Helen Gallagher
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Helen Gallagher (born July 19, 1926) is a Tony Award-winning American actress, dancer and singer.
Born in New York City of Irish, French, and English descent, Gallagher was known for decades as a Broadway performer. She appeared in Make a Wish, Hazel Flagg, Portofino, High Button Shoes, Sweet Charity, and Cry for Us All.
In 1952, she won a Tony Award for her work in the musical Pal Joey. In 1971, she won her second Tony Award for her role in the revival of the musical No, No, Nanette, which also starred Ruby Keeler and Patsy Kelly. Helen appeared in the 1977 movie Roseland opposite Christopher Walken. An aficionada of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she appeared on a special tribute episode of The Bell Telephone Hour.
Despite her extensive work on Broadway, she is perhaps best known as the gentle Irish American matriarch, Maeve Ryan, on the soap opera Ryan's Hope, a role she played for the show's entire duration, from 1975 to 1989. Creator and head writer Claire Labine had much affection for the character of Maeve, and as such, focused much loving care and attention in crafting her development. As a result, Gallagher's motherly character quickly came to be portrayed as the heart and soul of the show. She was nominated for five Daytime Emmy Awards for her work on the serial, winning in 1976, 1977, and 1988.
As the show progressed further into the 1980s, the ratings took a steep slide. When ABC executives decided to cancel Ryan's Hope, Claire Labine decided to end the final episode with Maeve at the family bar, Ryan's, singing her favorite tune, Danny Boy.
Since the cancellation of Ryan's Hope, Gallagher has appeared in All My Children and One Life to Live and in various Off-Broadway productions, although she considers herself in "semi-retirement".
She is divorced from her only husband, Frank Wise.
| Preceded by Isabel Bigley for Guys and Dolls |
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical 1952 for Pal Joey |
Succeeded by Sheila Bond for Wish You Were Here |
| Preceded by Lauren Bacall in Applause |
Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical 1971 for No, No Nanette |
Succeeded by Alexis Smith in Follies |
