Theatre Register

Kate Smith

Shows · Kate Smith

Actor 1907–1986 On stage 1926–1930

Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith became well known for her renditions of "God Bless America" and "When the Moon Comes over the Mountain". She began to use the descriptor The Songbird of the South in the late 1920s, while performing on the stage. This term was also used by other southern vocalists of that era; however, as the Washington D.C. Sunday Star noted, Smith was not really southern—born in Virginia, she had spent nearly all of her life in the D.C. area. But as Smith became nationally known, she became more identified with the term. By early 1929, she was being referred to that way on a regula…

On stage 2 productions, 4 years

1926 Honeymoon Lane Knickerbocker Theatre · Original · directed by Edgar MacGregor 353 perf.
1930 Flying High Apollo Theatre · Original · directed by George White, Edward Clark Lilley 357 perf.

Each row is a staging this name appears in the cast list of, read from the production record rather than from the person record. The person record names works instead, and a work cannot say which run somebody was in — that is how Elaine Stritch ends up filed under Show Boat 1927 when she was in the 1994 revival. No row here says what part was played, because no cast list records it.

Worked with more than once1 names

Charles Davis 2 productions

Both names in the same cast list, more than once. It is not evidence of a partnership — a long-running company puts the same forty people together every night — but it is where one would start looking. 1 of these names are not links because we hold no record behind them; the name is set from the identifier and its punctuation may be wrong.

In the literature6 passages

  • 73 Though during the Log Angeles run singer Kate Smith recorded “If You Leave Me Now” for RCA Victor, it never achieved popularity. A more recent recording performed by Michael Rupert can be heard on the album Lost in Boston , Varèse Sarabande compact disc, VSD-5475, 1994.ebooks/Gilvey, John Anthony/Before the Parade Passes By_ Gower Champion and the Glorious American Musical - John Anthony Gilvey.txt
  • Cast: Bert Lahr, Oscar Shaw, Kate Smith, Grace Brinkley, Russ Brown, Pearl Osgoodebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • from earthy song plugging to high coloratura. She sang like Frances Langford, and when that didn't work she shifted to a Kate Smith imitation. "I even did a good Bing Crosby," Mary said. Actually, shetheatre-pdfs/Mary Martin-Broadway Legend (Ronald L. Davis).txt
  • Of ev’ry lodge from coast to coast. You won’t meet ordinary dubs— Just members fo the Kate Smith clubs! cuorus:theatre-pdfs/The Complete Lyrics of Ira Gershwin - Gershwin, Ira, 1896-1983.txt
  • Lady, what a chance to be the toast Of ev’ry lodge from coast to coast. We won’t meet ordinary dubs— Just members of the Kate Smith clubs!theatre-pdfs/The Complete Lyrics of Ira Gershwin - Gershwin, Ira, 1896-1983.txt
  • KATE SMITH, 79. Virginia-bom stage, screen, radio, and TV entertainer and one of the mosttheatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1986-87 Season, v. 43 (Willis, John).txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — actor — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

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