Born Doretta Morano in Brooklyn, Doretta Morrow made her Broadway debut at the age of eighteen in the revival of the classic Victor Herbert/Henry Blossom operetta, The Red Mill, in 1945. Frequently featured on early television variety shows from Ed Sullivan to Steve Allen, Morano originated the role of Kitty Verdun in Where’s Charley?, Frank Loesser’s 1948 musical adaptation of the celebrated stage play, Charley’s Aunt.
Morrow had her first starring role as Tuptim in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1951 hit, The King and I, and made her last Broadway appearance as Marsinah, Haji’s daughter, in the original cast of Kismet in 1953. After reprising the role in London in 1955 and touring for several years, Morrow’s last musical appearance came in London in 1959, in the role of The Princess in Cole Porter’s Aladdin.
Doretta Morrow made only one film, Because You’re Mine, in 1952; she starred opposite the legendary Philadelphian singer, Mario Lanza.
