Lit Connah

News Obituary Article

ATLANTA: Lit Connah, singer, dancer on film, TV

By J.E. GESHWILER

Lit Connah didn't mind in the least being type-cast on TV and movies and on stage as a feisty little old lady.

One who could sing and dance and, by the way, kick above her head like a chorus girl.

"Thirty years ago at age 65, Mama was kind of discovered by a talent agent when she played a grandmother in a local amateur production of 'Tommy.' He lined up other senior-type roles for her," said her daughter, Carol Seville of Charlotte.

Mrs. Connah went on to star in local nightclub revues and TV commercials and to play small parts in films and TV series.

"Mama concentrated on age-appropriate roles. She never fudged about her age. She was proud of her durability," Mrs. Seville said.

Caroline Elizabeth "Lit" Connah, 95, of Atlanta, died Monday at Lenbrook Square of complications following a stroke. The family plans a private memorial service Sunday. The body was cremated. Cremation Society of the South is in charge of arrangements.

Born in Charlotte, Mrs. Connah got her first taste of Broadway when her father took her along on a trip to New York.

"Mama fell in love with the stage, and after she finished high school, she went back to New York to train as a dancer," said Mrs. Seville.

"Soon she was dancing in shows like 'Cherrio' and 'Headin' South' and with a touring troupe that went around the country. But entertainment jobs dried up during the Depression, and then Mama met our father, a show-business publicist, got married and moved to Atlanta in 1939. Over the years, she kept her hand in, performing in amateur productions, especially children's theater," she said.

A busy performer in TV and print ads, Mrs. Connah had clients including Coca-Cola, Gulf Oil, Kodak, Red Lobster, Kraft Foods and Pepsi-Cola. "Mama did feisty things like impatiently kicking an ATM machine," her daughter said.

Occasional parts in movies and TV series came her way. "She appeared a couple of times in the series 'In the Heat of the Night," and years later was still receiving small residual checks," her daughter said.

Among her film credits were "Cannonball Run," "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" and "Heavenly Kid." In the latter, she played a bag lady aboard a MARTA train. "Wasn't I the worst-looking thing you ever saw? I looked like a big frog," she said in a 1985 Constitution interview.

"Lit and I did one-woman shows on the same bill at Gene and Gabe's in 1981," said Libby Whittemore of Atlanta, owner of Libby's, a Cabaret. "Lit was a ball of energy. She danced, sang and told stories, and audiences loved her. It was my first solo act, so I spent a lot of time observing her."

Offstage, Mrs. Connah had another artistic outlet.

"When Mama quit smoking, she needed something to do with her hands, so she started wadding up newspaper," Mrs. Seville said.

"She got the idea to do something with the paper, so she began constructing large papier-mache animals. She made them so lifelike that Zoo Atlanta and Saks Fifth Avenue used them in their promotions. In most kitchens, you'd find cookies baking in the oven; in Mama's kitchen, it could be a giraffe leg."

Survivors include four sons, Douglas Connah Jr. of Baltimore, Paul Connah of Los Angeles, Whit Connah of Tucker and James Connah of Sandy Springs, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

© 2004 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution