Dorothy Loudon

Dorothy Loudon (September 17, 1925 – November 15, 2003) was an American actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1977 for her performance as Miss Hannigan in Annie. Loudon was also nominated for Tony Awards for her lead performances in the musicals The Fig Leaves Are Falling and Ballroom, as well as a Golden Globe award for her appearances on The Garry Moore Show.
Loudon was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1925 (she later shaved eight years off her age), to James Edwin Loudon and Dorothy Helen Loudon (née Shaw). She was raised in Claremont, New Hampshire, and Indianapolis, Indiana. She attended Syracuse University on a drama scholarship but did not graduate, and moved to New York City to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She began singing in night clubs, one such being New York's Blue Angel, mingling song with ad-libbed comedy patter…