James Nolan-Winifred Ainslee in Bus Stop

Winifred Ainslee (born Winifred MacIntosh; April 17, 1924 – December 14, 1991) was an American actress.

Early years

Ainslee was born Winifred MacIntosh, the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. F. Bringle McIntosh. He was a Methodist minister who became president of

Ohio Northern University Ohio Northern University (Ohio Northern or ONU) is a private college in Ada, Ohio, United States. Founded by Henry Solomon Lehr in 1871, ONU offers over 60 programs across five undergraduate and graduate colleges and is affiliated with the Unit ...

. Winifred contracted polio at age 6, but although she was in a leg brace for several years, she made a complete recovery and took up ballet to strengthen the affected leg. She attended Randolph-Macon Woman's College and graduated from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in 1947, double-majoring in English and Music. Before she finished college, she worked for a year as a

azz Azza Transport Company (alternatively known as Azza Air Transport) was a cargo airline based in Khartoum, Sudan. It operated a cargo charter service throughout Africa and the Middle East and was planning services for Europe. Its main base was at ...

singer at the Cotton Club and a staff announcer at a radio station in

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...

. She also studied at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

. Ainslee took her stage name from Audra Ainslee, her aunt, who was leading lady with James K. Hackett.

Career

In the late 1940s Ainslee was a member of the Chicago cast of ''

Brigadoon ''Brigadoon'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and score by Frederick Loewe. The plot features two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every 100 years; on ...

''. The production toured in other cities, including Oakland and St. Louis. In 1950, Ainslee appeared in all productions of the Summer at

Pitt Stadium Pitt Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in the eastern United States, located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Opened in 1925 Pittsburgh Panthers fo ...

operetta season in Pittsburgh. She performed with the Chicago Music Theatre and the

Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (Pittsburgh CLO) is a nonprofit professional theater company based in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Despite its name, the organization presents musical theatre classics rather tha ...

, and she was musical director for touring productions of ''Brigadoon'' and ''

Finian's Rainbow ''Finian's Rainbow'' is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane, produced by Lee Sabinson. The original 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances, while a film version was re ...

''. In 1952 she was the female lead in a production of ''

High Button Shoes ''High Button Shoes'' is a 1947 musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sammy Cahn and book by George Abbott and Stephen Longstreet. It was based on the semi-autobiographical 1946 novel ''The Sisters Liked Them Handsome'' by Stephen Longst ...

'' in Chicago. Ainslee performed on Broadway in ''Brigadoon'' (1950), ''Seventh Heaven'' (1955), and ''Auntie Mame'' (1958). Off-Broadway productions in which she appeared included ''What's Up'' (1953) She toured in '' Paint Your Wagon'', ''

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where Public transport bus service, buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelter (building), shelters ...

'', and ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a 1955 American three-act play by Tennessee Williams. The play, an adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", was written between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his ...

''. Ainslee acted on television and was a Conover model. After she stopped performing, she worked for the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

until her retirement in the spring of 1991.

Personal life

Ainslee married fellow Brigadoon actor/singer James Schlader in Chicago on October 23, 1948. She married off-Broadway producer James Preston on March 5, 1959, in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

. They have a daughter, Heather Lee Preston Buzasi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainslee, Winifred 1924 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American actresses American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses Broadway theatre people