Tony Nominee & Williamstown Regular Carrie Nye Dies at 69

Actress Carrie Nye, who received a Tony nomination for her work in the 1965 musical Half a Sixpence, passed away in her New York home at the age of 69. The cause of death was lung cancer.

Born on Oct. 14th, 1936 in Greenwood, MS, Nye attended Yale Drama School, where she met Dick Cavett. She would be married to the famed talk show host from 1964 to her death.

Nye's distinguished theatrical career included Broadway appearances in the 1980 revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner (as Lorraine Sheldon), Cop-Out, A Very Rich Woman, Mary, Mary and A Second String, in which she made her Broadway debut. She earned the Tony nod for her performance as Helen Walsingham in the English import musical comedy Half a Sixpence, starring Tommy Steele.

At the Williamstown Theatre Festival, she appeared in 24 productions over a span of 31 years. Her first appearance was as Margaret in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1958. Other memorable roles at Williamstown included Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire and Anya in Nude with Violin. Her last Williamstown appearance was as Zelda Fitzgerald in Clothes for a Summer Hotel in 1989.

Roger Rees, Williamstown Theatre Festival Artistic Director, said, "Carrie Nye will be remembered as a woman whose vibrant spirit and wonderful acting in many roles enriched the Festival. On a personal note, I fondly remember many summer afternoons spent at her home in Montauk where she reminisced about Tennessee Williams' visits to the Berkshires and his great affection for the Williamstown Theatre Festival."

She also won an Emmy for playing Tallulah Bankhead in 1980's "The Scarlett O'Hara War." She appeared in over a dozen other films and TV shows.

Nye is survived by Cavett.