Loretta Lee Explained

Loretta Lee
Birth Name:Margaret Viegas
or Vieages
Birth Date:14 June 1913
Birth Place:New Orleans, Louisiana
Occupation:Singer
Alma Mater:Peabody Conservatory of Music
Spouse:Irvin L. Dussom

Loretta Lee (June 14, 1913[1] – January 21, 1977[2]) was an American singer in the first half of the 20th century.

Early years

Lee was born Margaret Viegas (or Vieages)[3] in New Orleans, the daughter of a juvenile court judge,[4] Joseph Viegas (or Vieages), and his wife.[3] Her ancestry was Spanish on her father's side and Irish on her mother's side.[5] She was educated at a convent in New Orleans,[6] but left that city as a teenager because her parents opposed her romance with a young Frenchman.[7]

She sang with the Boswell Sisters at charity functions when she was a youngster and later studied music at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, winning a Peabody scholarship for four years and a Juilliard scholarship for one year. She was the third Peabody student to graduate as a singer.[8] On June 1, 1927, radio station WBAL in Baltimore, Maryland, broadcast one of her recitals.

Career

A visit to a publishing house during a trip to New York City in 1932,[8] when she was 18,[9] led to a singing engagement for Lee at a New York night club, launching her career.[8] George Hall, leader of the orchestra at the Hotel Taft,[10] heard her singing and invited her to perform with his orchestra,[8] which she did that same evening. A year later, she was also the female singer with Hall and his orchestra on his program on CBS radio.[11]

In the fall of 1935, she became a featured vocalist on Your Hit Parade, as the program's lineup of performers was revamped.[12] Also in 1935, she was the singer on a comedy program that featured Marty May[13] and Carol Deis,[14] and she had her own program on CBS radio.[15] In 1937, she became the main vocalist on a new radio program featuring Werner Janssen and his orchestra.[16]

She also performed in theaters in vaudeville engagements[17] and appeared in the short film Midnight Melodies.[18]

Personal life

Lee was married to Irvin L. Dussom.[19]

Notes and References

  1. What Do You Want to Know?. Radio Mirror. October 1936. 6. 6. 56. 15 January 2018.
  2. Web site: The Times Picayune 1977 Obituary Index Orleans Parish Louisiana. usgwarchives.net. The Times Picayune. 15 January 2018.
  3. News: New Orleans. 15 January 2018. Radio Daily. July 9, 1937. 3.
  4. Gallery of Beauty. Radio Mirror. October 1935. 4. 6. 22. 14 January 2018.
  5. News: Radio Songster Coming Friday. The St. Louis Star and Times. January 20, 1937. Missouri, St. Louis. 17. Newspapers.com. January 15, 2018.
  6. News: Bloomfield. Howard. Loretta Rose to Radio Fame in Afternoon. Democrat and Chronicle. May 12, 1935. New York, Rochester. 7C. Newspapers.com. January 16, 2018.
  7. October 1936. (untitled continuation). Radio Mirror. 6. 6. 79. 15 January 2018.
  8. News: WBAL Lists Loretta Lee. The Baltimore Sun. May 29, 1927. Maryland, Baltimore. Part 2, Section 1 - Page 12. Newspapers.com. January 13, 2018.
  9. Brown. Harold P.. Twists and Turns. Radio Digest. March 1933. XXX. 2. 4. 15 January 2018.
  10. News: Woodside Attractions. The Philadelphia Inquirer. July 23, 1933. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. 47. Newspapers.com. January 13, 2018.
  11. News: Doran. Dorothy. University Glee Club To Give Air Concert. The Akron Beacon Journal. January 26, 1933. Ohio, Akron. 24. Newspapers.com. January 13, 2018.
  12. News: 'New Hit Parade' Cast Stars Loretta Lee and Willie Morris. The Morning Call. November 26, 1935. Pennsylvania, Allentown. 16. Newspapers.com. January 13, 2018.
  13. News: Bernes. Robert. The Radio Reporter. . August 4, 1935. Michigan, Detroit. Screen & Radio Weekly, 74. Newspapers.com. January 16, 2018.
  14. Melick. Welcon. The Critic on the Hearth. Radio Mirror. 1935. 4. 6. 70. 15 January 2018. MacFaddenPublications.
  15. (photo caption). Radio Mirror. March 1935. 3. 5. 11. 14 January 2018.
  16. News: Loretta Lee Signed. 15 January 2018. Motion Picture Daily. July 9, 1937. 10.
  17. News: Coming and Going. 15 January 2018. Radio Daily. February 2, 1938. 2.
  18. News: Midnight Melodies. 15 January 2018. Motion Picture Herald. April 18, 1936. 38.
  19. Web site: Margaret Vieages Marriage and Divorce Records. MooseRoots. Graphig. 15 January 2018.

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