Profile of Helen Shipman on Famous Like Me

Helen Shipman (1899-1984) was an American singer, dancer and actress who starred in various Broadway musicals and musical comedies.

In 1915, Shipman was invited by Florenz Ziegfeld to co-star in his new 'Midnight Frolic' production on the rooftop of the New Amsterdam Hotel in New York City. She had her first starring role on Broadway in the musical Oh Boy! in 1917, and followed that with another Broadway musical comedy, Oh Lady! Lady!. She then took the Broadway play, Irene, on tour playing the title role and introducing the song "My Sweet Little Alice Bluegown" to audiences in places like Cleveland and Chicago. Her longest running Broadway play was The Lady In Ermine which ran for 232 performances at the Ambassador Theatre in 1922. She also starred in many other Broadway plays. Helen also performed in at least 14 known movies including Christopher Bean (1933) with Beulah Bondi and Marie Dressler, Naughty Marietta (1935) with Nelson Eddy and Frank Morgan, San Francisco (1936) with Clark Gable and Jeanette MacDonald, and Small Town Girl (1936) with Robert Taylor and Jimmy Stewart.

Helen was the daughter of James and Annie L. (Mitchell) Shipman of Pennsylvania. Her mother was a stage actress of some note. Helen began performing at the age of three doing impressions of famous adult stars. Her first professional job was as "Baby Phyllis" at the Duquesne Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She later (in 1908) toured on the B. F. Keith show circuit in a play titled Little Nemo. After that tour, she moved with her family to New York City to advance her career, however, she continued to tour on the B.F. Keith show circuit. Between tours, she worked in variety shows at the Palace Theatre in NYC where she sang songs composed for her by the well-known lyricist, Neville Fleeson. It was in these shows that she got to know other entertainers such as Jimmy Durante and the Marx Brothers. She was childhood friends with Ira and George Gershwin, the latter of which became enamored with her. Nelson Eddy was also one of her suitors when she was a teenager in New York.

In 1937, Helen married the Broadway, movie, and radio actor Edward Pawley while he was in Hollywood performing in movies. She effectively quit show business after their marriage and focused more attention on her other interests such as gardening, the arts, reading, and music. She was also an active member of the fraternal order known as the Rosicrucians. In 1951 when her husband left his starring role as 'Steve Wilson' on the very popular radio show, Big Town, they retired to Rappahannock County, Virginia. She died there of heart failure in April, 1984 at the age of 85. She did not have any children.

Helen has sometimes been confused with Helena Shipman who was born in the State of Washington and who married actor Robert Keith and had a son, Brian Keith, who became a famous actor in the movies and on TV. Helena Shipman was also a stage actress for a while, but never achieved the fame of Helen Shipman.

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