Sheila MacRae
Encyclopedia
Sheila MacRae is an English
actress and author
. She was born Sheila Margaret Stephens. She appeared in such films as Pretty Baby (1950), Caged (1950), Backfire
(1950), and Sex and the Single Girl
(1964).
On television, MacRae is famously remembered for playing herself in the in I Love Lucy
episode titled "The Fashion Show". She played Alice Kramden, the long-suffering but sassy wife of bus driver Ralph Kramden (played by Jackie Gleason
) on the musical-comedy color episodes of "The Honeymooners
" on The Jackie Gleason Show
from 1966 to 1970 (a role originally played by Pert Kelton
and then Audrey Meadows
). She later played the role of "Madelyn Richmond" on the television soap opera General Hospital
.
from 1941 until their divorce in 1967. Both exceptional singers, they often appeared on the stage together, in such musical productions as a 1964 production of The Bells Are Ringing http://digital-library.csun.edu/u?/SFVH,3213, and Guys and Dolls
, playing the role of Miss Adelaide, a role that she took to Broadway in the 1965 revival. They were the parents of the actresses Heather MacRae
and Meredith MacRae
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. She was born Sheila Margaret Stephens. She appeared in such films as Pretty Baby (1950), Caged (1950), Backfire
Backfire
The word backfire in general use usually refers to a plan where the opposite of the desired effect happens or the perpetrator is directly affected as opposed to their intended target.In economics, backfire is described in terms of:* the Jevons paradox...
(1950), and Sex and the Single Girl
Sex and the Single Girl
Sex and the Single Girl was written in 1962 by Helen Gurley Brown, as an advice book that encouraged women to become financially independent and experience sexual relationships before or without marriage...
(1964).
On television, MacRae is famously remembered for playing herself in the in I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
episode titled "The Fashion Show". She played Alice Kramden, the long-suffering but sassy wife of bus driver Ralph Kramden (played by Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason
Jackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
) on the musical-comedy color episodes of "The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners
The Honeymooners is an American situation comedy television show, based on a recurring 1951–'55 sketch of the same name. It originally aired on the DuMont network's Cavalcade of Stars and subsequently on the CBS network's The Jackie Gleason Show hosted by Jackie Gleason, and filmed before a live...
" on The Jackie Gleason Show
The Jackie Gleason Show
The Jackie Gleason Show is the name of a series of popular American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970.-Cavalcade of Stars:...
from 1966 to 1970 (a role originally played by Pert Kelton
Pert Kelton
Pert Kelton was an American vaudeville, movie, radio and television actress. She was the first actress who played Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason and was a prominent comedic supporting film actress in the 1930s...
and then Audrey Meadows
Audrey Meadows
Audrey Meadows was an American actress best known for her role as the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy The Honeymooners.-Early life:...
). She later played the role of "Madelyn Richmond" on the television soap opera General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
.
Personal life
MacRae was married to the actor Gordon MacRaeGordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
from 1941 until their divorce in 1967. Both exceptional singers, they often appeared on the stage together, in such musical productions as a 1964 production of The Bells Are Ringing http://digital-library.csun.edu/u?/SFVH,3213, and Guys and Dolls
Guys and Dolls
Guys and Dolls is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also borrows characters and plot elements from other Runyon stories, most notably...
, playing the role of Miss Adelaide, a role that she took to Broadway in the 1965 revival. They were the parents of the actresses Heather MacRae
Heather MacRae
Heather MacRae is an American stage, film and television actress, perhaps best known for her role in the Woody Allen 1972 comedy film Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* ....
and Meredith MacRae
Meredith MacRae
Meredith Lynn MacRae was an American actress and singer.-Life and career:MacRae was best known for her television roles as Billie Jo on Petticoat Junction and as Sally Ann in My Three Sons...
.
External links
- Article discusses her relationship with her husband and their professional collaboration: Gordon MacRae, That Old MacRae Magic by Frances Ingram