nurses American women singers American stage actresses American television actresses American musical theatre actresses Actresses from Cincinnati Singers from Cincinnati People from Melrose, Massachusetts People from Brentwood, Tennessee 21st-century American women