- Born
- Birth nameDorothy Paula Zürndorfer
- Broadway actress/soprano Paula Stewart is originally from Chicago and
was christened Dorothy Paula Zürndorfer. Her father was Dr. Walter
Zürndorfer and her mother, Esther Morris, was in the Ziegfield Follies
and on Broadway in "Lady Be Good" starring
Fred Astaire. She attended Northwestern
University before deciding on a professional career. She joined the
national touring company of "Brigadoon", then signed on as understudy
to Ann Crowley in a production of
"Seventeen" at the Broadway Theatre in June 1951. She starred in the
George White review "Nice to See
You" in 1953 at the Versailles Club. During this run, Paula married
composer Burt Bacharach. He was also her
accompanist and scored arrangements for her night club act. They
divorced in 1958.
On stage in "Born Yesterday" (1956) and "Critic's Choice" (1957), she
replaced Jo Sullivan in "The Three Penny
Opera". This paved the way to the
Frank Loesser musical revival of "The Most
Happy Fella" at the New York City Center 1959. In 1960, she was a
featured player in The Revue "A to Z" starring
Hermione Gingold and later that year
acted alongside Lucille Ball as her sister
in the Broadway musical "Wildcat" at the Alvin Theatre. In 1961, she
co-starred with George Gobel in the musical
"Let It Ride" at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. In 1965, she co-starred
with Steve Lawrence in "What
Makes Sammy Run" directed by Abe Burrows at
the 54th Street Theatre and also starring
Steve Lawrence.
Paula has performed in over 35 musicals and plays on Broadway and
summer stock around the country. Among her well-known theatrical
co-stars are Donald O'Connor in "Little Me",
Gordon McRae and
Howard Keel in "Carousel", and
Jack Carter in "Operation Mad
Ball". She appeared with Carter in nightclubs and USO tours, as well.
The couple married in Miami Beach Florida in 1961. They had a son,
Michael David Carter, who is a real estate agent, before divorcing in
1970.
Film and TV work for her thrived during the 1960s. Making her big
screen debut in
Diary of a Bachelor (1964),
she made only two other films after that. TV appearances included roles
in comedies
(My Favorite Martian (1963),
The Joey Bishop Show (1961)
and Hogan's Heroes (1965)) as
well as dramas
(Perry Mason (1957),
Route 66 (1960) and
The Big Valley (1965)).
Known for having a special zeal for living life to the fullest, Paula
has been flying her own planes since she was 17. In addition to
appearing in movies, she has produced and has been a Realtor investing
in properties in Beverly Hills, Palm Springs and Malibu. Leasing
clients have included
Michael Douglas,
Roger Moore,
Rex Harrison and
Woody Allen, to name a few. As an interior
decorator, her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Good
Housekeeping and New York Post. Other sidelines and interests include
gourmet cooking, auctioneer, linguistics and the breeding of Yorkies.
More recently, Paula had a radio show on KCLA-FM that features
Hollywood celebrities and other people with interesting careers.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
- SpousesJack Carter(March 30, 1961 - January 30, 1970) (divorced, 1 child)Burt Bacharach(December 22, 1953 - 1958) (divorced)
- ChildrenMichael Chakrin
- ParentsWalter ZürndorferEsther Morris
- Has a pilot's license.
- Mother, with Jack Carter, of son Michael Carter.
- Her soon-to-be mother-in-law, Irma Bacharach, warned Stewart against marrying her son, calling him "not really marriage material". Irma was proved right and the marriage ended, at least in part, due to Bacharach's infidelities.
- Ex-daughter-in-law of Bert Bacharach and Irma Bacharach.
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