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Sondra Lee, a veteran Broadway dancer
with roles in 'Peter Pan' and 'Hello Dolly!' dies at 97
[February 26, 2026]
BY MARK KENNEDY
NEW YORK
(AP) — Sondra Lee, a dancer and actor discovered by the legendary
choreographer-director Jerome Robbins and originated the role of Tiger
Lily on Broadway in “Peter Pan” and played Minnie Fay in the original
production of “Hello, Dolly!,” has died. She was 97.
Lee died Monday of natural causes in her New York City apartment,
according to her friend and colleague, the Rev. Joshua Ellis, a former
Broadway press agent.
After her
dancing days, Lee taught at Stella Adler’s Conservatory and New York
University. She also was a consultant to such films as “Places in the
Heart” with Sally Field, “The Last of the Mohicans” with Daniel
Day-Lewis and “The Morning After” starring Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges and
Raul Julia. |
Sondra Lee, a cast member for the Broadway show "Hello Dolly" appears
backstage at the St. James Theater in New York on Oct. 14, 1964. (AP
Photo/Harvey Lippman, File) |
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In
her 2009 memoir, “I’ve Slept With Everybody,” she recounted
meeting Robbins at the Shubert Theatre. She had just missed his
audition for “High Button Shoes” and did not know who he was.
“Oh,” she told him. “I just auditioned for ‘Allegro’ and they
found I was too short so they let me go. So I'm going home to
commit suicide.” Robbins replied: “Don't go home and commit
suicide, come over here and dance for me.” She did and got the
job, actually two comic roles in the show.
Robbins would become her champion and also gave her a nickname:
“Peanuts,” from the Charles Shulz cartoon strip. “I had been
given a gift and I ran with it,” she writes.
Other career highlights included supporting Bert Lahr and Angela
Lansbury on Broadway in the farce “Hotel Paradiso,” a role in
the Robert Redford-led “Sunday in New York” on Broadway and an
uncredited turn in Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita.”
Lee originated the role of Tiger Lily in the 1954 Broadway
production of “Peter Pan” — as well as playing the part in the
1955, 1956 and 1960 TV broadcasts of “Peter Pan” — working
alongside Mary Martin.
In 1964, she began the longest run of her career. The director
Gower Champion asked her to play Minnie Fay in the original
production of “Hello, Dolly!” with Carol Channing. She would
stay with the show for years and also tour with it from 1965-68.
Lee’s last public appearance was at Carnegie Hall in 2025 as
part of the Transport Group’s concert performance of “Hello,
Dolly!” She received a prolonged standing ovation.
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