He was a master class in cerebral eloquence and audience command...and although his dominant playing card in the realm of acting was quite serious and stately, nobody cut a more delightfully dry edge in sitcoms than this gentleman, whose calm yet blistering put-downs often eluded his lesser victims.
They say big things often come in small packages, and never was that saying more true than when sizing up the talents of that diminutive dynamo Nancy Walker. Born Anna Myrtle Smoyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 10, 1922, she lived a born-in-a-trunk existence as the daughter of vaudevillian Dewey Barto (né Dewey Smoyer). At the time of his run of Broadway's "Hellzapoppin", he was part of the comedy team of Barto & Mann (George Mann). Her sister, Betty Lou Barto, also went on to have a musical career. Though she had designs on becoming a legit singer, it was hard for others to take Nancy seriously with her naturally aggressive manner backed up by this tiny frame. Comedy was definitely her forte.
Russ Conway was born on April 25, 1913 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada as Russell Clarence Zink. He was an actor, known for What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), The Heiress (1949) and The Screaming Skull (1958). He was married to Muriel Morrison. He died on January 12, 2009 in Laguna Hills, California, USA.
