Abby Lewis on AllMovie

Abby Lewis was primarily a Broadway actress who made only the occasional feature film. Before becoming an actress, Lewis (born Camelia Albon Lewis and an ancestor of American explorer Meriwether Lewis) taught high school in New Mexico. She got her start in summer stock then toured with Walter Hampden's repertory company between 1933 and 1934. Lewis (billing herself as Albon Lewis) took her first Broadway bow in 1934 playing the Player Queen in Hamlet. She first used the name Abby Lewis appearing in the premiere production of You Can't Take It With You. Lewis frequently appeared on radio and early television. Her final film credit was an appearance in the I-MAX drama Across the Sea of Time (1995). On November 27, 1997, just two nights after acting in a skit with late-night television talk show host Conan O'Brien, the 87-year-old Lewis passed away. In addition to acting, Lewis was the president of the Rose Laird cosmetics company.