Rae Allen, Tony-Award Winning ‘Damn Yankees,’ ‘Sopranos’ Actress, Dies at 95
variety.comWilson Chapman editorRae Allen, the Tony-winning stage and screen veteran known for her role as nosy reporter Gloria Thorpe in “Damn Yankees” and as Quintina Blundetto on “The Sopranos,” died Wednesday, her rep Kyle Fritz confirmed to Variety.
She was 95.Born in Brooklyn as Rae Julia Theresa Abruzzo, Allen began her career on the stage after graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1947.
Her first Broadway credit was in 1948, as an ensemble member in the George Abbott directed and written “Where’s Charley?” Over the next few years, Rae would continue to appear in Abbott’s various musicals, including “Call Me Madam” in 1950 and “The Pajama Game” in 1954, where she played the small role of Poopsie, a union activist at the factory the show is set in.
A year later, Rae reunited with Abbott and the composers and lyricists of “The Pajama Game,” Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, for “Damn Yankees.” Based on the novel “The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant” by Douglass Wallop, who co-wrote the book with Abbott, the musical retells the myth of Faust as a story about Joe Boyd, a fan of the struggling Washington Senators baseball team, who is offered a deal with the devil to become the hitter the team needs to beat the Yankees.
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