Margaret Hollinger, Singer, Episcopal Academy Fund-raiser, Dead at 79

By

Margaret Hollinger
Image via the family.
Margaret Hollinger

Margaret Hollinger, a popular director of development at Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square and who was known in the 1940s and 50s in Drexel Hill, Villanova and Philadelphia as the “little girl with the big voice” died April 15.

 She was 79, writes Gary Miles for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The singer, actress, model, and writer grew up in Villanova and Drexel Hill.

She was a prolific fund-raiser for Episcopal Academy and other local organizations.

Mrs. Hollinger made her professional stage debut at 8 at the Academy of Music in the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company’s production of Rigoletto.

She later performed at nightclubs, dinner theater, cruise-ship productions and on stock, national company and off-Broadway shows.

Her most noted roles were the girl in The Fantasticks and Lili in Carnival.  

Her favorite line of dialogue, from the Fantastics, “Please, God, don’t let me be normal.”

“She was a brilliant woman,” said her husband Chip Hollinger. “She had a vision and was full of life.”

Mrs. Hollinger helped create the development office at Notre Dame de Namur and was instrumental in Episcopal Academy acquiring funds for its new $213 million campus in 2008.

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer about the life of Margaret Hollinger.

Join Our Community

Never miss a Delaware County story!

"*" indicates required fields

Hidden
DT Yes
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Advertisement