Halston was born in Flushing, Queens. Her parents, Rudolph "Rudy" Abatelli and Julia Madeline "Dolly" (née Gardner) moved to Commack, Long Island, when Halston was four years old.[3] After attending a Catholic high school, she graduated from Hofstra University, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre arts.[4]
Career
Halston first achieved recognition as an actress through her co-starring performances in the comedy plays of writer-performer, Charles Busch in the 1980s in New York City.[5] She was a founding member of his theatre company, Theatre-in-Limbo, which along with other writers and performers such as Charles Ludlam, Lypsinka, Ann Magnuson, and John Fleck, to name a few, were part of a cultural movement that helped revitalize the Off-Broadway theatre.[6] Busch considered Halston his muse and wrote many roles for her in his plays including Vampire Lesbians of Sodom (1984),The Lady in Question (1989), Red Scare on Sunset (1991), You Should be so Lucky (1994), The Divine Sister (2011), The Tribute Artist (2013).[7]
She wrote a series of one-woman comedy shows that eventually led to a successful Off-Broadway production entitled Julie Halston's Lifetime of Comedy (1992).[8] The show earned her an Outer Critics Circle nomination for Best Play and landed Halston a CBS network development deal.[9] The pilot was called Those Two and co-starred Harvey Fierstein. It was written by Bob Randall, the co-producer of Kate and Allie.[10] The show was not developed into a series and Halston returned to the stage and subsequently appeared in many Off-Broadway and Broadway shows including The Man Who Came to Dinner (2000), The Women (2001), Hairspray (2002), Gypsy (2003), Twentieth Century (2004), Anything Goes (2012-replacement), You Can't Take it with You (2014), On The Town (2015), and Tootsie (2019).[11]
Halston received Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for Red Scare on Sunset (1991), White Chocolate (2004), The Divine Sister (2011), and You Can't Take it With You (2014). In addition she received the Richard Seff Award for her portrayal of Gay Wellington in You Can't Take it With You.[9]
On September 26, 2021, the Tony Awards Administration Committee presented Halston with the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for her advocacy in raising awareness and funding for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation.[12]
Halston in 2014
Her solo comedy performances at the Birdland Jazz Club are SRO engagements that have earned her four MAC Awards (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs).[13] In 2011, Halston received the designation "Legend of Off-Broadway" from the Off-Broadway Theatre Alliance[14] and received an Excellence in Theatre Award from the Abington Theatre Company.[15] In 2008, along with fellow writer Donna Daley, she co-authored the book Monologues for Show-Offs published by Heinemann Press. The book is used by casting agents, colleges, and performers for audition material.[16] In May 2020, along with Jim Caruso, Halston launched a popular online talk show titled Virtual Halston and all 41 episodes are available on YouTube.[17]
Although she has extensive film and television credits, she is most known for her portrayal of Bitsy von Muffling, a character first seen in HBO Max's Sex and The City. She reprised the role in the current Max original series And Just Like That....[18]
Personal life
In 1992, Halston married anchor man and entertainment reporter Ralph Howard. Howard worked for WINS and The Howard Stern Show at Sirius XM until his retirement in 2013.[19] Howard died on August 7, 2018, from complications of pulmonary fibrosis.[20]
