Virginia Ellen SimmsSleeve notes from ''Ginny Simms – I'd Like To Set You To Music'', Jasmine JASCD 118, 2001. (May 25, 1913 – April 4, 1994) was an American popular singer and film actress. Simms sang with

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

s and with

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, television personality, and the chart-topping female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during the ...

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classical tr ...

, among others. She also worked as an

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

and Universal film actress and appeared in 11 movies from 1939 to 1951, when she retired.

Early life

Simms was born in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

. Her family moved to California, where she attended Fresno High School and Fresno State Teachers College, where she studied piano. While there, she began performing in campus productions, singing with sorority sisters and forming a popular campus vocal trio. Shortly afterward, she sought a singing career, and by 1932 she had her own program on a local radio station.Sleeve notes from ''Simple & Sweet: The Best Of Ginny Simms'', Collectables COL-CD-7590, 2005.

Career

Radio

In 1932, Simms became the vocalist for the Tom Gerun band in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, working together with other vocalists including a young Tony Martin and

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

. In 1934, she joined the Kay Kyser Orchestra, with which she received her first national exposure appearing on radio shows with Kyser.

Films

Simms appeared in three films with Kyser: ''

That's Right—You're Wrong ''That's'' is a brand name used by a set of English-language listings magazines in the People's Republic of China. They were owned by Shanghai-based publishing group, Urbanatomy Media; as of May 2020, the publisher was JY International Cultural C ...

'' (

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

), '' You'll Find Out'' (

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

), and '' Playmates'' (

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

). On April 6, 1941, Simms and Kyser costarred in ''Niagara to Reno'' (described as "an original comedy") on CBS radio's '' Silver Theater''. She nearly married Kyser but left his orchestra in September 1941 for her own radio show. She starred in several more films, including '' Here We Go Again'' (

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

), '' Hit the Ice'' (

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

), '' Broadway Rhythm'' (

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

) and the sanitized

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

biopic '' Night and Day'' (

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

).Sleeve notes from ''Night and Day'', Soundtrack Factory SFCD-33529, 1999.

Television

In 1951, Simms hosted a local television show on

KTTV KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned a ...

Channel 11 in Los Angeles that featured dance bands and talent from military bases around Southern California.

Humanitarian work

Simms entertained troops 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 ...

, and after the war, she continued to help servicemen. In 1947, a radio station's newsletter noted: " w she is helping provide new homes for them. Ginny is sponsoring the construction of 450 homes for vets in Los Angeles."

Awards

On June 5, 1993, a Golden Palm Star on the

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

, California Walk of Stars was dedicated to Simms.

Personal life

Simms was married three times. Her first marriage (1945–1951) was to Hyatt Hotels founder Hyatt von Dehn, with whom she had two sons: David (born in July 1946) and Conrad (born December 27, 1949). Her second marriage (1951–1953) was to Bob Calhoun, and her third was to Republican former

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

Don Eastvold from June 22, 1962, until her death in 1994.Palm Springs Cemetery District, "Interments of Interest"
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Death

Simms died after suffering a heart attack in Palm Springs on April 4, 1994 at the age of 80. Her remains are interred at

Desert Memorial Park Desert Memorial Park is a cemetery in Cathedral City, California, United States, near Palm Springs, California, Palm Springs. Opening in 1956 and receiving its first interment in 1957,The Palm Springs Cemetery District itself was covers 504 square ...

Cathedral City City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the the Crown, monarch of the United Kingdom to specific centres of population, which might or might not meet the generally accepted definition of city, cities. , there are List of cities in the Un ...

, California. She was survived by her husband, Donald Eastvold Sr.

Filmography

Selected discography

Simms recorded extensively—from June 17, 1935, until July 2, 1947, then again in mid-1953 and finally in December 7 & 9, 1960—for several labels, including: ARA (American Recording Artists), Brunswick, Capitol Custom, Columbia, Conqueror,

Okeh OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

, Regal Zonophone, Royale, Sonora, Star-Tone,

TOPS Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), ...

, Venise, Vocalion and V-Disc. Some of these recordings have been rereleased on CD:Ginny Simms discography at cduniverse.
Retrieved 26 May 2016. * ''Ginny Simms: Love Is Here to Stay'' (1997) * ''Ginny Simms: V-Disc Recordings CD'' (1998) * ''Gorgeous Ginny Simms'' (1999) * ''Night and Day'' (1999) (Soundtrack of the 1946 film '' Night and Day'') * ''Ginny Simms: I'd Like to Set You to Music'' (2001) * ''Simple & Sweet: The Best of Ginny Simms'' (2005) * ''Ginny Simms: One More Dream'' (2006) * ''All Right With Me! – 30 Years of Cole Porter Magic with the Girls!'' (2010) – Simms sings two Porter songs: "What Is This Thing Called Love?" and "Easy to Love" * ''On the Air With Ginny Simms'' (2011) * ''The Sentimental Stylings of Ginny Simms'' (2012)

Notes

References

External links

Ginny Simms biography
Retrieved 26 May 2016.

Retrieved 26 May 2016. * Retrieved 11 October 2007. * Retrieved 28 November 2007.
Ginny Simms discography at cduniverse
Retrieved 26 May 2016.
Ginny Simms discography at discogs
Retrieved 26 May 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Ginny 1913 births 1994 deaths Singers from Texas American film actresses Big band singers Burials at Desert Memorial Park Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Musicians from San Antonio Actresses from San Antonio 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers