Helen Morgan
Actor, Theater Actor
1900 – 1941
Who was Helen Morgan?
Helen Morgan was an American singer and actress who worked in films and on the stage. A quintessential torch singer, she made a big splash in the Chicago club scene in the 1920s. She starred as Julie LaVerne in the original Broadway production of Hammerstein and Kern's musical Show Boat in 1927 as well as in the 1932 Broadway revival of the musical, and appeared in two film adaptations, a part-talkie made in 1929 and a full-sound version made in 1936, becoming firmly associated with the role. She suffered from bouts of alcoholism, and despite her notable success in the title role of another Hammerstein and Kern's Broadway musical, Sweet Adeline, her stage career was relatively short. Helen Morgan died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 41. She was portrayed by Polly Bergen in the Playhouse 90 drama The Helen Morgan Story and by Ann Blyth in the 1957 biopic based on the television drama.
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- Born
- Aug 2, 1900
Danville - Also known as
- Helen Riggins
- Helen Riggin
- Parents
- Spouses
- Lowell Army
- Maurice Maschke
(1933/05/15 - 1935) - Lloyd Johnston
(1941/07/27 - 1941/10/09)
- Children
- Nationality
- United States of America
- Profession
- Died
- Oct 9, 1941
Chicago
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
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"Helen Morgan." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/helen_morgan>.
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