30 November 2021

Gogo DeLys – Phantom Dancer 30 November 2021

Greg Poppleton's Phantom Dancer swing jazz radio show

Gogo DeLys Canadian band singer in the US and actor, is this week’s Phantom Dancer feature artist.

LISTEN to this Phantom Dancer mix (online after 2pm AEST, Tuesday 30 November) and two years of Phantom Dancer mixes online at, at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/

I’m Greg Poppleton, The Phantom Dancer producer and presenter every week on 107.3 2SER radio Sydney since 1985.

GOGO

Gogo DeLys was born on August 17, 1908 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada as Marie Gabrielle Belanger. She was an actress, known for Northern Exposure (1933), No Sale (1938) and Television Highlights (1936). She was married to Robert L. Redd. She died on February 19, 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

The film, Television Highlights, was a Mentone Brevity short that featured an early-day Henny Youngman (billed as Henry Youngman). Gogo DeLys (the correct version of her name), old-timer Lew Hearn and Powers’ Prom Girls. Youngman is the emcee at the Yacht Club nightclub who is trying to get Lew Hearn to buy a television set on which unbooked vaudeville acts are performing.

DELYS

DeLys performed in a talent show while she was a law student at the University of Southern California. A talent scout saw her and turned her career plans from law to singing.

Dubbed “the Canadian Canary” by newspaper columnist Walter Winchell, DeLys was active professionally from the 1920s into the 1940s. In 1928, she performed in vaudeville shows headed by Eddie Peabody and Paul Ash.

Before January 1931, DeLys had moved from Vancouver to Los Angeles, singing on radio station KHJ, where Radio Digest magazine said, “she promptly became an instantaneous hit”. By June 1931, DeLys had become the female vocalist with Georgie Stoll and his orchestra. The following year she sang with Jimmy Grier’s orchestra.

She appeared alongside Fred Astaire and Dick Powell in the big stage shows of Fanchon and Marco.

On radio, DeLys sang with Jerry Joyce’s Boys. She also sang on the radio shows, Little Ol’ Hollywood, Your Hit Parade, and Carefree Carnival. She also had her own show on NBC, “Gogo DeLys Sings.”

In 1936, she had her own twice-weekly program on CBS, and in 1937 she was featured with The Norsemen, James Melton, and Don Voorhees’ orchestra in a series of transcribed programs sponsored by Rexall. In July 1937, Mid-Summer Night’s Serenade debuted on CBS with DeLys as its star. A review in the trade publication Radio Daily described the program as “a well-balanced 15 minutes of evening music.”

Gogo DeLys on radio in 1940…

Gogo DeLys recorded several hits with the Grier band for Brunswick Records, including “Moonstruck,” “Sugar Plum” and “Secondhand Heart for Sale.” You’ll hear her on this week’s Phantom Dancer with the Jimmy Grier Ambassador Hotel Cocoanut Grove Orchestra.

During her radio days, she met future husband, NBC executive Robert L. Redd. As Mrs. Redd, she devoted much of her time to the owning and racing of thoroughbred horses and working for various charity groups. She was a charter member of the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters and a recipient of the group’s Golden Canary Award.

She is survived by a daughter.

30 NOVEMBER PLAY LIST