I don't want to turn this place into Obit Central but I have to say a few words about a charming lady named Bibi Osterwald who passed away a week or so ago at the age of 81. Bibi had a long, glorious career, the latter part of which was spent playing little old ladies in commercials, TV shows and movies. The movies included a showy role as the neighbor lady in As Good As It Gets. Before that, she worked a lot on the stage, including a legendary stint as the stand-by for Carol Channing and others starring in the original Broadway run of Hello, Dolly! Some of the ladies who played Dolly Levi missed a lot of performances and/or didn't play matinees, so Bibi went on quite often.
The producer — the famously-obstreperous David Merrick — did all he could to keep that a secret. If the star is out, patrons can request refunds or exchanges until the moment the overture starts…so Merrick would have someone announce, "At this performance, the role of Mrs. Levi will be played by Bibi Osterwald" and then he'd order the box office closed the second the conductor gave the downbeat. A lot of folks did not realize that Mrs. Levi was Dolly until it was too late, and some never realized it. They saw Bibi perform and thought they were seeing Ginger Rogers or Mary Martin. I never saw the show but I did work with Bibi and I'm sure those people saw a wonderful performance. She certainly was in league with Carol, Ginger and Mary in talent, if not in renown.