Sondra Lee, who starred on Broadway in the productions of “Hello, Dolly!” and “Peter Pan,” died on Monday. She was 97.
Lee died of natural causes in her New York City apartment, her friend and colleague, the Rev. Joshua Ellis, told The Washington Post.
Lee originated the role of Tiger Lily in the 1954 Broadway production of “Peter Pan,” according to the newspaper.
In 1964, she began the longest run of her career. playing Minnie Fay in the original production of “Hello, Dolly!” with Carol Channing. She would stay with the show for several years and also tour with it from 1965 to 1968, the Post reported.
She starred alongside Channing, Ginger Rogers, Betty Grable and Martha Raye, People reported.
Lee and Raye then took the musical on tour with the USO during the Vietnam War, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
During her nine-decade career, Lee was a dancer, actor, teacher, playwright and a film consultant, People reported.
She was born Sondra Lee Gash on Sept. 30, 1928, in Newark, New Jersey, People reported.
Lee made her Broadway debut in 1947 as a corps de ballet member for Jerome Robbins in “High Button Shoes,” according to Playbill.
She made her last public appearance at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2025 as part of the Transport Group’s concert performance of “Hello, Dolly!” the Post reported.
She received a long, standing ovation. according dp the newspaper.
Lee also appeared on Broadway in the productions of “Hotel Paradiso,” “Ballet U.S.A.” and “Sunday in New York,” according to Playbill.
She was a consultant to such films as “Places in the Heart,” “The Last of the Mohicans” and “The Morning After,” according to the Post.
Lee published “I’ve Slept With Everybody: A Memoir,” in 2009. At the time of her death, she was writing her second book, “Snapshots Redux,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.