Obituaries

Broadway and Cabaret Star Julie Wilson Dies at 90

The singer and actress earned a Tony nomination in 1989 for ”Legs Diamond”.

Broadway and cabaret star Julie Wilson has died at the age of 90.
Broadway and cabaret star Julie Wilson has died at the age of 90.
Cabaret singer and Broadway actress Julie Wilson died Sunday evening, April 5, at the age of 90. Performer Ann Hampton Callaway reported the news on her Facebook page, including a statement from Wilson's longtime accompanist and friend Christopher Denny, stating that she "passed away peacefully, surrounded by people who loved her, after having sustained two strokes over the last several days."

Wilson made her Broadway debut in the 1946 revue Three to Make Ready. In 1951, she starred in the West End production of Kiss Me, Kate and went on to perform in London productions of South Pacific and Bells Are Ringing while studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. She then returned to New York to replace Joan Diener in the 1953 production of Kismet. Her other Broadway credits include The Pajama Game, The Girl in the Freudian Slip, Jimmy, Park, and Legs Diamond, for which she earned a 1989 Tony nomination.

On television, she appeared in the 1958 Hallmark Hall of Fame adaptation of Kiss Me, Kate, and took on a regular role on the American daytime soap opera The Secret Storm.

In the 1980s, Wilson became prominent on the cabaret scene and recorded a number of albums, including My Old Flame, Live From the Russian Tea Room, Julie Wilson at the St. Regis, and collections devoted to the songbooks of Cole Porter, Kurt Weill, Harold Arlen, Cy Coleman, Stephen Sondheim, and George and Ira Gershwin.

She is survived by her son, actor, writer, and producer Holt McAloney (Holt McCallany). Her second son, Michael McAloney Jr., died in 1989.

— Ann Hampton Callaway (@ahctweet) April 6, 2015