RIP to the ultimate lady who lunches.
Melba Snyder, Pal Joey (1952)
More than a decade after the original 1940 production of John O'Hara's musical about manipulative small-time nightclub performer Joey Evans (Gene Kelly) closed, Stritch was cast as part of the 1952 revival cast. She played ambitious reporter Melba Snyder, and her stand-out song "Zip," about her interview with Gypsy Rose Lee, is still a fan favorite.
Grace Hoylard, Bus Stop (1955)
In William Inge's drama, set in a rural Kansas diner during a snowstorm, Stritch played diner owner Grace. The performance earned her her first Tony nomination, for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
Maggie Harris, Goldilocks (1958)
This musical parody of the silent film era earned Stritch her first true starring role as Maggie Harris, a musical comedy actress who's retiring to marry into high society. But a silent filmmaker cons her by convincing her she's contractually bound to star in his movie.
Mimi Paragon, Sail Away (1961)
Stritch's next starring gig didn't come quite as easy. In 1961, she was cast in Noël Coward's Sail Away in a relatively minor role and was only promoted to the starring role of Mimi Paragon when opera singer Jean Fenn proved "too operatic" for the part. Soon, Fenn's role was eliminated and all the songs went to Stritch. "Every time she went onstage, [she] was a sensation," Coward said of the actress' performance, which earned her a Best Actress in a Musical Tony nomination in 1962.
Yale Joel / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images
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