Rae Allen
Born	Rae Julia Theresa Abruzzo (1926-07-03)July 3, 1926 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	April 6, 2022(2022-04-06) (aged 95) Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Education	HB Studio American Academy of Dramatic Arts New York University (MFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1941–2011[1]
Spouses	John M. Allen ​ (divorced)​ Herbert Harris ​ (divorced)​

Rae Julia Theresa Abruzzo (July 3, 1926 – April 6, 2022), professionally known asRae Allen, was an American actress of stage, film and television. Her career spanned some seventy years and eight decades.^[1][2]

Allen started her career in theatre in 1941 in a production ofGilbert and Sullivan and made her debut onBroadway in 1948, moving to television and film roles in 1958, making her screen debut inDamn Yankees. She appeared in numerous guest roles in TV shows, but she was best known of recurring parts in sitcomAll in the Family (1972–1973) and inThe Sopranos. Her film roles includedA League of Their Own (1992) andStargate.^[1]

Allen was born as Rae Julia Theresa Abruzzo inBrooklyn, New York City, on July 3, 1926,^[3] to Julia (née Riccio), a seamstress and hairdresser and Joseph Abruzzo, an opera singer and chauffeur, whose brothers acted in vaudeville.^[4]

At the age of 25, she played Buttercup inH.M.S. Pinafore.^[5] Rae Allen trained at theHB Studio^[6] in New York City'sGreenwich Village. She graduated from theAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1947.^[2] She was first married to John M. Allen and then divorced; and later married and divorced, politician Herbert Harris.^[4]

Allen died in her sleep on April 6, 2022, at the age of 95 at theMotion Picture & Television Fund retirement community in Woodland Hills, California. She is survived by her four nieces: Nadine (McCann), Laura, Deborah, and Betty Cosgrove.^[4][2]

Allen was nominated for theTony Award three times: for Best Featured Actress in a Musical forDamn Yankees in 1956, and for Best Featured Actress in a Play forTraveller Without Luggage in 1965 andAnd Miss Reardon Drinks a Little in 1971, winning for the latter. In 1958, she recreated her role as the nosy reporter Gloria inDamn Yankees in the film adaptation, in both of which she introduced the song "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo."^[2]

Allen appeared in such films asReign Over Me,A League of Their Own,Stargate, andWhere's Poppa?^[2] On television, she appeared on two consecutive episodes ofSeinfeld as unemployment counselor Lenore Sokol, who must deal withGeorge Costanza, who tries to get her to approve an extension of his benefits by dating her homely daughter, who ends up rejecting him.^[2] She also made appearances on television shows such asThe Patty Duke Show,Hill Street Blues,All in the Family,Car 54 Where Are You,Head of the Class,Remington Steele,The Sopranos, andGrey's Anatomy.^[2]

• Damn Yankees (1954–1955)^[2]
• The Pajama Game (1954–1956)
• Oliver! (1963–1964)
• On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965)
• Fiddler on the Roof
• And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little (for which she won the 1971 Tony Award for Supporting Actress)^[2]
• Dude (1972)

• Rae Allen at theInternet Broadway Database
• Rae Allen atIMDb
• Rae Allen discography atDiscogs

• 1926 births
• 2022 deaths
• 20th-century American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses
• American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni
• American film actresses
• American musical theatre actresses
• American stage actresses
• American television actresses
• American people of Italian descent
• Actresses from Brooklyn
• Musicians from Brooklyn
• Tony Award winners

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