Nanette Fabray

Fabray married David Tebet, an entertainment industry executive and former Vice President of NBC, on October 26, 1947. Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t last long as they got divorced in 1951.

She later married Ranald MacDougall, famed screenwriter and director, in 1957. She has a son, Jamie, born in 1957.

Fabray was born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Fabares on October 27, 1920 in San Diego, California. Her father, Raul Bernard, was a train conductor and her mother, Lily Agnes McGovern, was a housewife.

Nanette’s interest towards performing arts developed at a tender age. After winning a scholarship, she enrolled herself at Max Reinhardt School of the Theatre, Los Angeles and subsequently graduated from Hollywood High School. She then attended Los Angeles City College, California but opted to drop out.

In 1923, she made her first professional appearance in vaudeville, a form of theatrical entertainment, as a singer in the musical, ‘Baby Nanette’. By the age of six, she was performing acts with the likes of Ben Turpin. The following year, she made her film debut in the comedy short, ‘Our Gang’.

Fabray had a difficult academic period as she was a slow learner. Initially, she was thought to be dyslexic. But the real reason for her academic struggles was identified later and she was diagnosed with a hearing impairment. By the time she reached her 20s, she was completely deaf until four surgeries which restored her hearing.

She then fought for the rights of disabled people. Her official, private and governmental memberships with variousphilanthropic organizations havemade her an international leader for the handicapped.

Fabray and Helen Keller are the only women to receive the Public Service Award from the American Academy of Otolaryngology.

For many years now, she has been working towardsintroducing sign language to television. Over the years, she has given over 100 radio, newspaper and TV interviews concerning the needs of the disabled.

Recently, she was a part of the team that came up with an award named ‘The Annual MacDougall Creative University Writing Award’ to encourage deaf people to explore careers in writing.

During the 1930s, Fabray was singing for radio and was appearing in the fast declining vaudeville circuit. In 1939, Warner Bros, the famous production company,brought her back into films for her first major role in ‘The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex’. Incidentally, she shared her surname with her character, Margaret Fabares.

After starring in the 1939 film, ‘A Child Is Born’, Fabray went ahead to make a career in Broadway, and eventually became the most celebrated theater artist during the 40s.

Fabray made her Broadway debut in 1940 with the musical, ‘Meet the People’. In 1941, she was featured in ‘Let's Face It!’ She then went on to become a true Broadway star by performing opposite Phil Silvers in the 1947 musical, ‘High Button Shoes’.

She made her TV debut with NBC's ‘The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre’ in 1949. Fabray then starred in Vincente Minnelli's feature, ‘The Band Wagon’ in 1953.

Around this time, the musicals began to lose their charm. Fabray returned to New York and was seen in a handful of films, including ‘Harper Valley PTA’ in 1978, in which she played the role of a hairdresser.