Helen Gallagher

b. 19 July 1926, New York City, New York, USA. Gallagher started out as a dancer, appearing in the chorus of Seven Lively Arts (1944), her first time on Broadway. In a similar capacity she appeared in Billion Dollar Baby (1945) and then had a bigger role, this time an acting one, in High Button Shoes (1947). She was again in the ensemble for Brigadoon (1947), but soon thereafter began to improve her standing with audiences thanks to playing in Touch And Go (1949) in New York and the following year in the London production. Her roles in the early 50s included Poupette in Make A Wish (1951) and Gladys in the 1952 revival of Pal Joey. For the latter she received a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress In A Musical. Gallagher played the lead in Hazel Flagg (1953) but the show was a failure. She made appearances in revivals of The Pajama Game (1954), Finian’s Rainbow (1955), and Brigadoon (1957). This was followed by a leading role in Portofino (1958), but this was another flop and retirement followed. Gallagher came back in 1966 for Sweet Charity and although she was in the same year’s Mame, good roles usually eluded her, witness an appearance as Bessie Legg in the 1970 flop Cry For Us All. In the following year, however, Gallagher was back on top as Lucille in a revival of No, No, Nanette. The show was a big hit, as was Gallagher, who won another Tony award. She was involved in a performance of Much Ado About Nothing that ran in the winter of 1972/3. Gallagher was among several leading ladies of Broadway who appeared at Brothers And Sisters, a New York nightclub on West 46th Street, in 1974, although as James Gavin reports in his book, Intimate Nights, she did not endear herself to the audience by refusing to sing any of the songs for which she was known, declaring that she had forgotten them and that to relearn them would have been boring. In 1978 she was responsible for the choreography in The American Dance Machine. On into the 80s and beyond, Gallagher took acting roles in television soaps, and played in off-Broadway musicals.