Pamela Blair
| Pamela Blair | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 5, 1949 Bennington, Vermont, U.S. |
| Occupation | Film, stage, television actress |
Pamela Blair (born December 5, 1949), known as Pam, is an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for originating the role of "Val" in the musical A Chorus Line and several appearances on American soap operas.
Born in Bennington, Vermont, to Edgar Joseph and Geraldine Marie (Cummings) Blair; she was raised in a small town with her pony, Tonka. She studied dance, played sports, and dreamed of becoming a Radio City Rockette in order to meet her idols, The Beatles. At age 16, she moved to New York City to attend a private school, The National Academy of Ballet, in her senior year of high school. She later met a friend at a dance class who told her Michael Bennett was looking for dancers for Promises, Promises. Pam auditioned and was hired. Blair comments, "Whenever I don't seem to be getting anywhere in this business, I try to remember that I was once a chambermaid in a small motel in Vermont." She continued to build credits with Seesaw, another Michael Bennett production, and then landed the coveted role of "Curly's Wife", the only female role in the James Earl Jones Broadway revival of Of Mice and Men which later opened at the Kennedy Center to critical acclaim. She also appeared in Sugar, the stage musical version of the film Some Like It Hot, in which she played "Sugar Kane", a role made famous by Marilyn Monroe.
In 1974, Blair was invited by Michael Bennett to participate in the workshops from which A Chorus Line was developed. The character of "Valerie Clark" was in large part, based on her own life, although the surgical enhancement came from another dancer. "Val was based on Mitzi Hamilton, who actually underwent surgery to enhance her figure, and Pam Blair, whose mixture of angelic appearance and ribald tongue entertained Bennett enormously". The angelic looking yet sexy Val has a foul mouth, and introduces the popular Broadway song "Dance: 10; Looks: 3" which tells the story of an unattractive yet talented girl who uses plastic surgery to help her get cast in roles. The song is also known by its chorus, "Tits and Ass". Val is one of the larger roles, and Blair received much attention. Along with the cast, Blair won the 1976 Theatre World Award for Ensemble Performance for the show.
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