Isabel Bigley

Isabel Bigley (February 23, 1926 – September 30, 2006) was an American actress. She originated the part of Sarah Brown in Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls.

Biography

Early years The Bronx-born Bigley's mother, a concert singer, guided her early interest in music, and her high school music teacher arranged for her to audition for a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music in Manhattan, which she received. She attended Walton High School in the Bronx in addition to her summer vocal lessons at Juilliard. Her high school studies included stenography, which she put to use working for several firms on Wall Street.

Career Taking an extended lunch break, Bigley auditioned to be a member of the chorus of Oklahoma! She was hired to understudy Laurey, but a few weeks later was starring in that role in the show's London production. On June 25, 1951, she appeared with other entertainers in a one-hour program on CBS that was the start of nationally broadcast color television.

Personal life In 1953, she married Lawrence R. Barnett, then president of the Music Corporation of America. She retired in 1958 to raise their four sons and two daughters. She died in 2006, aged 80, from pulmonary disease at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Her widower died on June 11, 2012, aged 98.

Barnett and Bigley made many charitable contributions to arts education, including establishing a graduate program in arts policy and administration at Ohio State University.

Bigley lived in both Los Angeles and Rancho Mirage and in 2005 she was named chairwoman of the board of the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert.