All Photos: Alan Mercer
Shani Wallis is a joy to be around. I have a feeling she has always been this way. I met with her at the Hollywood Collectors Show this past April. We were instant friends. I fell in love with her indomitable spirit the moment she started speaking. She is amazingly talented and versatile.
Making her first stage appearance at the age of four, Shani Wallis later studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on a scholarship. She went on to play many leading roles in the West End, but she is best known for the role of Nancy in Carol Reed's 1968 film production of Lionel Bart's musical ‘Oliver!’ which co-starred Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, Jack Wild and Mark Lester. Shani Wallis has also appeared with many entertainers including Liberace, Jack Benny, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
A few film roles came her way earlier in England, including ‘The Extra Day’ in 1956 and ‘Ramsbottom Rides Again’ in 1956, not to mention a minor singing bit in Charles Chaplin's ‘A King in New York’ in 1957. Other than assorted variety show appearances and a televised performance supporting Carol Burnett in ‘Once Upon a Mattress’ in 1964 for TV, she found only a modicum of on-camera work. Then she nabbed the role of a lifetime as the ill-fated Nancy in the Oscar-winning picture ‘Oliver!’ in 1968. 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,’ now considered her signature song. Having never played the part before, 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 in 1973, for the live stage was still her first love. Over the years she has gamely performed in a number of musical staples, including’Irma La Duce,’ ‘42nd Street’ and ‘Follies,’ and toured with Liberace for five years during the 1980s.
Shani is a naturalized citizen of the United States, where she has lived for some time. She married her agent/manager Bernie Rich on Friday 13 September 1968. Asked, "Why on that day?" she replied, "Everything good has happened to me on Friday 13th and Shani means ‘lucky jewel.’ The couple have one child, Rebecca, and two granddaughters.
Special thanks to Jim Forgetta for arranging this opportunity.
AM: Have you seen all the Youtube videos of yourself Shani?
SW: Some of them I have.
AM: There are new ones added all the time. You should check routinely.
SW: I’ll have to take a look.
AM: I just fell in love with you watching those videos. You are a real show stopper!
SW: (laughing) Well I try! I’ve had the opportunity of singing some great songs so that helps.
AM: Do you consider yourself more of an actress or a singer?
SW: It just depends on what’s happening.
AM: You’re a great dramatic actress.
SW: I’ve done some drama but mostly I grew up singing and dancing. I’ve always had it in my blood and always enjoyed doing it.
AM: Where are you from?
SW: I’m from London. I’m a Cockney! My father was deaf so he never heard me sing. He was so wonderful.
AM: Did you learn sign language?
SW: I never did sign language. He was deaf from the first world war and I used to just mouth him. That’s where I go my diction from. You know what, whenever I got in an argument with him all he had to do was turn around and he could ignore me!
AM: If I was deaf I would still enjoy your performances because you are so visual.
SW: That’s what he did. He used to go to my shows, sit in the audience and watch me and watch the people around to see if they were laughing. When I’d go on television he would watch and tell me I used too many arm movements.
AM: So did his advice hone you as a performer?
SW: I think so. He was a wonderful man.
AM: Do you enjoy looking at your past performances?
SW: I don’t mind. I did some good stuff and I did some bad stuff.
AM: I don’t see any bad stuff anywhere.
SW: We make mistakes in our lives. I look back and think why did I do that?
AM: Did you record a lot of albums?
SW: Yes, a lot. When we were in England my husband produced an album with 16 cuts. MCA owns them. I’ve done some lovely songs.
AM: They need to be on iTunes.
SW: I haven’t done anything much like this but I did put out a ‘Best of Shani’ on my own. I’ve been a very private person.
AM: How long have you and your husband been together?
SW: Almost fifty years. We went together for four years before we got married in 1968. We went to the Royal Command Performance of ‘Oliver!’ in London and left for our honeymoon in Venice.
AM: Did you meet the Royal family?
SW: We sat with Princess Margaret and she smoked like crazy! We sat at the table and she was a riot. She is a wonderful person.
AM: What happened after ‘Oliver!’ that you didn’t make anymore big musicals?
SW: ‘Oliver!’ was the last big musical. They wanted me for ‘Paint Your Wagon’ but I’m glad I didn’t do it. It wasn’t the best. I did stage work in London for a long time.
AM: You are primarily a stage performer. When did you start?
SW: I got my big break in 1952 in ‘Call Me Madame.’ I was a little girl of seventeen who became a star overnight.
AM: Were you naive?
SW: Terribly naive but I’d been dancing and singing since I was three years old. I always wanted to be on the stage. I still am naive! (laughing)
AM; You are not bored are you?
SW: No, life is too wonderful.
AM: What is a day in your life like?
SW: I look after my husband and my grandchildren. One is five and the other one is eleven. I’ve looked after them since they were babies.
AM: Can they keep up with you?
SW: (laughter) Sort of. They are dynamite.
AM: Do they like ‘Oliver!’?
SW: My daughter keeps them away from ‘Oliver!’ right now. They call me Nana. I’m just a grandma.
AM: Are you most proud of being a mother and grandmother?
SW: I think so, although I’m proud of my work too. I’m proud of a lot of things. My daughter is in the pharmaceutical business and she does very well.
AM: What is your favorite of all the musicals you have starred in?
SW: ‘Irma La Duce.’ I did that at the Lyric Theatre in London for almost two years.
AM: Did you enjoy being in a show that long?
SW: No!
AM: Nobody likes that.
SW: Now they let you go after a year.
AM: You have your priorities in order.
SW: Don’t you have? Family comes first. My husband and I are never apart. What you must have constant in your life is people who surround you and love you. Everything else just goes by.
AM: Do you mind being an older person?
SW: No I don’t. I don’t mind being my age. I’m glad to have reached this age. As far as mistakes go....that’s life! That’s the song.
Photo of me and Shani Wallis by Jeffrey Dalrymple