June Reimer Springer, an actress, singer and dancer who—as June Reimer—appeared in several shows in the 1940s and '50s, including the original production of Kiss Me, Kate, died Sept. 27 in Chico, CA. She was 85.

Mrs. Springer, the widow of the noted Hollywood publicist John Springer, was born in 1928 in Hackensack, NJ, to Alice and Rudolph Reimer, and grew up in Bogota, NJ.

By age 18, she was a professional singer. To land her part in Kiss Me, Kate, she auditioned before composer Cole Porter himself. A pretty blonde with a fresh-faced, all-American beauty, Mrs. Springer's other Broadway credits of this period included Sigmund Romberg's My Romance (1948) and Three Wishes for Jamie (1952), a Ralph Blane musical comedy staged by Abe Burrows. Mrs. Springer also starred as the Princess in a national tour of Romberg's The Student Prince.

In the 1950s, under the stage name Monica Lane, she joined crooner Cass Franklin as half of a popular singing duo that played New York nightclubs such as The Latin Quarter. The two also appeared on early television variety shows such as "The Colgate Comedy Hour." According to her son, publicist Gary Springer, her publicity pin-up for the Catskills resort Mount Airy Lodge became the source material for Roy Lichtenstein’s famous 1961 Pop Art painting, “Girl With Ball."

In 1953, she married John Springer, a widely known "gentleman publicist" whose clients included Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Gary Cooper. Together, they had three children: Gary, Alicia and Cynthia. Mr. Springer died in 2001.

A memorial will be held later in October in New York City at the Players Club.