Jeanie Lang (born Mary Eugenia Wirick) was an American actress, mostly known for having a lead role in the 1930 color film ''

King of Jazz King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...

''. Lang was born Genie Wyrick on December 17, 1911, in St. Louis. She had three older brothers. She attended Maplewood High School in St Louis. Lang's initial acting experience came on stage in St. Louis. After about a year of that, she and her family moved to Hollywood, where she was signed to be in ''King of Jazz'' (1930). On a trip to California, Lang and her family toured the

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

studios. An encounter with

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...

there while he was making the film ''

'' led to her having a screen test and a microphone test. As a result of the tests, Lang sang two songs in the film. She sang with Whiteman and his orchestra (''Ragamuffin Romeo'', ''I Like to Do Things for You'') and in the shorts ''Freshman Love'' (1931) and ''The Way of All Freshmen'' (1933). In December 1932, Lang was the featured female singer when

Stoopnagle and Budd Stoopnagle and Budd were a popular radio comedy team of the 1930s, who are sometimes cited as forerunners of the Bob and Ray style of radio comedy. Along with Raymond Knight (radio), Raymond Knight (''The Cuckoo Hour''), they were radio's first s ...

returned to radio with a "new comedy revue series" on CBS. In 1933, she performed alongside Tom Howard and occasionally the vocal harmonizers known as the

Three X Sisters The Three X Sisters were an American all-girl harmony singing trio initially known as The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce. They were on stage singing together in New York City, on Broadway, as early as 1922 and formed their trio in 1924, which was c ...

on NBC Radio’s Musical Grocery Store program. A newly resurfaced radio transcribed song, "Rumble Seat" of her vocals. Radio programs on which Lang performed included ''Musical Grocery Store'' and broadcasts of

Jack Denny Jack Denny (September 25, 1895 – September 15, 1950) was an American dance band leader during the pre-World War II years. He was born in the United States and started his musical career in Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebe ...

's orchestra. When the Denny program began in September 1933, one newspaper described Lang as the "self-styled leader of the 'squeak' school of singing" and said that she "continues to delight and dumbfound the listeners with her extraordinary vocal style". She sang on stage as part of the program at the Brooklyn Paramount theater in 1933 and with Buddy Rogers at the

Chicago Theatre The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark Theater (structure), theater located on North State Street (Chicago), State Street in the Loop, Chicago, Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 19 ...

in 1934. She was married to Arthur C. Langkamer (Lang), who died in 1986. She died on September 19, 1993, in Broward, Florida.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Jeanie 1901 births 1993 deaths American actresses 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers