Emulating her mother, who sang in the church choir, Hazel Weber Steck was determined to be a performer. She admired the styles of Mae West and Ethel Merman. Finishing high school a semester early in 1939, she continued her education at Texas State College for Women, where she received a B.S. in Music in 1943.

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After graduation, she attended the Juilliard School of Music in New York, where she earned a Master’s degree. Staying at the Barbizon Hotel for Women, she made important contacts and soon began appearing in off-Broadway productions.

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Gradually, she made a move to Broadway, where she worked with such performers as Ann Miller, Barbara Eden, and Mickey Rooney. Her stage appearances in stand-out productions of Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, and many others made her a favorite among audiences.

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She made the circuit in traveling shows as well, appearing mostly in the mid-west market, before retiring in Coventry, Connecticut. Fittingly, Ms. Steck died in our own Julie Rogers Theater in Beaumont while home for a visit on October 27, 1994.