Dorothy Shay (April 11, 1921 – October 22, 1978) was an American popular comedic recording artist in the late 1940s and early 1950s, who later became a character actress. She was known as the "
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...
Hillbillie".
Early life
Shay was born Dorothy Sims in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
. When she began her career as a "straight" singer, she took vocal lessons to lose her Southern accent. She sang for the
USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Dorothy changed her name to "Shay" so she wouldn't be confused with
Ginny Simms, another vocalist of the day, choosing "Shay" to honor her mentor Betty Shay (later
Betty Corday). While performing with
Morton Gould and his orchestra, she performed an encore, "Uncle Fud", a hayseed novelty number that became popular and launched her solo singing career.
"The Park Avenue Hillbillie"
She signed with
and recorded a series of hit records. Her biggest hit was "
Feudin' and Fightin'" in 1947, the year she joined
Spike Jones
Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician, bandleader and conductor specializing in spoof arrangements and satire of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment wer ...
's
CBS radio show as the female vocalist. That same year, her album, "Dorothy Shay (The Park Avenue Hillbillie) Sings", was rated #1 in ''Billboard'' magazine's Best-Selling Popular Albums. This album was part of Columbia's initial catalogue of 101
LP record
The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...
s, which were the first LPs ever released. Shay was the first female artist to have a #1 album on the ''Billboard'' chart.
In her singing engagements, she performed dressed as a sophisticated urbanite while talking like a rural Southerner. She was popular in nightclubs, radio, and television. The 1951
Abbott and Costello movie ''
Comin' Round The Mountain'' featured special introductory billing as Dorothy Shay's first motion picture; she played a
nightclub singer involved in a hillbilly feud. The film was an excellent showcase for her musical and comic talents; all five musical numbers were performed by Shay.
Shay was the musical guest on the second (television) season premiere of ''
The Jack Benny Program'' in November 1951. She performed at
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
's Inaugural Ball in 1953. She recorded for
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
and
Imperial Records where she recorded a
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
song titled "Hunky Dory". In 1970 she appeared as Widow Krebs in the TV Western ''
The Virginian'' in the episode titled "You Can Lead a Horse to Water."
Personal life
She was married briefly to Dick Looman from 1958 to 1959. After a period of inactivity in the 1960s, she returned to show business as a character actress in the 1970s. She had a recurring role as Thelma, first owner of the Dew Drop Inn, in the TV series ''
The Waltons
''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural mountainous Western Virginia of the Appalachian Mountains / Allegheny Mountains / Blue Ridge Mountains chain, during the economic hardships and mass unemp ...
''.
Death
Shay died of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on October 22, 1978, in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
. Upon her death, the writers of ''The Waltons'' wrote her character off, with the mention that she sold the Dew Drop Inn and moved to California.
Profile
tv.com; accessed March 19, 2015.
Discography
References
External links
The Dorothy Shay Fan Pages
; no longer functional Nov 23, 2019.
Bigbandsandbignames.com; accessed March 19, 2015.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shay, Dorothy
1921 births
1978 deaths
Imperial Records artists
Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Musicians from Jacksonville, Florida
Actresses from Jacksonville, Florida
20th-century American actresses
20th-century American singers
20th-century American women singers