Frances E. Nealy

Biography

Frances E. Nealy (October 14, 1918 – May 23, 1997) was an American actress and dancer. She starred in Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue. She was born Frances Elizabeth Warner, the only child of Milton Warner and Elizabeth Bowen Warner, in San Diego. Nealy, who began tap dancing when she was 15, was once billed as "The Female Bill Robinson". She arrived in Hollywood in 1939 and performed at the Club Alabam with other black entertainers. By that time, "The biggest part of the black heyday in Hollywood was over," she said. In 1968, she performed in "New Sole Sisters", a multi-generational production of female dancers. In the 1980s, Nealy had her own studio, where she taught tap dancing. In 1984, Nealy had a brief role as a hotel chambermaid in Ghostbusters, during which her character's cart was exploded with pyrotechnics.

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