Gertrude Lawrence(1898-1952)

Her last role was as Anna Leonowens in the original Broadway stage production of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's "The King and I". She discovered she had cancer during the early part of the stage run and died the year after the show opened. One of her last requests was that Yul Brynner, her leading man in the show, be upgraded in the posters and playbills from below to above-the title billing, sharing star billing with whoever would play Anna in other performances.