
Jessica Valentina Dragonette (Born Jessica Valentina Dragonetti; February 14, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a singer who became popular on American radio and was active in the
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 ...
effort.
Early life
Born in
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
, India,
or
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
as Jessica Valentina Dragonetti, the youngest of three children of Italian-born parents, Luigi (Louis) and Rachele (née Baronio) Dragonetti, the Social Security Death Index cites Dragonette's year of birth as 1900, as does the 1900 United States census (June 1900) which gives the age of "Jessie Dragonet" as 4 months. By Christmas 1909, she was orphaned and raised in a Catholic convent school, and she graduated from Catholic Girls' High School in Philadelphia in 1919. Dragonette was a 1923 graduate of
Mt. St. Mary's College.
New York poet
Ree Dragonette was her cousin.
Dragonette's musical debut occurred at the
Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
During her college years, she studied with singing coach
Estelle Liebling
Estelle Liebling (April 21, 1880 – September 25, 1970) was an American soprano, composer, arranger, music editor, and celebrated voice teacher and vocal coach.
Born into the Liebling family of musicians, she began her professional opera career ...
in New York City. Liebling steered her away from a career as a concert performer toward work on radio.
Career
In 1924, Dragonette provided an angel's off-screen voice in
Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...
's production of ''The Miracle'',
and in the summer of 1924, she was a member of Andra Sherri's Revue, which was part of a midsummer festival at the Lyric Theater in Indianapolis, Indiana. She began singing on radio as early as December 4, 1924, when she performed on
WGBS in New York City. In 1925, Dragonette became a member of the cast of the third edition of ''
The Earl Carroll Vanities
''The Earl Carroll Vanities'' was a Broadway theatre, Broadway revue presented by Earl Carroll in Roaring Twenties, the 1920s and early 1930s. Carroll and his show were sometimes controversial.
Distinguishing qualities
In 1923, the ''Vanities ...
''. Another Broadway production in which Dragonette appeared was ''Grand Street Follies (1926)''. She and contralto Celia Branz were known as the Junior Prima Donnas in that production. Also in 1925, that duo sang on
WLIT radio in Philadelphia and headlined the stage show that accompanied a film at the Stanley Theater, also in Philadelphia. Dragonette continued performing on radio as a member of the cast of ''
Roxy and His Gang'' when the program resumed weekly broadcasts on October 30, 1925, over
WEAF in New York City and
WEEI in Boston. In 1926, she began performing on WEAF in the ''Musical Comedy Hour'', and in 1927
she started singing in operettas there as "Vivian, 'The Coca-Cola Girl'"
on ''The Coca-Cola Hour'', which debuted in 1927 as Coca-Cola's first venture into radio advertising.
During her 22-year radio career she helped to popularize operettas and semi-classical music. An admiring press dubbed her the "Princess of Song", a nickname she later would use to publicize concert events. She was the star of ''
The Philco Hour'' on NBC in 1927-28.
She became the star of the ''
Cities Service Concerts
The ''Cities Service Concerts'' were musical broadcasts which had a long three-decade run on radio from 1925 to 1956, encompassing a variety of vocalists and musicians sponsored by Cities Service.
The concerts began with trial broadcasts in the ...
'' program, which she joined in 1930. In September 1935, a national poll conducted by ''Radio Guide'' magazine named Dragonette the most popular radio performer of the year. ''Radio Guide'' also awarded her its highest honor, the Radio Guide Medal of Merit, in 1936. The article about the award noted that to Dragonette a "microphone represents the millions who have heard her and who have become her friends. It is to that audience, not those who sit before her in a studio, that she pays the homage of her song."
Dragonette's popularity on radio translated into crowds at personal appearances, including 15,000 in an auditorium in Minneapolis while snow fell and 150,000 in Chicago's
Grant Park.
When the ''
Palmolive Beauty Box Theater'' moved from NBC radio to CBS in 1936, Dragonette became the host of the show and performed in some episodes.
Dragonette sang in a segment of the film ''
The Big Broadcast of 1936
''The Big Broadcast of 1936'' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Norman Taurog, and is the second in the series of ''Big Broadcast'' movies. The musical comedy starred Jack Oakie, Bing Crosby, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Ethel Merman, The ...
'', on the condition that she have authority over the final cut on her performance. In the end she chose to have her part removed. In 1934, she provided the voice of
Persephone
In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...
in the
Silly Symphony
''Silly Symphony'' (also known as ''Silly Symphonies'') is an American animation, animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Si ...
cartoon ''
The Goddess of Spring
''The Goddess of Spring'' is a 9-minute ''Silly Symphonies'' animated Disney short film. Unlike most Symphonies produced at the time, usually comedic, the short contains operatic themes and is often cited as melodramatic. It was released in 1934, ...
