Helen Landis

Helen Landis (20 March 1923 – 22 March 2015) was an English singer and actress, known for her performances in musical theatre, operetta and opera, especially roles in early British productions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's and Ivor Novello's musicals and the contralto roles in the Savoy operas with the Gilbert and Sullivan for All company, with whom she toured extensively for more than 20 years.

She began her career with the Carl Rosa Opera Company, singing mezzo-soprano roles with them for three years.

[3] She played Bloody Mary in the original West End production of South Pacific at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (1951), and her later roles in Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals included Lady Thiang and sometimes Anna in The King and I, Aunt Nettie in Carousel and roles in Flower Drum Song.

She also played Madame Kurt in Novello's The Dancing Years in 1984 staging at the Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, later recording the role for BBC Radio 2.

[6] She retired to the entertainers' rest home Denville Hall in Northwood, London in 2007, where she died eight years later, just after her 92nd birthday.