- Born
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- A popular musical name noted on film for one delightfully feisty Cockney lass, Shani Wallis was born in 1933 in Tottenham (North London), England and initially studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on a scholarship. On stage from age 4 and performing in repertory as a young teen, she became one of the brighter young singing voices of her day. She made her West End musical debut at 18 with "Call Me Madam" at the Coliseum in 1952, and immediately established herself in the role of Princess Maria, the leading ingénue. Following other starring roles in the mediocre musicals "Happy as a King" and "Wish You Were Here," she scored again in "Wonderful Town" (1955) playing a comic soubrette, and as another spirited ingénue in "Finian's Rainbow" (1958). In-between were a number of musical-revue shows. In 1960 she replaced Tony winner Elizabeth Seal in the title role of "Irma La Douce" at London's Lyric Theatre. After the show closed, few offers came her way, so she decided to try her luck in America.
She went about rebuilding her name on the cabaret, concert, and club circuits, and added more musical roles such as "South Pacific," "The King and I" and "Bells Are Ringing" to her credits. She finally made it to Broadway in 1966, co-starring with the legendary Tessie O'Shea in "A Time For Singing," a musical version of "How Green Was My Valley." Backed by three strong numbers, she had a chance to shine in the Maureen O'Hara colleen role, but the show closed after a disappointing run of 41 performances.
A few inconsequential film roles had come her way earlier in England, including The Extra Day (1956) and Ramsbottom Rides Again (1956), not to mention a minor singing bit in Charles Chaplin's A King in New York (1957). Other than assorted variety show appearances and a televised performance supporting Carol Burnett in Once Upon a Mattress (1964), she found only a modicum of on-camera work, so it was all the more astounding when she nabbed the role of a lifetime as the ill-fated Nancy in the Oscar-winning picture Oliver! (1968). Successfully replacing the seemingly-irreplaceable Georgia Brown, Shani made a durable marquee name for herself while giving her all in the rousing "Oom-pah-Pah" number and putting her own indelible stamp on the show-stopping "As Long as He Needs Me, which is now considered her signature song. She went on to perform Nancy on the theatre stage as well.
Shani was seen only sporadically in films following this breakthrough, including the horror opus Terror in the Wax Museum (1973), for the live stage was still her first love. Over the years she has gamely performed in a number of musical staples, including "42nd Street" and "Follies," and toured with Liberace for five years during the 1980s. In 1996, she returned to England to appear in the musical "Always" at the Victoria Palace Theatre.
Shani's most recent on-camera appearances were a 2004 recurring nanny-type role on the daytime soap The Young and the Restless (1973) and a small role in the film Mojave Phone Booth (2006).
Long is married to agent and former actor Bernard Rich; their daughter Rebecca Rich is a costume designer.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
- SpouseBernard Rich(September 13, 1968 - September 10, 2016) (his death, 1 child)
- Children
- ParentsJames John WallisEthel Caroline Wallis
- Gave birth to her only child at age 38, a daughter Rebecca Rich on November 25, 1971. Child's father is her husband, Bernard Rich.
- Designs Christmas ornaments for her friend, Connie Stevens.
- Sister of jazz drummer, Leon Roy.
- In addition to her participation in the soundtrack album from the movie "Oliver!", her recording career included several singles (released on 78 and 45 RPM) on the Philips label in England in the 1950s and 1960s, and one single released in the USA on London Records in 1963. Also, several LP records on the Kapp label in the USA in the 1960s.
- Graduated from RADA in 1951.
- [after the success of Oliver! (1968)] When I came back to America, I had offers to do what became a very famous series on television, The Brady Bunch. I didn't want to do that. I wanted to do movies. But then movie musicals like Doctor Dolittle flopped and they decided not to make any more, which was a big blow. I went back into theatre and nightclubs.
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