E.J. Peaker, the actress and singer best known for playing Minnie Fay in Barbra Streisand's Hello, Dolly!, has died at the age of 82. She passed away at her home in Las Vegas on May 16 after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. Her husband, Scott Rosen, confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter on Monday.
Career and Early Life
Born Edra Jean Peaker in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on February 22, 1944, she graduated from Centennial High School in Pueblo, Colorado, before studying drama at the University of New Mexico and the University of Vienna. Reflecting on her hometown, she told The New York Times in 1968: “They would tell us in high school what an important place it was because it would be the second city to be bombed when the country was attacked. That was when I started thinking about leaving.”
Peaker began her career early, appearing on her first telethon at age five. She later landed in the road company of Bye Bye Birdie and made her on-screen debut on a 1964 episode of Route 66.
Television and Film Roles
After the short-lived ABC musical comedy That's Life with Robert Morse, she appeared on seven episodes of Love, American Style from 1969 to 1973. Her credits include Charlie's Angels, The Rockford Files, The Streets of San Francisco, Wonder Woman, and Quincey, M.E. She also played Rose Harris on The Greatest American Hero and Carla St. James on Madame's Place.
Peaker appeared 17 times on The Tonight Show and on several game shows. In her later years, she became an advocate for the homeless in Encino, California.
Personal Life and Survivors
Peaker was married three times: first to film producer Bob Zampino, then to accountant Steven Lee Salko, who died in 2010, and finally to Scott Rosen. She is survived by her son and siblings. A memorial is scheduled for August 22 in Pueblo.
