The Associated Press

OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — Christine Johnson Smith, who originated the role of Nettie Fowler in the Rogers and Hammerstein musical "Carousel" when it debuted on Broadway in 1945, has died. She was 98.

Glenn Funeral Home said she died Wednesday at her home in Owensboro.

The Messenger-Inquirer reports she was a native of Hopkinsville but moved to Owensboro as a teen and studied in Tennessee at the Nashville Conservatory of Music before moving to New York in 1937.

She debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1943 before taking the role in "Carousel," which earned her a nomination for a Tony Award.

She married Dr. Robert W. Smith in 1949 and returned to Kentucky to raise a family. She is survived by two daughters. Funeral services were incomplete.

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Information from: Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, http://www.messenger-inquirer.com