Helen Phyllis Shipman (February , â€"April , ) was an American singer,
dancer and actress who starred in various Broadway musicals, in
musical comedies in vaudeville, and in films.Shipman was the daughter
of William H. and Annie L. (Mitchell) Shipman of Pennsylvania. Her
mother was a stage actress of some note in her youth, and her father
was a printer who died in . Her exact date of birth is unknown;
however, it is believed that she was born in .Shipman began performing
at the age of three doing impressions of famous adult stars in the
entertainment business. Her first professional job was as "Baby
Phyllis" at the Duquesne Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In , she
toured on the B. F. Keith show circuit in a play titled Little Nemo.
After that tour, she moved with her mother and older sister to New
York City to advance her career, however, she continued to tour on the
Keith circuit. Between tours, she worked in variety shows at the
Palace Theatre in New York City, where she sang songs composed for her
by yricist, Neville Fleeson. It was in these shows that she got to
know other entertainers such as Jimmy Durante and the Marx Brothers.
She was childhood friends with Ira and George Gershwin, the latter of
which became enamored with her. Nelson Eddy was also one of her
suitors when she was a teenager in New York.In , Shipman was invited
by Florenz Ziegfeld to co-star in his new Midnight Frolic production
on the rooftop of the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City. She had
her first starring role on Broadway in the musical Oh, Boy! in , and
followed that with another Broadway musical comedy, Oh Lady! Lady!.
She then took the Broadway musical, Irene, on tour playing the title
role and introducing the song "Alice Blue Gown" to audiences in places
like Cleveland and Chicago. Her longest running Broadway play was The
Lady In Ermine which ran for performances at the Ambassador Theatre
in . She also starred in many other Broadway plays. Helen also
performed in at least movies including Christopher Bean () with
Beulah Bondi and Marie Dressler, Naughty Marietta () with Nelson Eddy
and Frank Morgan, San Francisco () with Clark Gable and Jeanette
MacDonald, and Small Town Girl () with Robert Taylor and James
Stewart.
dancer and actress who starred in various Broadway musicals, in
musical comedies in vaudeville, and in films.Shipman was the daughter
of William H. and Annie L. (Mitchell) Shipman of Pennsylvania. Her
mother was a stage actress of some note in her youth, and her father
was a printer who died in . Her exact date of birth is unknown;
however, it is believed that she was born in .Shipman began performing
at the age of three doing impressions of famous adult stars in the
entertainment business. Her first professional job was as "Baby
Phyllis" at the Duquesne Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In , she
toured on the B. F. Keith show circuit in a play titled Little Nemo.
After that tour, she moved with her mother and older sister to New
York City to advance her career, however, she continued to tour on the
Keith circuit. Between tours, she worked in variety shows at the
Palace Theatre in New York City, where she sang songs composed for her
by yricist, Neville Fleeson. It was in these shows that she got to
know other entertainers such as Jimmy Durante and the Marx Brothers.
She was childhood friends with Ira and George Gershwin, the latter of
which became enamored with her. Nelson Eddy was also one of her
suitors when she was a teenager in New York.In , Shipman was invited
by Florenz Ziegfeld to co-star in his new Midnight Frolic production
on the rooftop of the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City. She had
her first starring role on Broadway in the musical Oh, Boy! in , and
followed that with another Broadway musical comedy, Oh Lady! Lady!.
She then took the Broadway musical, Irene, on tour playing the title
role and introducing the song "Alice Blue Gown" to audiences in places
like Cleveland and Chicago. Her longest running Broadway play was The
Lady In Ermine which ran for performances at the Ambassador Theatre
in . She also starred in many other Broadway plays. Helen also
performed in at least movies including Christopher Bean () with
Beulah Bondi and Marie Dressler, Naughty Marietta () with Nelson Eddy
and Frank Morgan, San Francisco () with Clark Gable and Jeanette
MacDonald, and Small Town Girl () with Robert Taylor and James
Stewart.
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