Paula Wayne, Golden-Voiced Broadway Star of Golden Boy, Dead at 84

Paula Wayne, the golden-voiced leading lady of Broadway’s Golden Boy, died on November 9 at her South Florida home. She was 84 and had battled pancreatic cancer in recent years.

Raised in Mountain View, Oklahoma, Wayne made her Broadway debut in the ensemble of the Ziegfeld Follies of 1957 at the Winter Garden Theatre. Featured Broadway roles in Say, Darling and Night Life followed in quick succession, as well as national tours of Damn Yankees and The Pajama Game. Off-Broadway, she appeared in Hi, Paisano! Paint Your Wagon and the acclaimed Best Foot Forward, opposite a teen Liza Minnelli.

Wayne’s big theater break came when she landed the leading role of Lorna Moon in the 1964 musical adaptation of the Clifford Odets’ boxing drama Golden Boy. With a score by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, the musical was created as a vehicle for Rat Pack legend Sammy Davis, Jr. As the love interest to Davis, Wayne crooned songs like “Lorna’s Here,” the love duet “I Want to Be With You” and the title song and made headlines for what is said to be the first interracial kiss on Broadway.

Wayne was set to star in a musical version of Bus Stop called Cherry, which was announced for Broadway in 1969 but never materialized. She was also seen in a national tour of Neil Simon's The Last of the Red Hot Lovers opposite Milton Berle.

Beyond Broadway, Wayne became a recording artist, nightclub performer and TV star on series including Everglades, Judd for the Defense, Hawk and The Danny Thomas Hour. She also appeared on many talk shows, including The Tonight Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Sammy Davis, Jr. Show, The David Frost Show and The Mike Douglas Show. Fun fact: Wayne was also the TV voice of popular pancake syrup icon Mrs. Butterworth's for many years.

Wayne is survived by three children—Laurel Isicoff, Joseph Myerson and Jason Shelley-Beach—and five grandchildren. .

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to KU Endowment to benefit Dr. Raed Al-Rajabi’s pancreatic cancer research. Please indicate donations are for the Paula Wayne memorial.

Hear Paula Wayne and Sammy Davis, Jr. sing the Golden Boy song "I Want to Be With You"