Actress Dody Goodman Dead At 92

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Biography:

Dody Goodman is more than an actress. She is a comedienne, a dancer, a producer and a writer! Born in Columbus, Ohio, the red-haired Dody began dance lessons at the tender age of eight, and headed to New York City after graduating High School. She was soon dancing for ballet companies for the reputable Radio City Music Hall and the Metropolitan Opera. These experiences naturally led to opportunies to dance in Broadway productions, which Dody did. She danced in four hit musicals: High Button Shoes, Call Me Madam, Miss Liberty, and A Wonderful Town.

Dody Goodman admits that she's not really sure when the transition from ballerina to comedienne began. Always a backstage clown, one of the first to take notice of Dody's antics was Wonderful Town director, George Abbot, who was so delighted with Dody's performance as Violet, had an extra scene written for her. It was during the touring production of this mucical that Imogene Coca persuaded Dody to put her dancing shoes aside and concentrate on her natural comedic talents. So it began, Dody started with small parts on television variety shows, remember the "resident zany" on Jack Parr's, Tonight? Around this time Dody also entered the nightclub circuit and enjoyed some off Broadway Revues such as Julie Monk's Four Below and the Shoestring Revue Of 1957.

Dody Goodman says that she was influenced most by Lucille Ball, Gracie Allen, and Spring Byington but developed her own unique brand of comedic style which has entertained audiences far and wide in all genre's of performing. Broadway shows like, Grease, My Daughter, Your Son, Period Of Adjustment, Rainy Day In Newark, and the revival of The Front Page. National Tours include Nunsence; for two years Dody entertained audiences with her characterization of Sister Mary Regina.

Television credits include appearances on the Dinah Show, NBC's Bandstand, The Merv Griffin Show, Girl Talk, Liars Club, The Stan Kahn Show, and Search For Tomorrow, as well as sit-com shows in which Dody guest starred, including, Punky Brewster, Different Strokes, The Mary Tyler Show and Mary Hartman where Dody performed with the ensemble cast for three full seasons. Motion Picture credits include Grease, Grease II,Cool As Ice, Frozen Assets, and Samantha. Dody Goodman is enjoying the resurgence of the successful film production, Grease which is celebrating it's 20th anniversary and is currently being shown on wide screens nation wide.

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In The Headlines:

Stage, film and television actress Dody Goodman has died at the Actors Fund Home in New Jersey, a representative for the fund has confirmed.

Playbill.com said Goodman was believed to have been 92 when she died Sunday (22nd June 2008).

Her stage credits as Dolores Goodman included performances in the Broadway musicals Viva O'Brien, Something for the Boys, One Touch of Venus, Laffing Room Only and Miss Liberty.

She later went by the name Dody Goodman and starred in Broadway shows like Call Me Madam, Wonderful Town, My Darlin' Aida, as well as the Off Broadway productions of Shoestring Revue and Parade, Playbill.com said.

Goodman was a regular player on The Tonight Show when Jack Paar was host and earned an Emmy Award nomination in 1957 for Best Continued Performance in a Series by a Comedienne.

Although her gift for upstaging Paar reportedly led to her departure from the series, Playbill.com said she frequently appeared on the shows like Toast of the Town, The Phil Silvers Show and The Merv Griffin Show in the 1960s and 1970s.

She also had supporting roles in the TV shows Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and Diff'rent Strokes, as well as in the movie musical Grease.

Goodman also appeared in numerous productions of the musical Nunsense and its sequels, the theater industry trade magazine said.