Broadway actress/soprano Paula Stewart is originally from Chicago and was christened Dorothy Paula Zürndorfer. Her father was Dr. Walter Zürndorfer and her mother, Esther Morris, was in the Ziegfield Follies and on Broadway in "Lady Be Good" starring Fred Astaire. She attended Northwestern University before deciding on a professional career. She joined the national touring company of "Brigadoon", then signed on as understudy to Ann Crowley in a production of "Seventeen" at the Broadway Theatre in June 1951. She starred in the George White review "Nice to See You" in 1953 at the Versailles Club. During this run, Paula married composer Burt Bacharach. He was also her accompanist and scored arrangements for her night club act. They divorced in 1958.
On stage in "Born Yesterday" (1956) and "Critic's Choice" (1957), she replaced Jo Sullivan in "The Three Penny Opera". This paved the way to the Frank Loesser musical revival of "The Most Happy Fella" at the New York City Center 1959. In 1960, she was a featured player in The Revue "A to Z" starring Hermione Gingold and later that year acted alongside Lucille Ball as her sister in the Broadway musical "Wildcat" at the Alvin Theatre. In 1961, she co-starred with George Gobel in the musical "Let It Ride" at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. In 1965, she co-starred with Steve Lawrence in "What Makes Sammy Run" directed by Abe Burrows at the 54th Street Theatre and also starring Steve Lawrence.
Paula has performed in over 35 musicals and plays on Broadway and summer stock around the country. Among her well-known theatrical co-stars are Donald O'Connor in "Little Me", Gordon McRae and Howard Keel in "Carousel", and Jack Carter in "Operation Mad Ball". She appeared with Carter in nightclubs and USO tours, as well. The couple married in Miami Beach Florida in 1961. They had a son, Michael David Carter, who is a real estate agent, before divorcing in 1970.
Film and TV work for her thrived during the 1960s. Making her big screen debut in Diary of a Bachelor (1964), she made only two other films after that. TV appearances included roles in comedies (Mon Martien favori (1963), The Joey Bishop Show (1961) and Stalag 13 (1965)) as well as dramas (Perry Mason (1957), Route 66 (1960) and La grande vallée (1965)).
Known for having a special zeal for living life to the fullest, Paula has been flying her own planes since she was 17. In addition to appearing in movies, she has produced and has been a Realtor investing in properties in Beverly Hills, Palm Springs and Malibu. Leasing clients have included Michael Douglas, Roger Moore, Rex Harrison and Woody Allen, to name a few. As an interior decorator, her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Good Housekeeping and New York Post. Other sidelines and interests include gourmet cooking, auctioneer, linguistics and the breeding of Yorkies. More recently, Paula had a radio show on KCLA-FM that features Hollywood celebrities and other people with interesting careers.
