Shani was born at Deen street in the Tottenham High Road. North
London. Her parents (Jim and Ethel) owned a Delicatessen, and use to supply a
lot of the restaurants and hotels in this area. In 1937 she made her first
stage appearance. When in1940 when the bombing got bad in London, her father
brought her and her two brothers, Jimmy and Leon, to Wymington and stayed there
until the end of the war. Shani attended the village school and won a
scholarship to The Wellingborough High School. The family later returned to
London where Shani initially studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on a
scholarship.
She became one of the brighter young singing voices of her
day. She made her West End musical debut at age 18 with "Call Me
Madam" at the Coliseum in 1952, and immediately established herself in the
role of Princess Maria, the leading ingénue. Following other starring roles in
the mediocre musicals "Happy as a King" and "Wish You Were
Here," she scored again in "Wonderful Town" (1955) playing a
comic soubrette, and as another spirited ingénue in "Finian's
Rainbow" (1958). In between were a number of musical revue shows. In 1960
she replaced Tony-winner Elizabeth Seal in the title role of "Irma La
Douce" at London's Lyric Theatre. After the show closed, few offers seemed
to come her way so she decided to try her luck in America.
She went about rebuilding her name on the cabaret, concert
and club circuits, and added more musical roles such as "South
Pacific," "The King and I" and "Bells Are Ringing" to
her credits. She finally made it to Broadway in 1966, co-starring with the
legendary Tessie O'Shea in "A Time For Singing," a musical version of
"How Green Was My Valley." Backed by three strong numbers, she had a
chance to shine in the Maureen O'Hara colleen role, but the show closed after a
disappointing run of 41 performances.
Successfully replacing the seemingly irreplaceable Georgia Brown, Shani made a durable marquee name for herself while giving her all in the rousing "Oom-pah Pah" number and putting her own indelible stamp on the show-stopping "As Long As He Needs Me," now considered her signature song. Having never played the part before, she went on to perform Nancy on the theatre stage as well.
In addition to her participation in the soundtrack album from the movie "Oliver!", her recording career included several singles (released on 78 and 45 RPM) on the Philips label in England in the 1950s and 1960s, and one single released in the USA on London Records in 1963. Also, several LP records on the Kapp label in the USA in the 1960s.
Shani was seen only sporadically in films following this breakthrough for the live stage was still her first love. Over the years she has gamely performed in a number of musical staples, including "42nd Street" and "Follies," and toured with Liberace for five years during the 1980s.
Shani has also appeared in TV series such as Charlie’s
Angels and Murder She Wrote, was a regular in daytime soap The Young And The
Restless, and popped up in films like Terror In The Wax Museum and The Mojave
Phone Booth. In September 1992 Shani came back to Bath, England for 5 weeks to
appear in a play.
Since losing her husband of 48 years, actor Bernie Rich to
cancer in 2016, Wallis has moved to a condo in southern California where she
keeps mementoes of her career. Their daughter Rebecca, who works in
pharmaceuticals, and grandchildren also live in California. Shani still keeps
herself fit, proud to still be a Size Zero, and continues to sing and play
piano and is working on her autobiography “It’s A Fine Life.”
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Oliver”
Shani gave a rare public appearance when she visited the UK to give a one off
show in Blackpool during June 2018, where the audience could hear her amazing stories
from being on the set of Oliver to her amazing career in Hollywood & Las
Vegas.
Shani's brother Leon had a record shop in Rushden but later
died at Souldrop, U.K.. Her other brother Jimmy emigrated to Australia. He had
eight daughters all of whom followed in their aunts footsteps and become
actresses in various soaps.
(Edited from various sources mainly a bio by Gary Brumburgh for IMDB)
3 comments:
For “Shani Wallis - The Singles Collection 1956 – 1961” go here;
https://www.upload.ee/files/9828406/Shani_Wallis_-_Singles.rar.html
1. Don't Ringa da Bell 2:00
2. Our Melody 2:40
3. Personality 3:15
4. Please Don't Say No 3:16
5. Don't Take Your Love from Me 3:17
6. There Goes My Heart 2:57
7. Sixteen Reasons 2:22
8. Forever, Forever 2:24
9. Where's the Boy (I Never Met) 2:22
10. And Now 2:10
11. The Most Beautiful Words in the World 2:34
12. When Love Is Young 2:46
13. Something in the Air (Cerasella) 2:31
14. Let Me Go Lover 2:09
15. Rock Around the World Medley Part 1 (Bonus Track) with the Ivor Kirchin Band 2:00
16. Rock Around the World Medley Part 2 (Bonus Track) 1:57
A big thank you to Tunesmith, for above mp3’s.
Thanks for posting these. Her music is hard to find.
Another great list of songs from a good singer.
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