Stella Hammerstein Stella Hammerstein Stella Hammerstein was an American actress. She was sometimes billed as Stella Steele. Hammerstein was the daughter of Oscar Hammerstein I and Malvina Jacobi Hammerstein, both of whom initially opposed her going into show business as a profession. In 1908, she told a "New York Times" reporter of her father's reaction when, at age 20, she told him that she was going into musical comedy: "Papa without more ado piled me over his knee and applied the hairbrush vigorously." Eventually he accepted her desire to be an actress. In 1902, Hammerstein joined the stock theater company headed by
Rodgers and Hammerstein short-lived TV sitcom in 1972, "Anna and the King". Based on the fairytale character and story of Cinderella, Rodgers and Hammerstein created their only collaborative effort written for television. "Cinderella" aired on March 31, 1957, on CBS. More than 107 million viewers saw the broadcast, and Julie Andrews was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the title role. Rodgers and Hammerstein originally signed to work with NBC, but CBS approached them, offering the chance to work with Julie Andrews, and the two quickly agreed. Rodgers stated, "What won us over was the chance to work with Julie."