5/21/2023 0 Comments Andy griffith children![]() Filming took place in June, with fifteen year old Marlene Willis recording two songs for the soundtrack, Is It Love? and I'd Rather Be. She also signed in May 1957 with Regal Pictures for her first acting job, in a musical film originally titled Mother Was a Stripper but later released as Rockabilly Baby. Zephyr issued only one single with her, which promptly faded away from lack of promotion. Though she had never taken voice lessons and had previously sung only at live performances, Marlene Willis now signed her first recording contract with Zephyr Records in late February 1957. ![]() During early January 1957 she returned to television with a guest spot on The Bob Crosby Show. She then continued her live singing performances at venues around the Los Angeles area. The show was a summer replacement and ended in August 1956. She and schoolmates The Collins Kids landed headliner roles on a teen-oriented variety show called Rockin' Rhythm on KTTV in June 1956. Teenage career Īs a teenager Marlene Willis attended the Hollywood Professional School, which offered flexible schedules for young performers. With the ending of The Swift Show Wagon Marlene returned to singing at local events and supper clubs. Heidt had a single by Marlene released by Magnolia Records, Washboard Boogie backed with Mother, Mother, Mother.įor the show's final episode on October 1, 1955, the fiction of being a contestant was again resumed. Left unacknowledged was that Heidt had signed her to a contract before she ever competed on The Swift Show Wagon. Heidt acknowledged Marlene's professional status by billing her as a featured performer on the following Saturday night's show from Texas. Referring to Marlene's streak of five consecutive wins, a TV critic for The Boston Globe thought Hoarce Heidt would do well to include a little more transparency. Unlike them, however, The Swift Show Wagon did not reveal the actual results to the live and TV audiences instead, a celebrity judge would look at the meters and proclaim the winner. Like many of its contemporaries, the show used an applause meter to measure live audience reaction for determining contest winners. The show was a mixture of variety acts by well-known entertainers, with a talent competition for amateurs. ĭuring early 1955 Marlene competed against other singers on The Swift Show Wagon with Hoarce Heidt and the American Way, a roving television program that broadcast each episode from a different state. ![]() She then took a job as a vocalist with Frank DeVol and his orchestra for another TV show, from which she was signed to a contract by bandleader/producer Hoarce Heidt. She performed on several musical variety shows that year, including Sandy's Hayride and The Spade Cooley Show. ![]() Marlene Willis and her family moved from Fresno to North Hollywood in early 1954, where her father took a job as a propman at Paramount. She continued to perform for Fresno area events throughout 1953. During March 1953 she sang on local TV station KFRE for the Fresno Spring Home Show. Fresno performer Al Radka got her a singing gig on radio station KARM AM, which led to her winning a televised talent show in San Francisco in early January 1953. She and her brother Woodie sang for local talent shows in Fresno for several years before she went solo. According to a much later newspaper account, Marlene had "a natural ability to echo in perfect pitch any tune or melody she has heard one time". Marlene sang impromptu at a picnic concert when just seven years old, and became hooked on the applause. While still a toddler, her family moved to Fresno, California, where she attended Rowell Elementary School and Yosemite Middle School. She was born Marlene Audrey Willis in Levelland, Texas to Woodrow Wilson Willis, an oilfield worker, and Anna Mae Spangler. Marlene Willis (JanuMarch 29, 1982) was an American singer, who performed on many televised variety shows during the 1950s, and later appeared as a guest star in some narrative television series.
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