Theatre Register

Cleo Laine

Shows · Cleo Laine

Actor 1927–2025 On stage 1977–1985

Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Bullock; 28 October 1927 – 24 July 2025) was a British singer and actress known for her scat singing. She was the wife of jazz composer and musician Sir John Dankworth and the mother of bassist Alec and singer Jacqui Dankworth. Laine had popular success with singles such as "You'll Answer To Me" and appeared in a range of musical theatre productions. She received a number of awards and honours including appointment as an OBE in 1979, and a Grammy in 1986; she became a dame in 1997.

On stage 2 productions, 8 years

1977 Cleo on Broadway Minskoff Theatre · Original · directed by John Dankworth 6 perf.
1985 The Mystery of Edwin Drood Imperial Theatre · Original · directed by Wilford Leach 608 perf.

Each row is a staging this name appears in the cast list of, read from the production record rather than from the person record. The person record names works instead, and a work cannot say which run somebody was in — that is how Elaine Stritch ends up filed under Show Boat 1927 when she was in the 1994 revival. No row here says what part was played, because no cast list records it.

In the literature7 passages

  • London cast (1971) : Cleo Laine, Thomas Carey, Lorna Dalla, Kenneth Nelson, Andrew Jobin, Ena Cabayo, Ray Cook (conductor). Stanyon Records 10048 (two LPs).ebooks/Block, Geoffrey/Enchanted Evenings_The Broadway Musical from 'Show Boat' to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber - Geoffrey Block.txt
  • Cast: George Rose, Cleo Laine, Betty Buckley, Howard McGillin, Patti Cohenour, Jana Schneider, John Herrera, Jerome Dempseyebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • PC: Gaylord Ravenal : Andre Jobin; Julie La Verne : Cleo Laine; Joe : Valentine Pringle; Magnolia Hawks Ravenal : Lorna Dallas; Cap’n Andy Hawks : Derek Royle; Ellie May Chipley : Jan Hunt; Frank Schultz : Jeffrey Shankley; Parthy Ann Hawks : Pearl Hackney; Queenie : Ena Cabayoebooks/Wright, Adrian/West End Broadway_ The Golden Age of the American Musical in London - Adrian Wright.txt
  • PATTI COHENOUR, GEORGE ROSE, CLEO LAINE, JOHN HERRERA, JANA SCHNEIDER in “THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD”theatre-pdfs/A Pictorial History of the American Theatre, 1860-1985 (Blum).txt
  • Jana Schneider, Patti Cohenour, George Martin, John Herrera, Joe Grifasi, Howard McGiliin Top: Cleo Laine (front)theatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1985-86 Season, v. 42 (Willis).txt
  • Jana Schneider, Howard McGillin, Cleo Laine, Larry Shue, John Herrera, Patti Cohenour, Joe Grifasi in "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"theatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1985-86 Season, v. 42 (Willis).txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — actor — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

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