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Phyllis Newman

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Actress

The Resume

    (March 19, 1933-September 15, 2019)
    Born in Jersey City, New Jersey
    Appeared on Broadway in ‘Wish You Were Here’ (1952-53), ‘Bells Are Ringing’ (1956-59), ‘Subways Are for Sleeping’ (1961-62), ‘The Apple Tree; (1966-67), ‘The Prisoner of Second Avenue’ (1971-73), ‘The Madwoman of Central Park West’ (1979), and ‘Broadway Bound’ (1986-88)
    Won the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (1962)
    Appeared in the films ‘Bye Bye Braverman’ (1968), ‘Mannequin’ (1987), ‘The Beautician and the Beast’ (1997), and ‘It Had To Be You’ (2000)
    Recurring roles as Renee Divine Buchanan on ‘One Life to Live’ and Elaine Steadman on thirtysomething
    Frequent panelist on What’s My Line and To Tell the Truth
    Married to songwriter Adolph Green (1960-2002)

Why she might be annoying:

    She appeared on stage in a kiddie revue when she was six.
    She was often mistaken for her husband’s songwriter partner, Betty Comden, and vice versa.
    Her husband admitted to voting for Barbara Streisand over her the year she won her Tony.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She famously wore just a towel in ‘Subways Are for Sleeping.’
    She was the first woman to guest host The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
    She was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy.
    She founded the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative of the Actors Fund of America (1995), then hosted a series of ‘Nothing Like a Dame’ galas that raised $3.5 million in funding.
    She was the first recipient of the Isabelle Stevenson Award, a special Tony given to recognize members of the theater community for their humanitarian work (2009).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 11 Votes: 18.18% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 30 Votes: 50.0% Annoying