Evie Hayes

Vina Evelyn Hayes (June 1, 1912- December 26, 1988), better known as Evie Hayes, was an American-born actor and singer, best known for her stage success in Australia. She was once described as "the most popular box office attraction in Australian musical comedy since Gladys Moncrieff."[1]

Evie Hayes
Evie Hayes in 1940
Born
Vina Evelyn Hayes

June 3 1912
Seattle, Washington, United States
DiedDecember 26 1988 (aged 76)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Other namesEvie Mahoney
OccupationActress, singer, TV presenter
Years active1916-1988

Biography

Born in Seattle, to George Hayes and Eva , a soubrette she appeared on stage from an early age and worked steadily in vaudeville, radio and nightclubs. She was the leading lady for Will Mahoney, in his tour of the United Kingdom and Europe and sang for the BBC and appeared in cabaret and made her own recordings. She appeared in the film Hold Everything in 1930 and had other small roles in musicals[1]

Hayes married Mahoney in Westminster, London in 1938, and the couple went to Australia to appear on the Tivoli circuit, and proved very popular, eventually deciding to stay in the country permanently. They appeared in the film Come Up Smiling (1939), managed the Cremorne Theatre in Brisbane, presenting everything from revues, pantomimes and musicals and entertained the American and Australasian troops and raising funds for the war effort. Hayes played the lead role in the Australian production of Annie Get Your Gun, which ran for more than three years.

On television since its inception, she appeared as a compere, singer, comedian and a commercial presenter on the Graham Kennedy show IMT. Despite being diagnosed with MS in 1969, she continued her career.[2] She later appeared regularly on television, including as a judge on light entertainment program Young Talent Time, having opened her own talent school, as well as acting in productions of Funny Girl, Kiss me Kate, a revival of Oklahoma! and Call Me Madam. She died of a heart attack, early in the morning of 26 December 1988, in Melbourne, Victoria.[3]

References
  1. "MELBOURNE NEWSLETTER". The Cairns Post. Qld.: National Library of Australia. 2 April 1954. p. 6. Retrieved 10 July 2012.
  2. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hayes-vina-evelyn-evie-12610
  3. Evie Hayes at Australian Dictionary of Biography


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.