Louise Troy


Louise Troy was an American actress of stage and screen. She is best known for her performances in Tovarich and Walking Happy, for both of which roles she was nominated for Tony Awards. Her signature stage role was that of the lead in High Spirits.

Personal life

Born in Manhattan, Troy was an only child of Jewish parents, Ella Ziebel and Seymour Troy. Her mother was an actress In the New York Yiddish theater, as was her grandmother, Frida Gespass, and her grandmother's sisters, Helene Gespass and Ella Gespass Wallerstein. The Gespass sisters, originally from Lemberg, Austria, were part of the founding generation of the Yiddish theater in America. Her father was a major designer and manufacturer of women's shoes. She studied with Lee Strasberg and at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Career

In 1955, Troy first appeared off-Broadway in The Infernal Machine. She made her Broadway debut in the musical Pipe Dream. She received critical acclaim for her role opposite Edward Woodward, Tammy Grimes, Carol Arthur, and the legendary Beatrice Lillie in the 1964 musical High Spirits, which was based on Noël Coward's comedy, Blithe Spirit.
She was also known for her guest appearances on the television show Hogan's Heroes, on which her then husband Werner Klemperer starred as "Colonel Klink".
Her other TV appearances included Kate and Allie, Room 222, The Odd Couple, Cannon, 227 and Honey West, among others. In the 1970s, she appeared on CBS television's daytime drama The Guiding Light, twice, as Audrey Frost Mill's in 1974 and as Gladys Shields in 1978. Troy also appeared in the first season of Barnaby Jones; episode titled,"To Denise, with Love and Murder".
Troy's film appearances include Yours, Mine and Ours, The Swimmer and Ghostbusters II.

Marriage

Troy was first married to actor Werner Klemperer, from 1969 until they divorced in 1975, She then married her second husband, actor and director Douglas Seale in 1992, they remained married until her death in 1994.

Death

Troy died of breast cancer at the age of 60 in 1994 at her home in New York City. She had no children and was survived by her second husband, actor Douglas Seale.

Recognition

Troy was nominated for the following Tony Awards: