Interview: Jo Anne Worley of BILLY BARNES' BASH @ Hollywood Catalina Jazz Club!
The Billy Barnes Foundation and Fraser Entertainment Group invite you to the Billy Barnes' Bash Benefit Concert on Wednesday, April 22nd at 8:30 PM
Jo Anne Worley's extensive career as an American actress, comedian, and singer is widely recognized for her work on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, but her diverse professional background spans television, film, theater, and animation voice acting.
Since her discovery by Merv Griffin in 1966, she has appeared in numerous Broadway productions, including Hello, Dolly!, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Wicked. Her television credits are equally impressive, featuring guest appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Murder, She Wrote, and Wizards of Waverly Place. Additionally, she is well-known for her voice work in Disney classics such as Beauty and the Beast and A Goofy Movie.
Beyond her entertainment career, Jo Anne has served as the president of Actors and Others for Animals since 2007, an organization dedicated to funding spay-and-neuter programs and providing veterinary assistance in Southern California.
Jo Anne took ten minutes to talk about her amazing continuous career from her Hoosier hometown to who's who in Hollywood in our TEN QUESTIONS IN TEN MINUTES.
Which Greek Goddess presided over your birth and what generation do you hail from on our blue marble? Virgo, the virgin goddess channeled me through Lowell, Indiana so I was born during the era of "perfect time."
The Worley name is synonymous with Jo Anne but were there others bearing the prolific name?
We have had five Reverend Worleys in our family belonging to the Church of Christ. I never sang hymns in church but lip synched fearing I would out sing the congregation. LOL! I am told through family folklore we had a relative up in Alaska who was a Gold Rush Girl who used to sing loud for the frozen miners to hear her.
What is your earliest remembrance of seeing a live show from your childhood?
My wonderful parents took me on an exciting train trip up to Chicago when I was nearly 12 years old to see the incredible Elaine Stritch in CALL ME MADAM. I fell in love with theater instantly and would go on to star in several productions myself as the lead, Sally Adams, in CALL ME MADAM all across the United States.
How were Mr. & Mrs. Worley of small town Indiana about their Jo Anne persuing her passion for performing in big time New York?
I was waitressing at a truck stop in Indiana earning tips only when I landed an acting apprenticeship in New York. My pragmatic father said "You are going to New York to pay someone to be in theater?" However, my mother willingly said "Oh let her go, we got four others." I went with their blessings!
How did you hone your craft from the drifters and grifters or from a professional schooling?
I graduated from HS and went to New York to join the Pickwick Players. I was spotted there and offered a scholarship at the Midwestern College in Wichita Falls, TX. When I completed studies I moved to Hollywood into the Hollywood Studio Club for women with Rita Moreno. I applied to the famous Pasadena Playhouse but was not accepted but learned extremely valuable inside information on how to audition for Hollywood films and television.
How did the winds of fate change your chosen career path?
I was cast in a Burlesque show with the wonderful Jack Albertson at the famous then called the Hollywood Canteen. Jack would perform but then the stage would go dark except for a surprise pink light special would come up on me. I had no lines but wold pantomine my story in silence which the audiences ate it up. Billy Barnes was in the audience on this fateful night and remembered me when casting his Billy Barnes PEOPLE show. I was back in NY and was told about a new tv comedy variety show called LAUGH-IN. I had just completed a live run in Las Vegas but was asked to do the Merv Griffin Show. Executive Producer, George Schlatter saw the show tape and requested actress Ann Elder and I to read for LAUGH-IN. We both were cast which was great news because of getting cast but she had a car but we drove there together and to the rehearsal/tapings. Ann would go on to beceome a writer for the show. All ends well!
When performing live do you prefer singing to live bands or music tracks. Only live music because the only tracks I know are from Lowell, Indiana to Chicago.
You are widely known as a comedic actress on television but you have a huge career starring in musical theater and featured in animated features. Your popular rendition on You Tube's of "FALLING IN LOVE IS WONDEFUL" from ANNIE GET YOUR GUN at the Sacramento Music Circus has such great pathos and ironic underpinings of love passing you by in life so far. Do you remember your state of mind?
Oh, thank you! It's such a beautiful ballad so you can't c*ckit up, so I emotionally connected to it and it came out naturally to me. I have done this show several times in my repertoire of regional musical theater.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST earned the highest number of Oscar nominaions for an animated feature film and won Best Picture, it is the first film to use gyroscope for a 360* effect in the infamous ballroom scene sending animator's popcorn into the air, and you are the first featured animated character to steal an entire feature animated film as the singing wardrobe. How did you get cast and were you in the booth with other voice actors or isolated?
I knew about the auditions through my co-star, Jerry Orbach, from a regional production of CARNIVAL. My agent got me the interview in Glendale and I love driving on to the Disney lot. My first picture was for Walt Disney in MOON PILOT so it was good to be back home, again. We were also isolated even Angie Lansbury and the famous others. We never meet our fellow voice actors until the red carpet at the premieres. When we were recording we each knew individually we were working on something very special and the audiences proved it!
The Billy Barnes Foundation and Fraser Entertainment Group invite you to the Billy Barnes' Bash Benefit Concert on Wednesday, April 22nd at 8:30 PM (dinner at 7:00 PM). Featuring Jo Anne Worley, Eileen Barnett, Cheryl Daro, Michael Deni, Jane A. Johnston, Jackie Joseph, Jeffrey Polk, James Snyder, and BJ Ward.
Commonly known as "The Revue Master of Hollywood," Billy Barnes was a prolific composer and pianist whose work significantly shaped the Great American Songbook with standards like "(Have I Stayed) Too Long at the Fair." His legendary revues helped launch the careers of stars such as Ken Berry and Jo Anne Worley. Billy’s television contributions were equally vast, providing special material for The Carol Burnett Show, The Judy Garland Show, and all 144 episodes of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. A six-time Emmy nominee, his influence on the arts continues to resonate today.
Directed by the iconic Kay Cole with music direction by the brilliant Michael Orland and hosted by the talented Shawn Ryan, this event honors the legacy of influential composer Billy Barnes. Proceeds provide much needed scholarships for young musicians and support the Foundation’s mission to further music and theatre education.
Tickets are available at CatalinaJazzClub.com or TicketWeb.com. For more information, please visit https://www.thebillybarnesfoundation.org/.
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