Kaye Ballard (1925–2019)

Kaye Ballard was born Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland, Ohio on November 20, 1925. She became a comedian, actress and nightclub performer. She toured the vaudeville circuit for almost two years with bandleader Spike Jones. In 1946, she took a part in Three to Make Ready, a Broadway revue that show more was about to go on tour. In 1954, she won the part of Helen in The Golden Apple, which eventually moved to Broadway and ran there for 125 performances. In 1961, she won the part of the Incomparable Rosalie in Carnival!, which ran on Broadway for almost two years. She also appeared in two Broadway flops, The Beast in Me in 1963 and Molly in 1973. She appeared in the made of television movie Cinderella in 1957. She starred in the NBC sitcom The Mothers-in-Law from 1967 to 1969. In the early 1970s, she had a recurring role on The Doris Day Show and made guest appearances on shows like The Love Boat and Trapper John, M.D. She appeared in a revival of Follies at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey in 1998. Her memoir, How I Lost 10 Pounds in 53 Years written with Jim Hesselman, was published in 2006. She died on January 21, 2019 at the age of 93. (Bowker Author Biography) show less