Jo Anne Worley: A Critical Assessment of One Thespian's Work

Love her more than life itself!

I think I saw her with Andy Gibb in The Pirates of Penzance when I was a kid. (Yes, I did. Just looked it up. I have very few memories of it unfortunately beyond liking Andy's chest hair.)

Extremely underrated comic actress. Great timing, VERY quick-witted.

She was the original understudy in Hello Dolly I just read.

Young LAUGH IN gals.

Who is the black one at r5?

It is probably Viola r6. She's the only one who works.

Feather.

Boas.

It's Teresa Graves, R5.

So lovely.

Joanne specialized in chicken jokes on "Laugh-In". Or she called them out -- or she liked them. Who remembers?

R5 No, it's not Teresa Graves, obviously.

Her name is Chelsea Brown and she's with Goldie Hawn, Judy Carne, Jo Anne Worley and Ruth Buzzi, front.

Jo Anne Worley is very goofy and likable. She was fun on Laugh In.

She did tons, I mean TONS of game shows when I was a kid. Love her.

Saw her and Frank Gorshin in " The Second Time Around " at a dinner theater in the early 80's. Fab ! I remember having shrimp cocktail, steak and lemon bundt cake.

Gasp! No Dollar Tree pound cake?!

R11 is correct. Chelsea Brown moved to Australia in the 70s and worked on Australian TV for years.

She died last year in her hometown of Chicago of pneumonia, at age 74.

Beautiful Teresa Graves was on LAUGH IN for one season, from 1969-1970.

How is it that LAUGH IN, for all its sexism and corny humor, was able to hire two talented ladies of color decades before SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE?

And good as a few men were (Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson), the ladies of the ensemble (Lily Tomlin! Eileen Brennan, for 1 season) were exceptional.

Cute!

Jesus, internet.

Here is beautiful Teresa Graves.

I saw Cactus Flower recently on The Movie Channel and Goldie Hawn was amazing.

FFS.... Teresa Graves.

again

Who is this PINHEAD who keeps posting photos of Chelsea Brown, and claiming they're photos of Teresa Graves?!

It's OP, r23.

I started a TG thread for her so she'd stop posting it here, r23.

Why is Celine Dion in the front of r5 photo ?

Looks like she'd be fun at a party :)

Lilly Tomlin wasn't allowed in any of those photos cuz she gay.

Alan Sues was also a hoot! As was Ruth Buzzi and Judy Carne!

Didn't that notorious DM hussy Joyce Bulifant steal her husband?

Borrrris!

I'm surprised she never had her own show (?) She's funny, and charismatic. I only remember her from MATCH GAME and some other game shows.

She probably did a bunch of pilots for proposed TV shows over the years that never sold.

About 15 years ago, my husband and I saw JoAnn in a revival of Call Me Madam in the Auditorium Theater in Chicago.

She was very funny in the role.

However - the highlight for us were the two aging theater queens who sat next to us and breathlessly told us that they had driven all the way from Bloomington Illinois to see the production because they were “close personal friends of Miss Worley.”

Not being rude, I brought this up in another thread once....but I'd like to have asked them what the difference between being a "close personal friend" and a "close friend" is.

Does one have "close friends" that are at the same time IMPERSONAL?

I've always heard Ms. Worley was a lesbian.

no r28. Lily wasn't in the original cast. She joined after it had been on a few years.

Miss Worley spent lots of time in the NBC snatcheteria.

She was married to a Roger and appeared with him several times on TattleTales

My first exposure to JoAnne Worley was on The Mad Show cast album when I was a kid. This was my favorite track even though I didn't get most of the references. Great comic vocal performance.

Loved JoAnn, especially her appearances on Love, American Style!

She played Madame Morrible in the LA run of "Wicked."

Did a great job both in the Broadway revival of "Grease" and in the Encores production of "Follies"

Casey Wilson?

I knew her cousin (yes, a gay male) and that comedic talent must have been in the Worley family DNA. He was a laugh riot and could do impromptu stand-up comedy like no one I've ever known. RIP, he died several years ago in AZ.

What's wrong with Ruth Buzzi's face?

I don't know, but I'll know a chicken joke if you say it!

Gay though I am, I've always been overwhelmed by the temptation to tickle Jo Anne.

one of my favorites on Laugh In but did not follow much of her work other than a few cameo appearances, but even those I liked. Her little shtick was right up my alley.

She was the girl on the magazine cover!

[quote] What's wrong with Ruth Buzzi's face?

Nothing. She's flawlessly beautiful. A true inspiration.

A comparison.....

Feathers. So many.... feathers.

She was great on Maude and playing Sophia on Golden Girls. Miss Buzzi, what was it like being married to Burt Reynolds?

But first, a word from our sponsor, Metamucil.

I designed Jo Anne's costumes for a tour she did of "Annie" many, many years ago. She took a liking to me and after rehearsals would insist we go shopping together (NYC). So, we would parade around any place that looked interesting- she loved flea markets and small boutiques…She was ALWAYS on, sometimes a calmer version, but on….and she LOVED to light up a joint where ever we went, she was out of shits to give by then. As we were preparing to leave town to tech the show, she pulled my aside and asked me to get her a black and white old fashioned prison uniform and the biggest red bow I could find. By this time I stopped asking questions and showed up at our tech city with the requested items. Well……at our final dress she surprised everyone, me included, in wearing the prisioner get up to her curtain call with this giant bow on her head…(remember, Hannigan gets hauled off to jail in the final scene.) Thank god the director didn't fire me on the spot….he let her go with it…..what a nut burger……

R54. Fabulous.