Elizabeth Seal

Elizabeth Anne Seal (born 28 August 1933) is a British actress. In 1961, she won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance in the title role of Irma La Douce. Seal then took over the role of Lola in Damn Yankees from Belita at the London Coliseum. During the run she made the film Cone of Silence with George Sanders, Bernard Lee, and Michael Craig.

Having seen Seal's performance in Damn Yankees theatre impresario Binkie Beaumont wanted to find a starring vehicle for Seal and found it in Marguerite Monnot's French musical Irma La Douce. During the Broadway run, she won the 1961 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

After some further American shows including A Shot In The Dark, Exiles by James Joyce, and several cabaret appearances, Seal left the stage for a number of years to raise a family.

She returned to London in 1969 to appear in Beaumont's production of Cat Among The Pigeons directed by Jacques Charron of the Comédie-Française. A revival of Julian Slade and Dorothy Reynolds' musical Salad Days at the Duke of York's Theatre followed, and Seal later took over the role of 'Roxie Hart' in Chicago in the original London production, alongside Jenny Logan (who played Velma Kelly) in 1979.

To devote more time to her private life Seal turned to teaching. She devised and choreographed shows for the Guildford School of Acting and Central School of Speech and Drama, and choreographed La Traviata for Welsh National Opera. During this time she also completed her master's degree.

After the death of her husband Michael Ward she returned to the stage in Ivor Novello's Gay's the Word in its first professional revival at the Finborough Theatre, and stayed with the show for its transfer to Jermyn Street Theatre in 2013.

She continues an active schedule as archivist to Michael Ward's photographic estate and library.

Personal life

Seal has been married three times. Her first husband was advertising copywriter Peter Townsend, and second was actor, singer, writer and director Zack Matalon, with whom she had three children. Their eldest son Adam Matalon, based in Los Angeles, is a showrunner/creator and writes, directs and produces for TV; Writer, poet and songwriter Sarah Matalon-Levy is married and lives in Paris; their youngest son, Noah Matalon, lives and works in New York as a capital projects consultant and in property development.

She married photographer/former actor Michael Ward in 1976, and is stepmother to his two daughters Sam Ward and Tasha Clavel. Since Ward's death in 2011 Seal has promoted his work for exhibitions and publishing.

Selected filmography Radio Cab Murder (1954) Town on Trial (1957) Cone of Silence (1960) Vampire Circus (1972) Mack the Knife (1989) Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)

Television March 9, 1962 - Route 66 Second season (1961-1962) "Blues for the Left Foot" Route 66, Episode 52. As dancer Rosemarie; Seal's second husband, Zack Matalon, played Pete. In the Softly, Softly: Task Force, Series Two, episode 15, Seal played gangster's sister, Mollie Frankitt, broadcast December 23rd 1970.