Celebrating Sylvia Lewis

Thanks Eve Golden and Mel Neuhaus for calling my attention to Sylvia Lewis (b. 1931), whom I’d certainly seen onscreen many a time without connecting all the dots. Her most prominent credit was co-starring with Ray Bolger on his sit-com Where’s Raymond? (1953-55), on which she played Bolger’s dance partner and also worked behind the scenes as choreographer. Tall, beautiful, and statuesque, with legs “that went up to here”, she also worked with many of the great classic comedians of her time, and was often given prominent turns as a specialty dancer in major films, and guest starred on well-known TV series.

Hailing from Baltimore, Lewis began as a child performer in vaudeville, which was in its waning days at the time. She studied at Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory of Music before moving to Hollywood with her family at age 12. By 17 she was dancing in nightclubs in Mexico City, and attracting attention as a model. One of her very first films was Singin’ in the Rain (1952, in the tango number). She worked with Abbott and Costello on The Colgate Comedy Hour; Bob Hope in Son of Paleface (1952); both Hope and Crosby in Road to Bali(1952); Danny Kaye in Hans Christian Andersen (1952); Burns and Allen on The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, the Three Stooges in Bedlam in Paradise (1956); and with Martin and Lewis on Colgate Comedy Hour, as well as just Jerry Lewis in The Ladies Man (1961), Hook, Line and Sinker (1969), The Jerry Lewis Show, and his annual Labor Day Telethon.

Other movies include The Las Vegas Story (1952) with Jane Russell, Harem Girl (1952) with Joan Davis,She’s Working Her Way Through College (1952) with Ronald Reagan and Virginia Mayo, Siren of Bagdad (1953), Those Redheads from Seattle (1953), Drums of Tahiti (1954), Red Garters (1954), Frank Tashlin’sThe Lieutenant Wore Skirts (1956) with Sheree North, and For Love or Money (1963). Other TV work included appearances onThe Bob Cummings Show, Our Miss Brooks, Peter Gunn, Johnny Staccato, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, and The Andy Griffith Show.

After leaving onscreen work in the early ’70s, Lewis continued to work in live musical theatre, and to choreograph. Later screen work as a choreographer include the 1975 film Hearts of the West, and TV shows like The Jeffersons, Married…with Children, and Who’s The Boss?

For much more on the life and career of Sylvia Lewis, see Mel Neuhaus’s terrific interview with her here and her official website here.

For more about show business historyconsult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, And please stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.