RIP Polly Bergen

[followspot]

Posted: 9/20/14 at 2:22pm

Polly Bergen, versatile actress, singer dies at 84

Updated On: 9/20/14 at 02:22 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/20/14 at 2:49pm

An amazing talent.

[Will42]

Posted: 9/20/14 at 4:02pm

Very sad news. She was a wonderful, wonderful actress. R.I.P.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 9/20/14 at 4:08pm

I remember owning shoes by her- they were great- cushy comfy. Multi talented performer.
Thanks. RIP

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 9/20/14 at 4:34pm

How sad! She was indeed versatile and my mother adored her!

[Will42]

Posted: 9/20/14 at 4:59pm

It that true that Ms. Bergen couldn't even get an audition for Follies so she approached Sondheim directly and sang for him.
If true, how stupid where they? I'm Still Here! was practically the story of her life.

[redmustang]

Posted: 9/20/14 at 5:21pm

She was so funny in Move Over, Darling with Doris Day and James Garner. We lost James July 19 and Polly today. RIP, my darling.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 9/20/14 at 11:55pm

Will, it is true and she played the role and sang the song in the 2001 revival. One of the few highlights.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 1:06am

10 minutes from my favorite Polly Bergen performance ever.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 1:15am

Spectacular. Her Why Was I Born? always rips my heart out. I can't help but think she was channeling Garland a little bit.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 8:27am

She was wonderful! loved her in Follies, Cry-Baby, Desperate Housewives and soo much more! We are losing soo much talent this year!

[Broadway Baby8]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 9:20am

Was fortunate to see her play Fraulein Schneider in 2002's Cabaret. At that time John Stamos and Jane Leeves were starring in it. Polly and Hal Linden were the highlights of the show. Also loved her in the tv miniseries, "The Winds of War."

[LarryD2]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 9:45am

I worked with Ms. Bergen on a regional production and, in addition to being a true emblem of old-school professionalism, she was also one of the most kind and generous colleagues I've ever encountered. What a wonderful and talented lady she was. And, as her life story attests, quite resilient.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 9:59am

Is there going to be a debate about whether the lights are going to dim? Or do we reserve that just for the uber famous for whom we are engaged in mass necrophilia?
That and that for all the talk of Joan Rivers being a tony nominee, Polly Bergen actually won one.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 12:54pm

"Or do we reserve that just for the uber famous for whom we are engaged in mass necrophilia?"

You must be fun at parties.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 12:56pm

sadonecrobestiality= beating a dead horse.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 1:36pm

Henrik, I don't recall Polly Bergen winning a Tony. For what?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 1:47pm

Saw her in the Follies that played the Belasco

This may have been the only thing I saw her in. She was great .

R.I.P.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 1:49pm

She was nominated once, for Follies, but she didn't win.

She won an Emmy, for the Helen Morgan performance I linked above, and she was nominated three more times.

But no Tony.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 3:54pm

Whoops, me bad. I thought she had won for Follies. But I can be very fun at parties.

[theeatah]

Posted: 9/21/14 at 8:01pm

When thinking about who might have done the original GYPSY movie AND been right for the role, I settled on Polly Bergen - though her fame was more TV and not Box Office Movie Star, I suppose. Her persona was one of sophistication but I think she had an earthy quality about her as well, tough and no-nonsense. And what a singing voice she had, almost right up until the end, it seemed.

I was going to post a YT link to her version of "There's No Business Like Show Business", but it seems to have been taken down

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/22/14 at 12:26pm

Sad news. May she rest in peace.

[Cuneas]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 4:43am

I had never really been all that familiar with her, except from the 'First Impressions' cast album, so when I heard the news I picked up a couple of her classic-era albums. I felt I owed her that much, especially as I had always really liked what I'd heard of her voice.

It's been an eye-opening experience. She was truly an amazing talent, and I feel really guilty that I never really knew that until now. Cheers, Ms. Bergen. We will remember.

[Christoph]

Posted: 9/24/14 at 4:25pm

Really tragic news. When I was a kid, I remember she was a pretty common fixture on many TV shows, TV movies and miniseries. Even in my kids mind, she struck me immediately as lovely and classy, and someone for whom I would stop what I doing to watch. I regretted missing her in the Follies revival, but was rewarded to catch her in Cabaret, and she was tremendous. Plus, if you ever want to see flawless acting, catch her sequence in War and Remembrance opposite Robert Mitchum where she gets drunk and has a breakdown. One of the single most brilliant acting sequences...ever. I remember a friend of my parents actually gasping and exclaiming "she is extraordinary!" Still not sure how she lost the Emmy that year.