Actress, Singer. Alhough she did not become well-known until in her 50s, she is remembered for her long career on Broadway. Raised in Cincinnati from an early age, she attended the University of Cincinnati and received her R.N. from the Jewish Hospital School of Nursing in 1959. Moving to New York City, she sang and acted where she could while working as a neonatal nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital. Marcia made her Broadway debut in the late 1960s taking-over the role of Ernestine Money in the original production of "Hello Dolly!", then thru the 1970s had a number of television credits including "Happy Days", "Good Time Girls", "Kate and Allie", "Baretta", and "The Bob Newhart Show". In April of 1981 she assumed the part of Miss Hannigan during the original run of "Annie" and in 1986 received a Drama Desk Award nomination for "Rags". She was Golde in a 1990 revival of "Fiddler on the Roof" prior to her major break, the role of English teacher Miss Lynch in a 1994 revival of "Grease" which garnered her both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations. Marcia was again to earn Tony and Drama Desk nominations for her portrayal of the prison matron Mama Morton in a 1996 revival of "Chicago", while having a long and respected parallel career as a night club singer, appearing at New York's major venues. Marcia spent her retirement years in the Nashville suburbs and died of metastatic lung cancer. At her death, her recorded legacy, consisting of a 1998 solo Cabaret record "Nowadays" and the revival albums from "Grease" and "Chicago", remained in print. Some sources give her date of birth as August 8, 1938.
Actress, Singer. Alhough she did not become well-known until in her 50s, she is remembered for her long career on Broadway. Raised in Cincinnati from an early age, she attended the University of Cincinnati and received her R.N. from the Jewish Hospital School of Nursing in 1959. Moving to New York City, she sang and acted where she could while working as a neonatal nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital. Marcia made her Broadway debut in the late 1960s taking-over the role of Ernestine Money in the original production of "Hello Dolly!", then thru the 1970s had a number of television credits including "Happy Days", "Good Time Girls", "Kate and Allie", "Baretta", and "The Bob Newhart Show". In April of 1981 she assumed the part of Miss Hannigan during the original run of "Annie" and in 1986 received a Drama Desk Award nomination for "Rags". She was Golde in a 1990 revival of "Fiddler on the Roof" prior to her major break, the role of English teacher Miss Lynch in a 1994 revival of "Grease" which garnered her both Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations. Marcia was again to earn Tony and Drama Desk nominations for her portrayal of the prison matron Mama Morton in a 1996 revival of "Chicago", while having a long and respected parallel career as a night club singer, appearing at New York's major venues. Marcia spent her retirement years in the Nashville suburbs and died of metastatic lung cancer. At her death, her recorded legacy, consisting of a 1998 solo Cabaret record "Nowadays" and the revival albums from "Grease" and "Chicago", remained in print. Some sources give her date of birth as August 8, 1938.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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