b. 23 Feb 1926, New York, d. 30 Sept 2006, Los Angeles. After school, Bigley studied at the Juilliard School of Music and made her Broadway debut in 1946 in the chorus of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! It was with this show that she travelled to London in 1947, eventually playing the leading role of Laurey. This led to the role of Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls on Broadway. Bigley was a huge success and won a Tony Award in 1951 for Best Performance by a Featured or Supporting Actress in a Musical. She also appeared on the original cast recording. She followed this show with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Me and Juliet (1953), playing the role of Jeanie, which had been especially created for her, and was again very popular. In 1951, Bigley had appeared in Premiere, an all-star television production, and from the mid-50s, her career moved in this direction. On television, she appeared in numerous specials and as a guest on many top shows. In 1958, Bigley decided to retire to raise her family. She remained active in theatrical matters. She had married theatrical agent Lawrence Barnett in 1953. The couple made many charitable contributions to arts education, including establishing an arts program at The Ohio State University. In 2005, Bigley was named the first female Chair of McCallum Theatre in California. Bigley and Barnett were also major supporters of the ALS Association, where the drug development program is named in their honor.