Canadian Music ~ Dorothy Collins

 

Dorothy Collins (born Marjorie Chandler; November 18, 1926 – July 21, 1994) was a Canadian-American singer, actress, and recording artist.

Collins was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and adopted her stage name in her mid-teens. As a youngster, she sang on radio stations in Windsor and Detroit. In 1940, at age 14, she and her family were introduced to bandleader/composer Raymond Scott in Chicago. Shortly thereafter, she became Scott's protégée. In early 1942, at age 15, she became a featured vocalist with Scott's orchestra, performing on radio and on tour. Scott groomed her for stardom, which included coaching her vocals (pitch, phrasing, and delivery) and mentoring her performance skills. In the late 1940s, she contributed vocals to the revived Raymond Scott Quintette, a sextet that released records on the bandleader's own Master label and served as house band on the radio program Herb Shriner Time. In 1949, after Scott was hired to conduct the orchestra on the popular CBS Radio program, Lucky Strike's Your Hit Parade, Collins was trained by Scott to lead his sextet on tour in his absence.

In 1950, Your Hit Parade moved to NBC television, with Scott retained as conductor. Shortly thereafter, at Scott's urging, Collins auditioned for a vocalist slot and was hired. She shot to nationwide fame as one of the show's featured vocalists, singing—and acting in costume—in sketches dramatizing popular songs of the day. After her absence from Your Hit Parade during the 1957–58 season (a new cast of singers replaced Collins and her fellow vocalists), Collins returned for the series' final season on CBS Television ending in April 1959.

Collins often appeared as spokeswoman/vocalist in Lucky Strike cigarette commercials during the program and on their other sponsored series (including the Jack Benny radio show) via transcription disc, earning the title, "The Sweetheart of Lucky Strike". She made television history as the first performer to appear on videotape. The recording format was first introduced in a Collins musical segment on the October 23, 1956 episode of NBC's The Jonathan Winters Show. Her additional TV credits include The Steve Allen Show, The Bell Telephone Hour, and The Hollywood Palace. From 1961 to 1963 she was co-host and stunt participant on CBS-TV's Candid Camera with Durward Kirby and series creator Allen Funt. In 1961 she occasionally guest-hosted a short-lived Carol Burnett and Richard Hayes CBS Radio Network show.

Collins was married to Raymond Scott from 1952 until their divorce in 1965. They had two daughters, Deborah and Elizabeth.

She married actor Ron Holgate in December 1966, whom she met in a touring production of Do I Hear A Waltz. Collins and Holgate had a daughter, Melissa. They separated in 1977, and divorced in 1980.

Dorothy Collins died in July 1994 from asthma and heart disease at her home in Watervliet, New York. She was survived by her three daughters. {Wikipedia}