Hayes even reprised the role in 1976 on the ABC Halloween special of her old friend Paul Lynde, appearing with The Wizard of Oz‘s Margaret Hamilton in a comedy sketch that revealed the sisterly bond between the two famous witches. She returned as the character in the 1970 feature film adaptation Pufnstuf, along with Wild, Martha Raye and, in her sole feature role, “Mama” Cass Elliot (as Witch Hazel). She’d return to the stage in the late 1960s as the character Minnie Fay in the national touring company of Hello, Dolly! starring Betty Grable.Īfter her 1969 arrival in the destined-for-cult-classic Sid and Marty Krofft series, which also starred Jack Wild ( Oliver!) as the on-the-run Dorothy Gale-stand-in Jimmy and, providing the voice of Pufnstuf the dragon, Lennie Weinrib (actor Roberto Gamonet was inside the puffy, full-body green-and-yellow costume), Hayes had found what would be her signature role. Hayes, with old-age make-up, a white wig and a long-stemmed pipe, would reprise the role in Paramount’s 1959 film version and, in 1971, a TV-movie adaptation. She then took over the role of Lil’ Abner‘s Mammy Yokum from the original cast’s Charlotte Rae, finding herself alongside another up-and-comer in the replacement cast named Valerie Harper. Soon enough she was co-starring with fellow newcomer Paul Lynde in the New York revue What’s New, which led to her Broadway debut in Leonard Sillman’s New Faces show. Hayes (in red blouse holding pipe), ‘Lil’ Abner’ (1959) Everett Collection Shubert, who was so taken with her comic and musical talents he cast her in principal roles of three roadshow operettas: Student Prince, The Merry Widow and Blossom Time. While still in high school, she joined the fourteen-piece regional orchestra of Vince Genovese, and performed solo in her teens in Chicago and throughout the Midwest.Īfter moving to New York, Hayes performed selections from her nightclub singing-and-dancing routine in an audition for famed theater impresario J.J. “Why me?,” she’d whine or sob after the inevitable backfiring of her latest evil scheme.īorn in Du Quoin, Illinois, Hayes began her show business career at age 9, dancing professionally in local nightclubs. Pufnstuf villain, intent on stealing the magical, talking Freddy the Flute as if he were a pair of ruby slippers, Hayes’ wildly entertaining vaudeville, slapstick style had legions of young viewers rooting her on to a victory that never came. Series-stealer, actually: Though Witchiepoo was the H.R. With a performance panache that was over-the-top even by the wacky standards of the Sid and Marty Krofft universe of costumed creatures, Hayes was an immediate scene-stealer. Showbiz & Media Figures We've Lost In 2021 - Photo Gallery
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