A sultry blonde vocalist and composer-lyricist of intimate, sometimes cynical ballads and jazzy torch songs, Peggy Lee first gained fame as a singer with Benny Goodman's band. She has since enjoyed solo success on TV and in nightclub appearances and has recorded over sixty albums. Among her better known hit singles are "Fever" and "Is That All There Is?"
Lee has made a handful of guest appearances in films from her debut in "Stage Door Canteen" (1943) and delivered dramatic turns in two features. In Michael Curtiz's 1953 remake of "The Jazz Singer", she was the musical star who encouraged the cantor's son (Danny Thomas) to pursue his show biz dream. Two years later, Lee had a banner year in films: she wrote five songs and voiced several characters for Disney's animated "The Lady and the Tramp" and she earned an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her turn as an alcoholic singer hitting bottom in "Pete Kelly's Blues". While Lee has never appeared in another film, she has written and performed songs for such diverse films as Stanley Kramer's "The Pride and the Passion" (1957), "Tom Thumb" (1958) and "The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming" (1966).
Lee continued to perform in nightclubs, despite health problems (double bypass surgery, a fall that has left her confined to a wheelchair). In 1991, she made headlines when she successfully sued Disney for a share of the profits from the videocassette sales of "The Lady and the Tramp", claiming the studio had violated her contract by releasing the film without her permission. A jury awarded her a $3.825 million settlement that was reduced by a judge to $2.3 million. In 1998, she suffered a stroke which put an end to her long and distinguished career. She died on January 21, 2002 at age 81.
- Also Credited As:
Miss Peggy Lee, Norma Deloris Engstrom, Susan Melton
- Born:
May 26, 1920 in Jamestown, North Dakota, USA
- Died:
January 21, 2002.
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Job Titles:
Singer, Actor, Record producer, Songwriter, Bread slicer in a bakery, Cow milker, Waitress
Family
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Daughter: Nicki Lee Barbour Foster. born in 1944; has three children
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Father: Marvin Engstrom. remarried
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Granddaughter: Holly Foster Wells. served as vice president of Peggy Lee Enterprizes
Milestones
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1934 Made radio debut at age 14 (date approximate)
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1941 First break, a vocal group with which she performed was hired to play clubs in Chicago
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1941 Seen by Benny Goodman and asked to join his band as the female vocalist; made first record with Goodman, Elmer s Tune ; left Goodman in 1943
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1943 Film debut as a guest artist in Stage Door Canteen
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1943 Had first hit Why Don t You Do Right
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1943 Played a singer performing The Lady Who Didn t Believe in Love in the film The Powers Girl
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1945 Signed to a recording contract by Capitol Records
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1946 Early TV appearance in the first network-produced hour-long variety show Hour Glass (NBC)
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1946 Starred in the short Banquet of Melody , performing own composition I Don t Know Enough About You , written with husband Dave Barbour
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1947 Recorded song It s a Good Day , co-written with Barbour
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1948 Had hit single Manana
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1950 Appeared opposite Bing Crosby in the film Mr. Music
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1951 Starred in the CBS summer variety series The Peggy Lee Show
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1952 Made dramatic debut in films in the short Midnight Serenade (filmed in 1947)
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1952 Switched recording labels and signed with Decca Records; first success with that label, Lover
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1953 Played first dramatic lead in a feature as the woman who loves The Jazz Singer , played by Danny Thomas
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1955 Provided voices of several characters and wrote songs for Disney s Lady and the Tramp
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1955 Won acclaim and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance as an alcoholic singer in Pete Kelly s Blues ; last feature acting role to date
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1956 Starred opposite Jack Benny as his wife in the CBS production Shower of Stars: The Flattering World
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1957 Left Decca and returned to Capitol Records
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1958 Recorded one of her signature songs, Fever
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1960 Had rare dramatic TV role in So Deadly, So Evil broadcast on CBS General Electric Theatre
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1960 Headlined own CBS variety special Revlon Presents: 76 Men and Peggy Lee , directed by Abe Burrows
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1961 British TV debut in Big Night Out (BBC)
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1963 Appeared at Lincoln Center s Philharmonic Hall in a program called The Jazz Tree
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1966 Starred in the syndicated variety program Something Special with Peggy Lee
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1969 Had hit recording of Is That All There Is?
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1969 Headlined the public television broadcast The World of Peggy Lee (National Educational Television)
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1972 Made rare acting appearance as a guest on the legal show Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (ABC), playing a singer-songwriter involved in a plagiarism suit
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1974 Performed the Oscar-nominated song The Way We Were on the annual telecast of the Academy Awards
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1976 Suffered near-fatal fall in a New York City hotel
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1977 Headlined the variety program Peggy for Thames Television in Great Britain
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1981 Starred in Peggy Lee Entertains (BBC-2)
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1983 Made sole Broadway appearance in the autobiographical one-woman show Peg ; production closed after 13 previews and five performances
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1984 Starred in PBS presentation Peggy Lee Live in Atlantic City
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1985 Underwent heart surgery
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1987 Seriously injured in a fall in Las Vegas
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1991 Awarded $3.83 million in videocassette profits from (she was originally paid $3,500 for her work in the 1955 film which had then grossed over $70 million in profits from video sales)
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1998 Suffered a stroke on October 27
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Adopted stage name after moving to Fargo
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Filed lawsuit against Disney for share of royalties of videocassette sales of The Lady and the Tramp