Armenuhi Manoogian ( hy, Արմենուհի Մանուկեան); November 2, 1915 – October 3, 2011), better known by her
stage name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
Kay Armen, was an
American Armenian singer popular during the 1940s and 1950s. Her career in show business spanned almost six decades, as she worked in radio, television, onstage and in film. She wrote multiple songs, performed in nightclubs and recorded many records.
Radio
Armen was born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. Her father, Robert Manoogian, Sr., was a professional wrestler billed as "Bob Monograph".
She first appeared on radio at
WSM in Nashville, Tennessee,
[ ] performing on 12 programs per week.
[DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 15.] In 1947, she had her own weekly 15-minute program, ''Kay Armen-Songs'', on
NBC-Blue.
[Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 37.]
Television and Film
She appeared in a number of roles, notably in the 1959 NBC sitcom ''Love and Marriage'', and on screen in the 1955
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
musical ''
Hit the Deck'' and the 1961 film ''Hey, Let's Twist!''. She was also a songwriter with compositions including "Be Good to Yourself", "My Love and I" and "It’s a Sin to Cry Over You".
[
]
Personal life
Her younger brother Robert Manoogian, Jr. (January 4, 1918 – April 3, 2002) was an American professional wrestler who was best known for his work with National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...
in the 1940s as Bobby Managoff.[
Kay Armen died in 2011 in ]New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
at the age of 95.
Filmography
*1955: '' Hit the Deck'' as Mrs. Ottavio Ferrari
*1959-1960: ''Love and Marriage'' as Sophie (TV series, 18 episodes)
*1961: '' Hey, Let's Twist!'' as Angie
*1980: ''Jimmy B. & André'' as Mama Butsicaris (TV film)
*1981: ''Paternity'' as Claudia Feinstein
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armen, Kay
1915 births
2011 deaths
American women singers
American people of Armenian descent
Singers from Chicago
American television actresses
Decca Records artists
21st-century American women