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Broadway Performer, Playwright And Author June Walker Rogers Dies At 97
June Walker Rogers, a famous Broadway and Television virtuouso has died at the age of 97. She worked with Dick Van Dyke, Tony Bennett, and more.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of death.
June Walker Rogers, a master of all trades on Broadway and TV as a singer, dancer, and comedian; also an accomplished playwright and author, has passed away at age 97. She took her final breath on July 8th at her Westport, Connecticut residence according to the announcement made by her family.
June L. Walker was born in Steubenville, Ohio but was raised in Queens, New York where she began dancing at the age of five.
She was an excellent student who entered into an accelerated program in New York’s school system so upon graduation from high school, she was only 15 years old.
She quickly achieved fame with a nightclub act that had her performing alongside Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Louis Prima, Don Rickles Rodney Dangerfield and a young Church of Islam leader then called Calypso Gene.
June Walker won a scholarship to Columbia University but left there to make her first appearance on Broadway in 1944 with Ole Olsen & Chic Johnson in the comedy revue Laffing Room Only.
The star returned to Broadway in 1959, performing opposite Bert Lahr and Dick Van Dyke in The Girls Against the Boys. Over time she starred in notable productions including Tony Bennett's Guys & Dolls, Orson Bean's Little Me, Hal Linden's Bells are Ringing, Mame by Rance Howard and Oklahoma among others.
She also appeared several times on Steve Allen’s show as well as Jack Paar’s one while doing shows for Jackie Gleason and Ed Sullivan; later playing for Presidents Truman and Eisenhower at White House events.
She switched gears after starting a family becoming an author with contributions that include All American, The Dream on Royal Street, and a play called Heidi produced at the Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena to introduce cultural arts into California schools. Her book published in 1986 titled How to Make It in Showbiz: A Survival Kit has been used as required text throughout university theatre departments nationwide.
For many years, she lived in Westport where she was one of the founding members of Theatre Artists Workshop of Westport among other affiliations such as National League of American Pen Women membership.
Dulcy (married to actor Diedrich Bader) and Amanda (ex-wife of Groucho Marx impersonator Frank Ferrante), along with grandkids Lucy, Sebastian, Dashiell and Ondine survive June Walker Rogers. She was married to David Rogers who died at age 50 after half a century together; he was a Tony-nominated lyricist, composer and actor.
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