James Nolan and Ainslee in a touring production of Bus Stop.

Winifred Ainslee (born Winifred MacIntosh; April 17, 1924 – December 14, 1991)[1][2] was an American actress.

Early years

Ainslee was born Winifred MacIntosh,[3] the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. F. Bringle McIntosh. He was a Methodist minister who became president of Ohio Northern University.[2] Winifred contracted polio at age 6, but although she was in a leg brace for several years, she made a complete recovery and took up ballet to strengthen the affected leg. She attended Randolph-Macon Woman's College[4] and graduated from Ohio State University in 1947,[5] double-majoring in English and Music.[6] Before she finished college, she worked for a year as a [jazz] singer at the Cotton Club and a staff announcer at a radio station in Joplin, Missouri.[4] She also studied at the Juilliard School.[6] Ainslee took her stage name from Audra Ainslee, her aunt, who was leading lady with James K. Hackett.[7]

Career

In the late 1940s Ainslee was a member of the Chicago cast of Brigadoon.[8] The production toured in other cities, including Oakland[5] and St. Louis.[7] In 1950, Ainslee appeared in all productions of the Summer at Pitt Stadium operetta season in Pittsburgh.[9] She performed with the Chicago Music Theatre and the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera,[10] and she was musical director for touring productions of Brigadoon and Finian's Rainbow.[11] In 1952 she was the female lead in a production of High Button Shoes in Chicago.[4]

Ainslee performed on Broadway in Brigadoon (1950), Seventh Heaven (1955),[12] and Auntie Mame (1958).[13] Off-Broadway productions in which she appeared included What's Up (1953)[14] She toured in Paint Your Wagon,[11] Bus Stop, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.[15]

Ainslee acted on television[4] and was a Conover model.[16] After she stopped performing, she worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey until her retirement in the spring of 1991.[17]

Personal life

Ainslee married Wells W Jenney on March 4, 1944, in Franklin County, Ohio; that marriage was annulled a few months later. After graduation and the start of her acting career, she married fellow Brigadoon actor/singer James Schlader in Chicago on October 23, 1948.[18] She married off-Broadway producer James Preston on March 5, 1959, in South Bend, Indiana.[19] They have a daughter, Heather Lee Preston Buzasi.[17]

References

  1. ↑ Winifred Ainslee @ancientfaces.com Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Two Natives In Brigadoon Cast". The Times Recorder. Ohio, Zanesville. November 6, 1950. p. 17. Retrieved August 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Mendlowitz, Leonard (July 6, 1950). "Films: Edwin Michaels Scheduled For 'Pinocchio' Here". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. p. 18. Retrieved August 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Skrivseth, Janet (February 20, 1953). "Former Green Bay Man, Wife Among Luckiest in Theater". Green Bay Press-Gazette. p. 10. Retrieved August 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 "Winifred Ainslee In 'Brigadoon'". Oakland Tribune. July 25, 1949. p. 17. Retrieved August 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 "Winifred Ainslee Draws ONU Role". The Lima News. February 6, 1964. p. 16. Retrieved August 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 "Four Young Married Couples Are In Cast Of 'Brigadoon'". The St. Louis Star and Times. February 16, 1949. p. 18. Retrieved August 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Local Singer Will Marry". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Associated Press. October 22, 1948. p. 9. Retrieved August 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Busy Summer". The Pittsburgh Press. August 11, 1950. p. 21. Retrieved August 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "'Clutterbuck' to be Weston presentation". The Muscatine Journal. July 17, 1952. p. 2. Retrieved August 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 "'Finian's Rainbow' To Close Weston Playhouse Season". Vermont Journal. Vermont, Windsor. September 3, 1953. p. 14. Retrieved August 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Winifred Ainslee". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Show on Broadway: Auntie Mame". Variety. August 13, 1958. p. 58. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Off-B'Way Shows: What's Up". Variety. November 4, 1953. p. 60. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  15. ↑ "At Playhouse". The Record American. Pennsylvania, Mahanoy City. August 23, 1957. p. 5. Retrieved August 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Came To Maine First As Visitor; Now As Actress". Evening Express. Maine, Portland. July 6, 1961. p. 23. Retrieved August 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. 1 2 "Ms. Preston Wed To Derek Buzasi". The New York Times. May 12, 1991. p. 41. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Marriages". Variety. October 27, 1948. p. 55. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Actress Wed to Producer". The New York Times. Associated Press. March 6, 1959. p. 19. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
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