Biography
Comedic actress Kaye Ballard used her distinctive looks and voice to carve out a successful career on stage and television. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she began performing in revues in the 1940s, appearing frequently with Spike Jones. She moved into television with an appearance on "Henry Morgan's Great Talent Hunt" (NBC, 1951). While she was appearing in the off-Broadway play "The Golden Apple," she sang on the original recording of the now-standard "Fly Me to the Moon." She joined Julie Andrews and Alice Ghostley in the TV production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" (CBS, 1957), which helped launch Andrews to stardom. She added feature films to her growing resume with a role opposite Jane Powell in the comedy "The Girl Most Likely" (1958). Ballard then became a regular on the hit variety program "The Perry Como Show" (NBC, 1959-67). Making regular guest appearances on a host of television programs, she joined Eve Arden for a starring role in the sitcom "The Mothers-In-Laws" (NBC, 1967-69). Ballard and Arden played long-time neighbors whose children fall in love and get married. After the show ended, she joined "The Doris Day Show" (CBS,1968-73), playing the owner of the restaurant that Day and her family live over. She continued mixing stage appearances with roles on television and films throughout the '70s and '80s, including roles on "The Love Boat" (ABC, 1977-86), the Disney movie "Freaky Friday" (1976), and appearing regularly on game shows. Ballard joined Jack Weston and Rita Moreno in Richard Lester's film adaptation of Terrence McNally's play "The Ritz" (1976). Later, she returned to television as a series regular on the short-lived sitcom "What a Dummy" (Syndicated, 1990-91), and had a recurring role on "Due South" (CBS, 1994-99). While primarily making stage appearances in California, the actress did continue making occasional screen appearances, including small roles in "Baby Geniuses" (1999) and "The Million Dollar Kid" (2000). She continued working periodically on stage until officially retiring from acting in 2015. Ballard passed away at the age of 93 in Rancho Mirage, California on January 21, 2019 from kidney cancer.
