Peg LaCentra

Margherita Maria Francesca LaCentra^[1] (April 10, 1910 – June 1, 1996)^[2] was an American contralto^[3] singer, best known for her work on old-time radio and her singing with Artie Shaw's orchestra. She also performed as Barbara Fulton.

Early years

Born on 10 April 1910 in Boston,^[4] LaCentra studied at the Fenway Academy of Dramatic Art and the New England Conservatory of Music^[5] and graduated from Katharine Gibbs College.^[6]

Radio

LaCentra worked as an announcer at WNAC^[6] and performed on WBZ radio in Boston^[7] before moving to New York in 1931 to work on network radio broadcasts.^[2] She performed on NBC programs, including Beauty Box Theater, Circus Night in Silvertown, and Lucky Smith.^[5]

In 1934, LaCentra was billed as Barbara Fulton when she sang with Leo Reisman's orchestra on radio. Use of the pseudonym was necessary because Reisman's sponsor was a competitor of the one for which she sang on another program.^[8] In December 1934, she began singing with Harry Reser and his orchestra on a new weekly program on NBC.^[9]

In 1935, a group of five radio stars selected LaCentra and Bob Lawrence to star in a new program, The Radio City Party, on NBC-Blue.^[10] Also in 1935, she was the leading lady on Max Baer's radio program.^[11] She gained her own program, The Peg LaCentra Show, on NBC in 1938,^[12] a year in which she also sang on For Men Only on NBC.^[13]

LaCentra was one of the stars of the Gulden's Mustard Serenade, a 15-minute variety show broadcast on NBC twice weekly in 1940.^[14] She and singer Jerry Wayne co-starred in a twice-weekly musical program on CBS in 1944.^[15] As a dramatic actress, she frequently played supporting roles in Mutual's romantic thriller, The Modern Adventures of Casanova (1952).^{[13]: 466-467}

In addition to her work on network radio, LaCentra recorded programs for NBC's Thesaurus music service.^[16]

Stage and television

LaCentra appeared on Broadway as Mrs. Hamilton in The Patriots (1943).^[17] In 1957, she appeared in a production of the romantic comedy Janus at the Pasadena Playhouse.^[18]

On television, she played Amanda on the CBS comedy series The Marge and Gower Champion Show (1957).^[19]

Orchestras and recordings

In 1932, LaCentra sang with Phil Spitalny and his orchestra.^[3] Her first recording was "The Fortune Teller" (1934) with Johnny Green's orchestra on the Columbia label.^[2]

In 1936, LaCentra joined Shaw as a singer for his newly formed orchestra. The two had worked together when she sang on The Mell-O-Roll Ice Cream Show, on which he was a member of the orchestra. In their new relationship, they performed in New York at the Paramount Theater and the Lexington Hotel. She recorded with Shaw for Brunswick records for a year.^[2] She also sang with Benny Goodman's orchestra^[1] and recorded with Jerry Sears' orchestra for Bluebird Records.^[2]

Film

LaCentra was a ghost singer in feature films, dubbing vocal performances for stars including Susan Hayward in Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman (1947) and Ida Lupino in The Man I Love (1947).^[20] She also appeared in short films,^[2] including Broadway Follies, (1937) a series of single-reel musicals from Columbia Pictures,^[21] and sang in cafe sequences in Humoresque (1946).^[22]

Personal life

LaCentra married actor Paul Stewart in 1939.^[2] For years, they had a commuter marriage, as she worked in New York and he made films in Hollywood.^[1]

Death

On June 1, 1996, LaCentra died at age 86 of a heart attack at her home in Los Angeles.^[2]

References

External links

• Peg LaCentra at IMDb