''. And in 1939, she provided the voice of Princess Glory in the full color animated motion picture ''
Gulliver's Travels
''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...
''.
In 1940, Swiss-American artist
Adolfo Müller-Ury
Adolfo Müller-Ury, Order of St. Gregory the Great, KSG (March 29, 1862 – July 6, 1947) was a Swiss-born American portrait painter and Impressionism, impressionistic painter of roses and still life.
Early life and education
Müller was b ...
painted a portrait of her that now hangs at her alma mater, now known as
Georgian Court University
Georgian Court University (GCU or Georgian Court) is a private Catholic university in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy, the university has more than 1,600 undergraduates and nearly 600 gr ...
. Müller-Ury became a close friend of the singer and painted her portrait several times—the last of the portraits, painted in 1946, depicts her wearing a gold fez. He also painted a portrait of the singer's sister, Nadea, in 1942. Dragonette joined the cast of ''
Saturday Night Serenade
''Saturday Night Serenade'' is an American old-time radio program that featured popular music. The 30-minute program was broadcast on CBS on Saturday nights from October 3, 1936, until September 25, 1948, sponsored by Pet Milk. In 1948, the show ...
'' on CBS radio in 1941. 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 ...
, she performed for charities benefiting the U.S. armed services, earning her an honorary
commission
In-Commission or commissioning may refer to:
Business and contracting
* Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered
** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...
as a colonel. She performed frequently for the troops and sold a record number of
war bonds
War bonds (sometimes referred to as victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are ...
. She once remarked that "
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...
" never had more meaning for her than it did during the war. In addition to English, Jessica impeccably sang in German, French, Spanish, Italian and Russian. She was so good, she once fooled a diplomat into thinking Russian was her native tongue. Never one to use printed music, it’s estimated she memorized over 75 operas and more than 500 songs.

In the mid-1950s, David Gottlieb, the president of leading
pinball
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...
game manufacturer
Gottlieb
Gottlieb (formerly D. Gottlieb & Co.) was an American arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is best known for creating a vast line of pinball machines and arcade games (including ''Q*bert'') throughout much of the 20th century.
...
, hired Dragonette to appear at coin-operated game machine events promoting a pinball game called Dragonette. However, the game had nothing to do with her. It was spoof of a leading TV show of the period, ''
Dragnet''.
Marriage
On June 28, 1947, she married Nicholas Meredith Turner at
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
St. Patrick's Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is the seat of the Archbishop of New York as well as a parish church. The cathedral occupies a city block bounded by Fifth Avenue, M ...
; both were devout
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
s. The ceremony was performed by Cardinal
Francis Spellman
Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Archbishop of New York from 1939 until his death in 1967. F ...
. The union, Dragonette's only marriage, was childless but happy, and lasted until her death.
Death
Dragonette died in
New York Hospital
Weill Cornell Medical Center (; previously known as New York Hospital, Old New York Hospital, and City Hospital) is a research hospital in New York City. It is the teaching hospital for Cornell University's medical school and is part of NewYork-P ...
on March 18, 1980, from 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 ...
.
[
]
Filmography
Book
Dragonette's autobiography, ''Faith Is a Song'', was published in 1951 by David McKay Company
David McKay Publications (also known as David McKay Company) was an American book publisher which also published some of the first comic books, including the long-running titles ''Ace Comics'', ''King Comics'', and '' Magic Comics''; as well as ...
. She was assisted by another McKay author, ghostwriter Arthur J. Burks.
Honors
*Pro Pontifice et Ecclesia Cross, Pope Pius XII
*Voted best female singer of the country 1942 and 1943
Mural
The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum at the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 Smithsonian Institution museums and one of three Smithsonian facil ...
holds "The World of Radio, 1934", a mural that features Dragonette "at the center of the 'story of radio's progress'". More than eight feet high and 16 feet wide, the mural shows Dragonette on top of a globe in a cityscape, surrounded by images that represent people and accomplishments related to the advancement of radio.[ Commissioned by Dragonette's sister, Nadea Dragonette Loftus, and completed in 1934 by Arthur Gordon Smith, the mural was displayed in the singer's apartment.]
References
External links
The Jessica Dragonette papers
in th
Music Division
o
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
(Dragonette's personal archive)
Finding aid to Jessica Dragonette papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Jessica Dragonette's autobiography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragonette, Jessica
1900 births
1980 deaths
20th-century American actresses
20th-century American memoirists
20th-century American women singers
20th-century Roman Catholics
American radio personalities
American Roman Catholic writers
American sopranos
American voice actresses
American women memoirists
American writers of Italian descent
Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Hawthorne, New York)
Catholics from New York (state)
Georgian Court University alumni
Place of birth missing
Singers from New York City