Elaine (Ewald) Swann (1919-2015) was an actress, comedienne and cabaret performer. She was elected to The Lambs in 1989.
Born in Baltimore, she attended the University of North Carolina, and married S. Donovan Swann Jr., a producer who operated the Hilltop Theatre in Baltimore. She often performed with her husband’s company, which attracted many top stars to the city. Later, during her cabaret show, she told audiences that she also cooked dinner, made costumes, and did all kinds of other things to keep the company afloat. The marriage ended in divorce, but she kept the name.
Elaine spent many years playing old ladies, most of them funny. She made her Broadway debut in 1957 in the original cast of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man. Other Broadway credits include Frank Loesser’s Greenwillow (1960), the Dietz and Schwartz musical Jennie (1963) and Lillian Hellman’s play My Mother, My Father and Me (also 1963).
In the 1980s, Elaine took to the cabaret stage, performing some songs that were written for her (Murray Grand’s “Morris Was Nice”) and several songs originally popularized by Beatrice Lillie. She also continued her stage career, performing with the Amateur Comedy Club in New York City.
It was her cabaret career that brought her to The Lambs. An old friend, press agent David Lipsky, invited her to LoJinx, where she performed with her longtime accompanist, Stu Chamberlain. Both were invited to join the Flock; Stu accepted immediately, and eventually became Elaine’s sponsor.
Late in life she was the subject of a major multimedia work, “Swann Songs,” by photographer Kendall Messick. That work is still in progress.
In rehearsals, Elaine always had one question about new material: “Is it funny?” If doubts were ever expressed, she would always answer: “Don’t worry, I’ll make it funny.” And she always did.
– Stu Chamberlain