Hope Holiday

Hope Holiday
Hope Holiday
Born	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actress, producer
Spouse	Frank Marth (m. 1967; died 2014)

Hope Holiday is an American actress, perhaps best known for her role as Mrs. Margie MacDougall, Jack Lemmon's partner in self-pity on Christmas Eve night, in the Billy Wilder film The Apartment (1960).

Early years

Holiday was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Manhattan. Her father, a burlesque entertainer who was the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, changed his name from Allen Zaslawsky to Allen Zee before his daughters were born. She attended Public School 117 in Jamaica, Queens, and then went to Forest Hills High School.^[1]

She dropped out of high school and sang at the Copacabana nightclub.^[2] Her father was also described by Ed Sullivan as a "Capitol Theater exec."^[3] Her mother, Doris,^[1] worked in the production department at radio station WHN in New York City.^[4] Her father at one time was night manager of WHN. She has an older sister, Judy, whose stage name was Judy Sinclair.^[1]

Name change

A column in the June 30, 1954, issue of the Brooklyn Eagle noted Zee's change of names: "At the Guy Lombardo extravaganza, 'Arabian Night,' the lassie that almost walked away with the show was Hope Holiday. Hope, before this show, used the name of Hope Zee ..."^[5] She later recalled:

I had a featured role as the Teeny Weeny Genie and got to sing two songs. Before this show I had been billed as "Hope Zee," but since my father was a producer of the show along with Lombardo, he purposely changed my name in the program, as he didn't want audiences thinking there was any nepotism involved. I literally had no say in choosing my new name. Since he loved Judy Holliday, Daddy decided to call me "Hope Holiday" without the extra "L." I hated the name at first but ending up keeping it.^[1]

Career

Stage

Holiday has extensive Broadway musical comedy background, beginning with dancing in the chorus lines in Top Banana and Guys and Dolls.^[2] As Hope Zee, she also was understudy to Rose Marie in Top Banana, but when the star had to be gone for a week, Zee was laid off, and Audrey Meadows was hired to take over the part.^[6] In 1949, she played Fifi and was a member of the singing ensemble of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.^[7] In the 1956 Broadway production of Li'l Abner, Holiday was understudy for Mammy Yokum in addition to being a featured dancer.^[1]

Singing

In the early 1950s, Holiday (billed as Hope Zee) sang with Ralph Flanagan's orchestra.^[8] An August 4, 1950, newspaper column by Dorothy Kilgallen reported, "Hope Zee ... quit 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' last week to become vocalist with Ralph Flanagan's band ..."^[9]

Personal life

Holiday is the widow of actor Frank Marth. They were married April 9, 1967. Marth died in January 2014.^[1]

In February 2022, Holiday and fellow actress Karen Sharpe gave an interview to Vanity Fair alleging incidents of sexual assault and harassment by the late comic actor Jerry Lewis, who died in 2017. Holiday detailed an incident on the set of The Ladies Man (1961) in which Lewis lured her to his dressing room, pressed a button to lock the door, and masturbated in her presence without her consent. She further alleged that when she slapped him during a confrontation the following day, production was briefly halted; the two never spoke again.^[10]

Selected filmography

Actress

Li'l Abner (1959) .... Chorus Dancer (uncredited)
The Apartment (1960) .... Mrs. Margie MacDougall
The Ladies Man (1961) .... Miss Anxious
Have Gun Will Travel (1961, TV Series) .... Big Red
Irma la Douce (1963) .... Lolita
The New Phil Silvers Show (1963, TV Series, Episode "The Son of Pygmalion,") .... Mildred Flitterman
The Rounders (1965) .... Sister
How to Seduce a Woman (1974) .... Mary
The Hughes Mystery (1979)
The Return of Mod Squad (1979, TV Movie) .... Willy
The Last Reunion (1980) .... Sally the Singer
Texas Lightning (1981) .... Mrs. Stover
Raw Force (1982) .... Hazel Buck
Killpoint (1984) .... Anita
Low Blow (1986) .... School Head Mistress (uncredited)

Production & Casting

Texas Lightning (1981; associate producer)
Killpoint (1984; associate producer, casting director)
Rage to Kill (1987; executive producer)
Code Name Vengeance (1987; executive producer)
Space Mutiny (1988; executive producer)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Brumburgh, Gary (August 2015). "Hope Holiday". Classic Images (482): 6, 8–15, 66–67.
^ ^a ^b Johnson, Erskine (June 10, 1960). "Hope Holiday: Successful Failure". The Rhinelander Daily News. The Rhinelander Daily News. p. 7. Retrieved October 2, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Sullivan, Ed (January 6, 1950). "Little Old New York". The Morning Herald. The Morning Herald. p. 4. Retrieved October 2, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "(untitled brief)". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 24, 1938. p. 44. Retrieved October 3, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Farrell, Bob (June 30, 1954). "New York at Night". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 12. Retrieved October 3, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Kilgallen, Dorothy (December 10, 1951). "The Voice of Broadway . . ". The Oneonta Star. The Oneonta Star. p. 11. Retrieved October 2, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Francis, Bob (December 17, 1949). "Broadway Opening: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (PDF). Billboard. pp. 46–47. Retrieved 3 October 2015.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Ticket Sale Starts for Police Ball". The Oneonta Star. The Oneonta Star. October 2, 1950. p. 5. Retrieved October 2, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Kilgallen, Dorothy (August 4, 1950). "Backstage on Broadway". The Record-Argus. The Record-Argus. p. 9. Retrieved October 3, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Jerry Lewis Co-Stars Accuse Actor and Comic of Sexual Assault: ‘He Grabbed Me. He Began to Fondle Me.’ Lattanzio, Ryan. IndieWire. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2023.