Janie Sell obit

Tony Winner Janie Sell Has Died at 86

Ms. Sell was a treasured performer of the mid-century musical, appearing in George M!, Irene, I Love My Wife, Pal Joey, and Happy End. 

She was not on the list.

Tony winner Janie Sell died June 9, after a brief illness. News of her passing was confirmed by her longtime friend, Walter Bobbie. She was 86 years old.

Ms. Sell was a treasured performer of the mid-century musical, appearing on Broadway in George M! with Joel Grey, Irene with Debbie Reynolds, I Love My Wife with The Smothers Brothers, Pal Joey with Eleanor Parker, and Happy End with Christopher Lloyd. She also appeared in Moon Over Buffalo, where she stood by for Carol Burnett.

In 1974, Ms. Sell won the Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her performance in the patriotic musical Over Here! She starred opposite The Andrews Sisters, and also won a Theatre World Award for the role.

Off-Broadway, Ms. Sell appeared in Dames at Sea, and she starred in Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater as Sylvia Rosewater.

After achieving such success on the stage, Ms. Sell surprised the industry in the mid-1990s by pivoting to the business world. She went back to school, attending Hunter College, and then worked her way up at Young & Rubicam, starting as a receptionist before being promoted to personal assistant to Peter Georgescu, chairman of Young & Rubicam Worldwide.

Ms. Sell is survived by her son, Jason Fries, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Her two husbands, businessman Earl Fries and Journalist Pat Trese, predeceased her. Information on a public memorial is forthcoming.

Television and film

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1975    Wives  Frannie            TV movie

1979    Starting Fresh  Phoebe Johnson          TV movie

Lost and Found           Zelda  

1980    Captain Kangaroo       Old Mother Hubbard  1 episode

1983    Your Place...Or Mine  Sandy  TV movie

1984    A Good Sport  Sherry  TV movie