Susan Luckey, star of The Music Man and best remembered for her role as Mayor Shinn’s daughter Zaneeta in the 60s musical classic, has died.
Susan Luckey’s legacy is perhaps, in the entertainment realm, defined by her part in the popular film as it turns 50. The Music Man was select in 2005 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, receiving the honor of being officially decreed as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Luckey’s largest film role was alongside Buddy Hackett, Robert Preston, and Shirley Jones, and the film is considered a wholesome American musical romp about a traveling salesman’s efforts to start a marching band in Iowa. ( The Music Man is also the genesis for the “shipoopi” bit in the modern cartoon hit The Family Guy .)
Susan Luckey was one of the now less-common actress, singer, and dancers of Hollywood, a vestige of an age where entertainers committed to more than one discipline. In addition to The Music Man , the actress also starred in the 1956 film Carousel alongside Jones.
Luckey passed away back on November 29, and her daughter, Shayna Reynolds, confirmed her death to TMZ but did not cite a specific illness as the reason. The site reports:
“Reynolds tells TMZ that her mother – real name Suzanne Douglas — hadn’t been suffering from any long-term illness … explaining that her death was “just old age.” … We’re told Susan didn’t want a traditional funeral — instead, her body was cremated and the remains placed in a “decorative box” where other family members have been laid to rest.”
Susan Luckey was 74.
