Peg LaCentra
Margherita Maria Francesca LaCentra[1] (c. 1910 – June 1, 1996)[2] was an American contralto[3] singer, best known for her work on old-time radio and her singing with Artie Shaw's orchestra. She also performed as Barbara Fulton.
Peg LaCentra | |
---|---|
Born | Margherita Maria Francesca LaCentra c.1910 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | June 1, 1996, age 86 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Other names | Barbara Fulton |
Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Early years
Born in Boston, LaCentra studied at the Fenway Academy of Dramatic Art and the New England Conservatory of Music[4] and graduated from Katharine Gibbs College.[5]
Radio
LaCentra worked as an announcer at WNAC[5] and performed on WBZ radio in Boston[6] before moving to New York in 1931 to work on network radio broadcasts.[2] She performed on NBC programs, including Beauty Box Theater, Circus Night in Silvertown, and Lucky Smith.[4]
In 1934, LaCentra was billed as Barbara Fulton when she sang with Leo Reisman's orchestra on radio. Use of the pseudonym was necessary because Reisman's sponsor was a competitor of the one for which she sang on another program.[7] In December 1934, she began singing with Harry Reser and his orchestra on a new weekly program on NBC.[8]
In 1935, a group of five radio stars selected LaCentra and Bob Lawrence to star in a new program, The Radio City Party, on NBC-Blue.[9] Also in 1935, she was the leading lady on Max Baer's radio program.[10] She gained her own program, The Peg LaCentra Show, on NBC in 1938,[11] a year in which she also sang on For Men Only on NBC.[12]
LaCentra was one of the stars of the Gulden's Mustard Serenade, a 15-minute variety show broadcast on NBC twice weekly in 1940.[13] She and singer Jerry Wayne co-starred in a twice-weekly musical program on CBS in 1944.[14] As a dramatic actress, she frequently played supporting roles in Mutual's romantic thriller, The Modern Adventures of Casanova (1952).[12]: 466-467
In addition to her work on network radio, LaCentra recorded programs for NBC's Thesaurus music service.[15]
Stage and television
LaCentra appeared on Broadway as Mrs. Hamilton in The Patriots (1943).[16] In 1957, she appeared in a production of the romantic comedy Janus at the Pasadena Playhouse.[17]
On television, she played Amanda on the CBS comedy series The Marge and Gower Champion Show (1957).[18]
Orchestras and recordings
In 1932, LaCentra sang with Phil Spitalny and his orchestra.[3] Her first recording was "The Fortune Teller" (1934) with Johnny Green's orchestra on the Columbia label.[2]
In 1936, LaCentra joined Shaw as a singer for his newly formed orchestra. The two had worked together when she sang on The Mell-O-Roll Ice Cream Show, on which he was a member of the orchestra. In their new relationship, they performed in New York at the Paramount Theater and the Lexington Hotel. She recorded with Shaw for Brunswick records for a year.[2] She also sang with Benny Goodman's orchestra[1] and recorded with Jerry Sears' orchestra for Bluebird Records.[2]
Film
LaCentra was a ghost singer in feature films, dubbing vocal performances for stars including Susan Hayward in Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman (1947) and Ida Lupino in The Man I Love (1947).[19] She also appeared in short films,[2] including Broadway Follies, (1937) a series of single-reel musicals from Columbia Pictures,[20] and sang in cafe sequences in Humoresque (1946).[21]
Personal life
LaCentra married actor Paul Stewart in 1939.[2] For years, they had a commuter marriage, as she worked in New York and he made films in Hollywood.[1]
Death
On June 1, 1996, LaCentra died at age 86 of a heart attack at her home in Los Angeles.[2]
References
- "Peg LaCentra; Actress and Big Band Vocalist". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. September 12, 1996. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- Grimes, William (September 8, 1996). "Peg LaCentra, 86, a Singer With Shaw Orchestra". The New York Times. New York, New York City. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- "Air Attractions Tonight". The Boston Globe. Massachusetts, Boston. June 16, 1932. p. 30. Retrieved 24 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- Pegg, Alice (July 20, 1935). "On the Way Up" (PDF). Radio Guide. IV (39): 4. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- "If You Want a Radio Sweetie She's Eligible" (PDF). Radio Stars: 44. June 1934. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- "WBZ radio listing". Hartford Courant. Connecticut, Hartford. November 19, 1930. p. 16. Retrieved 24 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- Steinhauser, S. H. (October 4, 1934). "Pittsburgh Rabbi To Go On Net; Other Ministers Here May Follow". The Pittsburgh Press. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. p. 36. Retrieved 24 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- Lawrence, Bill (December 9, 1934). "Officials' Speeches to Head the Radio Week". The Nebraska State Journal. Nebraska, Lincoln. p. 23. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- Doran, Dorothy (March 11, 1935). "Musicians' Committee Names Peg LaCentra, Bob Lawrence Stars". The Akron Beacon Journal. Ohio, Akron. p. 7. Retrieved 25 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- Goodwin, Betty (June 30, 1935). "Orchids and Peanuts: a Radio Star's Story, And Peg LaCentra Enjoys One Just as Much as the Other". Detroit Free Press. Michigan, Detroit. p. 11. Retrieved 25 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 267. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
- Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 282. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3.
- "Gulden Show Back". Variety. October 9, 1940. p. 37. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
- "Jerry Wayne and Peg LaCentra Head New Twice Weekly Musicale on WHP". Harrisburg Telegraph. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. May 20, 1944. p. 15. Retrieved 25 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- "(National Broadcasting Company advertisement)". Broadcasting. December 1, 1938. p. 33. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
- "Peg La Centra (sic)". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- "Husband-Wife Team Star in Pasadena 'Janus' Performance". The San Bernardino County Sun. California, San Bernardino. November 21, 1957. p. 38. Retrieved 25 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 655. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
- Stanfield, Peter (2005). Body and Soul: Jazz and Blues in American Film, 1927-63. University of Illinois Press. p. 203. ISBN 9780252072352. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
- "(Columbia Pictures advertisement)". The Film Daily. October 15, 1937. p. 14. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
- "The Cinema". The Ottawa Journal. Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. July 8, 1947. p. 8. Retrieved 25 February 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- Peg LaCentra at IMDb