{"id":4029,"date":"2017-07-31T18:58:06","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T18:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=4029"},"modified":"2018-08-23T18:37:51","modified_gmt":"2018-08-23T18:37:51","slug":"diva-alert-13-nancy-walker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/diva-alert-13-nancy-walker\/","title":{"rendered":"Diva Alert #13: Nancy Walker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diva Alert #13: Nancy Walker<\/h3>\n \"\"<\/a><\/span>

Written by Jackson Upperco<\/p>\n

July 28, 2017<\/p>\n<\/font>

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Welcome back to Diva Alert, Performer Stuff\u2019s series on Great Dames from the Golden Age of Broadway. In these posts, we\u2019re taking a look at some of the American Musical Theatre\u2019s most legendary ladies, along with their seminal stage triumphs.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Even if you don\u2019t think you know her, you know her. After several major roles in classic musicals, this diva took her talents to television, where she became a staple. She was funny, she sang, and oh, yeah, she could cook too. She is Ida. She is Hildy. She is\u2026 Nancy Walker.<\/p>\n

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The daughter of a vaudevillian, Nancy Walker\u2019s career began as a singing radio comedienne. Her Broadway debut came at age 19, in the sensational Best Foot Forward <\/i>(1941). The success of this production earned Walker an M-G-M contract, but her L.A. stay was brief; she returned to New York at the end of \u201844 to take on her most famous stage role \u2013 Hildy the cab driver in On The Town<\/i>. By 1948, Walker was big enough to star in Look Ma, I\u2019m Dancin\u2019 <\/i>(1948), her first vehicle as the main attraction.<\/p>\n

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Dozens of guest spots eventually led to a regular spot on <\/span>McMillan And Wife <\/span><\/em>(1971-1977)\u00a0<\/span><\/span>and a recurring role as Ida Morgenstern on the iconic <\/span>The Mary Tyler Moore Show <\/span><\/em>(1970-<\/span><\/span>1977), which turned into a regular gig when the series spun-off into <\/span>Rhoda <\/span><\/em>(1974-1978).\u00a0<\/span><\/span>During this time Walker also starred in two of her own sitcom flops and took up an interest\u00a0<\/span><\/span>in directing. However, she remained a presence on the screen as the spokeswoman for\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Bounty paper towels. Her last role was as a regular in the comedy <\/span>True Colors <\/span><\/em>(1990-1992).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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A dry wit continued to keep the tuneful comic in demand throughout the 1950s, although success was intermittent. She endured musical flops\u2013 one of which actually earned her a Tony nomination. Another nod came in 1961 for Do Re Mi<\/i>, Walker\u2019s first hit since the \u201840s. She continued to appear on Broadway throughout the new decade, but her career veered towards television, the medium in which she would become even more well-known.<\/p>\n

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By then, Nancy Walker had become a familiar face to millions of Americans, and while the Broadway stage had longed for her return, Walker took her skills and brought them into another medium, never forgetting how to entertain an audience \u2013 either in a studio or a theatre. From Hildy to Ida, she did more than cook. She made us happy.<\/p>\n

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DID YOU KNOW?\u00a0<\/strong>Nancy Walker\u2019s performance of \u201cI\u2019m Still Here\u201d at a Stephen Sondheim birthday concert in 1973 is considered by many to be the definitive recorded rendition. Listen here.<\/p>\n

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Walker Roles You Should Know<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Blind Date in Best Foot Forward <\/i>(1941)<\/h4>\n