Kitty Carlisle

Kitty Carlisle was an American actress and singer whose work spanned Broadway, Hollywood films, opera and television. Born in New Orleans, she trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and with singing teacher Estelle Liebling, then returned to New York in 1932. She appeared in Broadway operettas and musical comedies, including Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia in its American premiere. She was the leading lady opposite the Marx Brothers in A Night at the Opera (1935). She became a household name as a regular panelist on To Tell the Truth from 1956 to 1978, and later acted in Radio Days (1987), Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and Catch Me If You Can (2002). In 1966 she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus. She received the National Medal of Arts in 1991, and in 1999 the American Theater Hall of Fame inducted her.