Fabray, Nanette (1920–)

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Fabray, Nanette (1920–)

American actress, dancer, and singer. Name variations: Nanette Fabares; Baby Nan or Baby Nanette. Born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Fabares, Oct 27, 1920, in San Diego, California; aunt of Shelley Fabares (actress); m. David Tebet (div.); m. Ranald MacDougall (died).

By age 5, was working in vaudeville with Ben Turpin; by 7, was featured as "Baby Nan" in several Our Gang comedies; made Broadway debut in Meet the People (1940), followed by Let's Face It, By Jupiter, Bloomer Girl, High Button Shoes, Make a Wish and Mr. President, among others; appeared often on tv, notably on "Caesar's Hour," "The Carol Burnett Show," and "The Nanette Fabray Show" (1961); films include Elizabeth and Essex, A Child is Born, The Band Wagon, The Happy Ending and Cockeyed Cowboys; as a hearing-impaired performer, was a prime force in bringing sign language and captioning to tv. Received 3 Emmy Awards, 2 Donaldson awards, and a Tony for Love Life, as well as the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian award.