Do I Hear a Waltz? Star Elizabeth Allen Dies at 77

Tony Award-nominee Elizabeth Allen, who memorably found a 3/4-timed Venetian romance in Do I Hear a Waltz?, has died at the age of 77.

Allen passed away at the Wingate Nursing Home in Fishkill, NY on September 19th; the cause of death was kidney failure.

Allen was born in Jersey City, NJ on January 25th, 1934. After a successful start as a model and a stint as the "Away We Go" girl on "The Jackie Gleason Show," she made her Broadway debut in 1957's Romanoff and Juliet, and won the first of her two Tony nominations for her role as Magda in the Schwartz and Dietz musical The Gay Life.

Do I Hear a Waltz?, the one musical collaboration between Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim, followed in 1965.  She won her second Tony nomination for her performance as Leona Samish in the musical, which was based on Arthur Laurents' The Time of the Cuckoo. 

She also appeared on Broadway in Sherry! and 42nd Street (as a replacement in the role of Dorothy Brock), while her national tour credits included Cactus Flower and California Suite.  Film credits included The Star Spangled Girl, Cheyenne Autumn, Donovan's Reef and From the Terrace, while her many TV appearances included "The Guiding Light," "Another World," "Kojak," "The Fugitive," and "Dr. Kildare."

She was also a philanthropist who donated money for animal rights and environmentalist causes, among others.

Allen is survived by her sister-in-law, Marion Gillease of Poughkeepsie, NY, her nephew and godson, Patrick J. Gillease and his companion, John V. Kloepfer, both of Poughkeepsie, her niece Erin Phelan and Erin's husband Jeffrey P. Phelan, both of Westbrookville, NY, and her grand-nieces, Alicia F. Phelan and Alexandria S. Phelan, also of Westbrookville.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Actors' Fund of America via their website, www.actorsfund.org/support/ or by contacting Judy Fish, Director of Individual Giving, at JFish@actorsfund.org.

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