Virginia “Annette” Hunt (1935-2023) was an actress and singer. She was elected to The Lambs in 1999 as a Professional member. Annette served The Lambs as a director on the Lambs Council.
Annette was born Jan. 31, 1935, in Hampton, Virginia. Her parents, Thomas Grayson Hunt and Chrystine Saunders, raised her on their farm on Mercury Boulevard. Annette attended local schools. She made her way to New York City in 1956 with The Barter Theatre.
She married Chris Gampel, whom she met on tour performing the role of Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker. In an acting career that spanned more than 60 years, she played hundreds of roles, always thrilled to be part of a theater company.
Among her favorites were Shen Te/Shui Ta in The Good Woman of Szechuan, Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Amanda in The Glass Menagerie, Dunyasha in The Cherry Orchard, the title role in Dona Rosita, and Alice in Eve Ensler’s Lemonade. She became nationally recognizable as the character Harriet in television advertisements for Ajax Cleanser. She studied to become an opera singer and performed in many concert halls, including Carnegie Hall.
Annette Hunt died on Jan. 11, 2023, at the Actors Fund Home in New Jersey. She was 87 years old. Her family said she was known as The Happy Sparrow, because she sang all the time.
Following Annette’s death, her daughter, Abigail Gampel, performed a tribute to her mother at Low Jinks with accompanist Woody Regan.