Nanette Fabray (October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer and dancer. During the 1950s, Fabray reached the peak of her mainstream fame, transitioning seamlessly from a celebrated Broadway star into a household name on television and the big screen.
After making guest appearances on Your Show of Shows early in the decade, Fabray achieved massive TV success when she joined Sid Caesar as his main comedic partner on Caesar’s Hour (1954–1957). Her brilliant sketch comedy timing and musical talents earned her three Emmy Awards during her run on the show. She unexpectedly left the hit series in 1956 due to a severe contractual misunderstanding between her business manager and Caesar, a rift that took years to heal.
Fabray starred in what many critics consider one of the greatest movie musicals of all time, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s The Band Wagon (1953). She played Lily Marton, a vibrant playwright modeled directly after the real-life Broadway legend Betty Comden. She performed the definitive version of “Louisiana Hayride” and joined Fred Astaire and Jack Buchanan for the legendary comedic musical number “Triplets,” where all three performed dressed as infants.
Behind her exuberant performances, Fabray faced severe, progressive hearing loss caused by otosclerosis. She performed through intense anxiety on live television and Broadway before undergoing four separate surgeries that ultimately restored her hearing. This personal battle inspired her to spend the rest of her life working as a pioneering humanitarian and advocate for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
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