Pamela Blair, an actress and dancer best known for her roles in the original Broadway cast of “A Chorus Line” and in soap opera “All My Children,” has died. She was 73 years old.
Blair died Sunday in her home in Phoenix, per media reports. Her passing came after a “long battle” with an unnamed illness, her representative Dani Green said.
Blair, who made her major stage debut in 1968’s “Promises, Promises” and later starred in productions as varied as “Sugar and Seesaw,” “Of Mice and Men,” “King of Hearts,” “The Nerd” and “A Few Good Men” in addition to “A Chorus Line,” was celebrated online Monday and Tuesday by past costars and collaborators.
“A Chorus Line” costar Baayork Lee posted on Facebook Monday, calling Blair her “Sagittarian sister” nicknaming her “Walt Disney Pammie.”
“We always wrote to one another no matter where we were on that day. What a colorful character she was, as depicted in the Val monologue in the show,” Lee wrote. “She brought the house down every night, as well as a woman standing at the edge of the orchestra shouting, ‘Wash your mouth out.’ You are free now Pammie, so dance, dance, dance among the stars.”
The official Twitter account for Marvin Hamlisch, the late composer behind “A Chorus Line,” commemorated Blair’s death with a black and white photo and caption: “The character was loosely based on her own life, and she was a part of the musical from the very first workshop,” they wrote of her role, Val. “Our thoughts are with her loved ones and fans.”
Blair was born in Bennington, Vermont, on Dec. 5, 1949. Following a main stage breakout in “A Chorus Line,” a production she began working with at age 25, Blair originated another role on Broadway: Amber/Angel in 1978’s “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”
Screenwork was to follow with arcs on “All My Children” Mrs. Goodman and Maida Andrews from 1985–1992, plus other small-screen roles on “Sabrina,” “The Cosby Show,” “Ryan’s Hope” and more.
Deadline first reported the news of Blair’s death.
