Polly Bergen

One of the most diversely talented of American performers, Polly Bergen was an Emmy-winning actress, singer and entrepreneur who found success in nearly every medium over the course of a half-century in show business. A professional singer while still in her teens, she transitioned from nightclub chanteuse to film actress in the 1950s, but found her early roles lacking. She returned to singing while keeping a hand in acting via television and Broadway. The former proved to be Bergen's best showcase, and an Emmy win in 1957 led to her own variety series, "The Polly Bergen Show" (NBC, 1957-58). It also improved the quality of her film choices, which by the 1960s included an acclaimed turn in "Cape Fear" (1962). In the late 1960s and 1970s, she shifted her interest to the business world, where she founded her own fashion lines. Emmy-nominated turns in the epic miniseries "The Winds of War" (ABC, 1983) and its sequel "The Winds of Remembrance" (ABC, 1988) revived her profile in the 1980s, and she was an active and vibrant presence on countless television series - most notably "Desperate Housewives" (ABC, 2004-2012). Her Emmy nomination for an appearance on the latter series was a clear indication that an actress with a breadth of talent like Bergen would never go out of style. Her death at the age of 84 on September 20, 2014 saddened friends and fans alike.