Helen Gallagher
Gallagher in 1977
Born	(1926-07-19)July 19, 1926 New York City, U.S.
Died	November 24, 2024(2024-11-24) (aged 98) New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actress dancer singer
Years active	1944–2024
Spouse	Frank Wise ​ ​ (m. 1956; div. 1972)​
Awards	Full list

Helen Gallagher (July 19, 1926 – November 24, 2024) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She received threeDaytime Emmy Awards, twoTony Awards, aDonaldson Award, and aDrama Desk Award.

Gallagher's work on the New York stages spanned seven decades, with her big break coming in the role of Nancy in the 1947 musicalHigh Button Shoes. Gallagher won her first Tony Award and a Donaldson Award for her role as Gladys Bumps in the 1952 revival ofPal Joey, and earned her first leading role on the Broadway stage in 1953, starring inHazel Flagg. Two more noteworthy stage roles for Gallagher included her run as Nickie inSweet Charity, which began in January 1966, and earned Gallagher a Tony Award nomination; and then, a year and a half later, Gallagher replacedGwen Verdon in the lead role of Charity. Gallagher won her second Tony Award as well as a Drama Desk Award for her role as Lucille Early in the 1971 revival of the 1920s musical classicNo, No, Nanette.

Gallagher also portrayed Irish matriarchMaeve Ryan on theABCsoap operaRyan's Hope. She played Maeve for the show's duration, from July 1975 to January 1989, and was recognized with three Daytime Emmy Awards. Gallagher last acted on the New York stages in 2000 and worked as an acting instructor atHerbert Berghof Studio in New York City.

Born inBrooklyn, New York, on July 19, 1926,^[1] Gallagher was raised inScarsdale, New York, andthe Bronx. Her parents separated and she was raised by an aunt. She suffered from asthma.^[2]

Gallagher was known for decades as aBroadway performer. She appeared inMake a Wish,Hazel Flagg,Portofino,High Button Shoes, andSweet Charity (for which she received a 1967 Tony Award nomination forFeatured Actress in a Musical), eventually assuming the title role, and closing the original Broadway run.^[3] She also appeared inCry for Us All.

In 1952, she won a Tony Award and a Donaldson Award for her work in the revival ofPal Joey.^[4][5] In 1971, she won her second Tony for her role in the revival of the musicalNo, No, Nanette.^[3] Her song-and-dance number withBobby Van from that show, "You Can Dance with Any Girl", was a popular number from the 1971 revival, and was performed by both Gallagher and Van on the 1971 and 1972 Tony Awards telecasts. She later took on the role of Sue Smith in the Paper Mill Playhouse revival of the show, playing the role Keeler played a quarter century earlier.

Her first starring role on Broadway came in 1953 as title character inHazel Flagg, based on the 1937Carole Lombard movieNothing Sacred.^[6] The role earned her a feature-photo shoot forLife. Gallagher appeared in the 1977 movieRoseland oppositeChristopher Walken. An aficionada ofRodgers and Hammerstein, she appeared on a special tribute toRichard Rodgers onThe Bell Telephone Hour.

In 1949 Gallagher was co-host ofManhattan Showcase, a 15-minute talent-discovery program on CBS television.^[7]

Despite extensive work on Broadway, Gallagher is perhaps best known to many Americans unfamiliar with her theater repertoire as the Irish matriarchMaeve Ryan on theABCsoap operaRyan's Hope, a role she played for the show's entire duration, from 1975 to 1989. She was nominated for fiveDaytime Emmy Awards for her work on the serial, winning in 1976, 1977, and 1988.^[8]

At the time she was cast inRyan's Hope, Gallagher taught singing in her home three times a week.Michael Hawkins, who played the first Frank Ryan, was one of her students.^[9]

As the show progressed into the 1980s, the show's ratings — never at blockbuster levels — took a steep slide.^{[citation needed]} ABC executives cancelledRyan's Hope in 1989. Creator and head writerClaire Labine scripted the end of the final episode with Maeve at the family bar, singing "Danny Boy". Almost immediately after the cancellation ofRyan's Hope, Gallagher had a two-day guest stint onAnother World, and appeared inAll My Children as a strict nurse and onOne Life to Live as a sex therapist. She also continued to act in variousoff-Broadway and professional theater productions.

In 1956, Gallagher married Frank Wise, who she met when he was a stagehand forThe Pajama Game.^[10] They divorced in 1972.^[10] Her friend Patti Specht served as the executor of her will at the time of her death.^[11]

In 1984, Gallagher starred in the title role ofTallulah, a musical stage biography of actressTallulah Bankhead.^[12] In 1990s, she guest-starred onLaw & Order andThe Cosby Mysteries. In 1997, she starred in the independent LGBT-themed drama filmNeptune’s Rocking Horse.^[13]

She was a faculty member atHerbert Berghof Studio in New York City.^[14]

Gallagher died in New York City on November 24, 2024, at the age of 98.^[5][15]

• Helen Gallagher atIMDb
• Helen Gallagher at theInternet Broadway Database
• Helen Gallagher at theInternet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
• Helen Gallagher at theTCM Movie Database
• Helen Gallagher at Broadway World
• Helen Gallagher discography atDiscogs
• 2003interview on TheaterMania
• 2019interview aboutHigh Button Shoes on theNew York City Center blog

• 1926 births
• 2024 deaths
• 20th-century American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses
• Actresses from Brooklyn
• Actresses from the Bronx
• American film actresses
• American musical theatre actresses
• American soap opera actresses
• Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series winners
• Donaldson Award winners
• Drama Desk Award winners
• Tony Award winners
• Writers from Scarsdale, New York

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