Original A CHORUS LINE Star Pamela Blair Dies at 73

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that original "Val" in A CHORUS LINE, Pamela Blair has died at 73. in Phoenix. According to a friend of the star, Scott Withers, "This is posted with a heavy heart. Pamela Blair has passed away. Pam was at home, surrounded by loved ones. Thank you for all of your prayers and support over the years. We will post information on when and where she will be buried tomorrow."

Born in Bennington, Vermont she studied dance, played sports, and dreamed of becoming a Radio City Rockette in order to meet her idols, The Beatles. At age 16, she moved to New York City to attend a private school, The National Academy of Ballet. She later met a friend at a dance class who told her Michael Bennett was looking for dancers for Promises, Promises. Pam auditioned and was hired. Blair comments, "Whenever I don't seem to be getting anywhere in this business, I try to remember that I was once a chambermaid in a small motel in Vermont." She continued to build credits with Seesaw, another Michael Bennett production, and then landed the coveted role of "Curly's Wife", the only female role in the James Earl Jones Broadway revival of Of Mice and Men which later opened at the Kennedy Center to critical acclaim. She also appeared in Sugar, the stage musical version of the film Some Like It Hot, in which she played "Sugar Kane", a role made famous by Marilyn Monroe.

In 1974, Blair was invited by Michael Bennett to participate in the workshops from which A Chorus Line was developed.  The character of "Valerie Clark" was in large part, based on her own life, although the surgical enhancement came from another dancer. Along with the cast, Blair won the 1976 Theatre World Award for Ensemble Performance for the show.

She next originated the role of "Amber" (later "Angel") in 1978's The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Her turn as an eager to work prostitute earned her a Drama Desk Award nomination. She can be heard on the cast recording as the lead in Hard Candy Christmas, although the song "Bus from Amarillo" was taken from her before the show opened. Further roles on Broadway include King of Hearts (in the Geneviève Bujold role), "Clelia" in The Nerd, and "Joanne" in A Few Good Men, directed by her then estranged husband, Don Scardino.

Blair has made several appearances on American soap operas such as Loving, Another World, Ryan's Hope, and All My Children, for which she received a Daytime Emmy nomination. She has guest starred on such shows as Law & Order, The Cosby Show, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Blair guest starred in a Movie of The Week titled MANEATER for Lifetime. She appeared opposite Jodie Foster in the TV film Svengali and in feature films Mighty Aphrodite directed by Woody Allen, 21 Grams with Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, Before and After with Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson and Annie as the maid Annette. 

Blair lived in Hollywood, California for a time, where she landed the role of Sabrina's mother on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. In 2006, she appeared in the lead role of Miss Mona with the Phoenix Theater's production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, directed by Michael Barnard.  

She married actor and director, Don Scardino in 1984, and they divorced in 1991. Most recently, she resided in Arizona where she owns her own Therapeutic and Myofascial Massage Studio for athletes.