Allyn Ann McLerie

Allyn Ann McLerie (December 1, 1926 – May 21, 2018) was a Canadian-born American actress, singer and dancer who worked with many of Golden Age musical theatre's major choreographers, including George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, and Jerome Robbins.[1][2]

Allyn Ann McLerie
McLerie on The Tony Randall Show (1977)
Born(1926-12-01)December 1, 1926
Grand-Mère, Quebec, Canada
DiedMay 21, 2018(2018-05-21) (aged 91)
North Bend, Washington, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, singer, dancer
Years active1943–1993
Spouses
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(m. 1945; div. 1953)​
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    (m. 1953; died 2016)​
    Children2

    Life and career

    McLerie was born in Grand-Mère, Quebec, Canada, the only child of Vera Alma MacTaggart (née Stewart) and Allan Gordon McLerie, an aviator and WWI veteran.[3] Allan Gordon McLerie died of a heart attack four months before his daughter's birth,[4] and Allyn Ann McLerie moved with her widowed mother to the United States at age one. (McLerie's mother, Vera, died on her daughter's 54th birthday in 1980 at age 83.[5]) Allyn studied dancing at a studio in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and made her Broadway debut as a teenager in Kurt Weill's One Touch of Venus.[2][3][6]

    She went on to replace Sono Osato as Ivy in On the Town,[7] then played Amy Spettigue in the 1948 Broadway production of Where's Charley? (Theatre World Award).[1][8]

    A life member of The Actors Studio,[9] McLerie's other Broadway credits include Miss Liberty,[10][11] the drama Time Limit, Redhead (understudying Gwen Verdon), and West Side Story.

    McLerie's film roles include Amy in Where's Charley? (1952);[8] Katie Brown in Calamity Jane (1953); Shirley in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969); and The Crazy Woman in Jeremiah Johnson (1972). Other film work includes Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954), The Cowboys (1972), The Way We Were (1973), Cinderella Liberty (1973), All the President's Men (1976), and TV movies such as Born Innocent (1974) and Death Scream (1975).[12]

    She enjoyed a long career as a character actress on television, making frequent guest appearances on shows such as Bonanza, The Waltons, The Love Boat, Barney Miller, Benson, Hart to Hart, St. Elsewhere, and Dynasty, among many others.[13] She played Miss Janet Reubner, Tony Randall's acerbic and priggish secretary, on The Tony Randall Show (1976–78).[10]

    McLerie played the recurring role of Arthur Carlson's wife Carmen on WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–82). Though then in her mid-fifties, McLerie was playing a character about a decade younger, as Carmen gave birth to a daughter in a 1980 episode. McLerie also appeared in three episodes of Punky Brewster alongside her husband, George Gaynes (1984). She later appeared as Florence Bickford, the title character's mother on The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1987–91). Her last role was on an episode of Brooklyn Bridge in 1993.[13]

    Personal life

    McLerie was married to the lyricist/librettist Adolph Green[14] from 1945 until their divorce in May 1953. She was also married to actor George Gaynes from 1953 until his death in 2016.[15] The couple had two children,[16] Matt Gaynes and Iya Gaynes Falcone Brown.[17][18]

    McLerie died at her home in North Bend, Washington, on May 21, 2018, at the age of 91, from Alzheimer's disease.[19][20]

    Filmography
    Year Title Role Notes
    1948Words and MusicSinger in Garrick Gaeitiesuncredited
    1952Where's Charley?Amy Spettigue
    1952The Desert SongAzuri
    1953Calamity JaneKatie Brown
    1954Phantom of the Rue MorgueYvonne
    1955Battle CryRuby – Waitress in Diner
    196240 Pounds of TroubleBlanchard's secretaryuncredited
    1969They Shoot Horses, Don't They?Shirl
    1969The ReiversAlison McCaslin
    1970Monte WalshMary Eagle
    1972The CowboysEllen Price
    1972Jeremiah JohnsonCrazy Woman
    1972The Magnificent Seven Ride!Mrs. Donavan
    1973HowzerFaye Carsell
    1973The Way We WereRhea Edwards
    1973Cinderella LibertyMiss Watkins
    1974France société anonymeL'Américaine
    1974Born InnocentEmma LaskoTV movie
    1975Death ScreamAlice WhitmoreTV movie
    1976All the President's MenCarolyn Abbott
    1983Living Proof: The Hank Williams, Jr. StoryAudrey WilliamsTV movie
    1994Police Academy: Mission to MoscowIrina Petrovskayauncredited

    References
    1. Amanda Vaill (May 6, 2008). Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins. Broadway Books. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-7679-0421-6. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
    2. Stanley Green (March 21, 1980). Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. DaCapo Press. p. 325. ISBN 978-0-306-80113-6. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
    3. Theatre world. Crown Publishers. 1957. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
    4. "Biography for WW1 Veteran Allan Gordon McLerie, Royal Air Force (Canada) | the Kenora Great War Project".
    5. Marc Leroux. "Second Lieutenant Allan Gordon McLerie". Canadiangreatwarproject.com. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
    6. Profile, bklyn.newspapers.com; accessed May 20, 2015.
    7. Stanley Green (March 21, 1980). Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre. Da Capo Press. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-306-80113-6. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
    8. Thomas S. Hischak (2008). The Oxford companion to the American musical: theatre, film, and television. Oxford University Press US. pp. 791–. ISBN 978-0-19-533533-0. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
    9. Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 279. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
    10. Hal Erickson (June 15, 2009). Encyclopedia of television law shows: factual and fictional series about judges, lawyers and the courtroom, 1948–2008. McFarland. pp. 260–. ISBN 978-0-7864-3828-0. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
    11. Steven Bach (April 30, 2002). Dazzler: The Life and Times of Moss Hart. Da Capo Press. pp. 293–. ISBN 978-0-306-81135-7. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
    12. Thomas S. Hischak (2008). The Oxford companion to the American musical: theatre, film, and television. Oxford University Press US. pp. 864–. ISBN 978-0-19-533533-0. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
    13. Allyn Ann McLerie at IMDb
    14. Amanda Vaill (May 6, 2008). Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins. Broadway Books. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-7679-0421-6. Retrieved May 16, 2011.
    15. McFadden, Robert D. (February 17, 2016). "George Gaynes, a Versatile Character Actor, Dies at 98". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
    16. Variety Staff (February 16, 2016). "George Gaynes, 'Punky Brewster' and 'Police Academy' Star, Dies at 98". Variety. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
    17. "Allyn Ann McLerie | Nantucket '73". Msbhall.wordpress.com. February 28, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
    18. "Allyn Ann McLerie Actor George Gaynes' Wife". DailyEntertainmentNews.com. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
    19. Szabo, Sarah (March 30, 2018). "Actors we lost in 2018". Looper.com.
    20. Allyn Ann McLerie, Actress in 'Where's Charley?' and 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?' Dies at 91, hollywoodreporter.com; accessed January 20, 2019.
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