Maria Karnilova was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actress.

Born as Maria Kasnilovich in Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

, Maria Karnilova made her Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 debut in Call Me Mister

Call Me Mister

Call Me Mister is a revue with sketches by Arnold Auerbach and words and music by Harold Rome. The title refers to returning soldiers who expected to be addressed as civilians instead of by their military rank....

in 1946. She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for the original 1964 production of Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...

starring Zero Mostel

Zero Mostel

Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel was an American actor of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version...

 and was nominated as Best Actress in a Musical for Zorba (1968).

Other Broadway credits include Miss Liberty

Miss Liberty

Miss Liberty is a musical with a book by Robert E. Sherwood and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. It is based on the sculpting of the Statue of Liberty in 1886...

(1949), Two's Company (1952), Jerome Robbins

Jerome Robbins

Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...

' Ballet: U.S.A. (1958), Gypsy

Gypsy: A Musical Fable

Gypsy is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business...

(as the original Tessie Tura - 1959), Bravo Giovanni

Bravo Giovanni

Bravo Giovanni is a musical with a book by A. J. Russell, lyrics by Ronny Graham, and music by Milton Schafer. It is based upon the novel, "The Crime of Giovanni Venturi", by Howard Shaw ....

(1962), Gigi

Gigi (musical)

Gigi is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. It is based on the novella Gigi by Colette and 1958 hit musical film of the same name. The story concerns Gigi, a free-spirited teenaged girl living in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. She is being...

(1973), God's Favorite

God's Favorite

God's Favorite is a play by Neil Simon, loosely based on the Biblical Book of Job. It was produced on Broadway by Emanuel Azenberg in 1974....

(1974), Bring Back Birdie

Bring Back Birdie

Bring Back Birdie is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.A sequel to Bye Bye Birdie, it focuses on a scheme for rock 'n' roller Conrad Birdie, who disappeared after being discharged from the U. S. Army twenty years ago, to make a comeback on a...

(1981), and the 1981 revival of Fiddler. Karnilova's film credits include The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) and Married to the Mob

Married to the Mob

Married to the Mob is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Matthew Modine.Michelle Pfeiffer, in something of a departure from her previous roles, gave an acclaimed lead performance as a gangster's widow from Brooklyn, opposite Matthew Modine as the...

(1988).

Family

She was married to actor George S. Irving

George S. Irving

George S. Irving is an American actor, known primarily for his character roles on Broadway. Born George Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts, he made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to be drafted days later to serve in World War II...

 from 1948 until her death from undisclosed causes in New York City at the age of 80 in 2001.

External links