Dennis Day
Encyclopedia
Dennis Day born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty, was an Irish-American singer and radio, television and film personality.
, the second of five children born to Irish immigrants Patrick McNulty and Mary (née Grady) McNulty. His father was a stationary engineer
. Day graduated from Cathedral Preparatory Seminary in New York City, and attended Manhattan College
in the Bronx, where he sang in the glee club
.
radio show on October 8, 1939, taking the place of another famed tenor, Kenny Baker
. He remained associated with Benny's radio and television programs until Benny's death in 1974. He was introduced (with actress Verna Felton
playing his mother) as a young (nineteen year old), naive boy singer — a character he kept through his whole career. His first song was "Goodnight My Beautiful".
Besides singing, Dennis Day was an excellent mimic. He did many imitations on the Benny program of various noted celebrities of the era, such as Ronald Colman
, Jimmy Durante
, and James Stewart
.
From 1944 through 1946, he served in the US Navy as a Lieutenant
. On his return to civilian life, he continued to work with Benny while also starring on his own NBC
show, A Day in the Life of Dennis Day (1946–1951). Day's having two programs in comparison to Benny's one was the subject of numerous jokes and gags on Benny's show, usually revolving around Day rubbing Benny's, and sometimes other cast members and guest stars' noses in that fact. His last radio series was a comedy/variety show that aired briefly on NBC during the 1954-55 season.
filmed series (Sam Berman
's caricature of Dennis was used in the opening and closing titles), produced by Jerry Fairbanks
for Dennis' sponsor, Colgate-Palmolive
, featuring the original radio cast, but got no further than an unaired 1949 pilot episode. In late 1950, a sample kinescope
was produced by Colgate and their ad agency showcasing Dennis as host of a projected "live" comedy/variety series (The Dennis Day Show) for CBS
, but that, too, went unsold. He continued to appear as a regular cast member when The Jack Benny Program
became a TV series, staying with the show until it ended in 1965.
Eventually, his own TV series, The Dennis Day Show
(aka The RCA Victor Show), was first telecast on NBC on February 8, 1952, and then in the 1953-1954 season. Between 1952 and 1978, he made numerous TV appearances as a singer and actor (such as NBC's The Gisele MacKenzie Show
and ABC
's The Bing Crosby Show
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
) and voice for animation (such as the Walt Disney
feature Johnny Appleseed
, handling multiple characters).
During the final season of The Jack Benny Program
(1964–65), Day was 48 years old, although Jack was still delivering such lines as "That crazy kid drives me nuts ..."
His last televised work with Benny was in 1970, when they both appeared in a public service announcement together to promote savings and loans.
.
Day died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease), in Los Angeles, California
. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6646 Hollywood Boulevard. He is interred in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery
.
Early life
Day was born and raised in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the second of five children born to Irish immigrants Patrick McNulty and Mary (née Grady) McNulty. His father was a stationary engineer
Stationary engineer
A stationary engineer, also called operating engineer or power engineer, is a tradesman who operates heavy machinery and equipment that provide heat, light, climate control and power. Stationary engineer are trained in many areas, including mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, metallurgical,...
. Day graduated from Cathedral Preparatory Seminary in New York City, and attended Manhattan College
Manhattan College
Manhattan College is a Roman Catholic liberal arts college in the Lasallian tradition in New York City, United States. Despite the college's name, it is no longer located in Manhattan but in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, roughly 10 miles north of Midtown. Manhattan College offers...
in the Bronx, where he sang in the glee club
Glee club
A glee club is a musical group or choir group, historically of male voices but also of female or mixed voices, which traditionally specializes in the singing of short songs—glees—by trios or quartets. In the late 19th Century it was very popular in most schools and was made a tradition...
.
Radio
Day appeared for the first time on Jack Benny'sJack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
radio show on October 8, 1939, taking the place of another famed tenor, Kenny Baker
Kenny Baker (singer/actor)
Kenneth Laurence "Kenny" Baker was an American singer/actor who first gained notice as the featured singer on radio's The Jack Benny Program during the 1930s....
. He remained associated with Benny's radio and television programs until Benny's death in 1974. He was introduced (with actress Verna Felton
Verna Felton
Verna Felton was an American character actress who was best-known for providing many female voices in numerous Disney animated films, as well as voicing Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law Pearl Slaghoople for Hanna-Barbera...
playing his mother) as a young (nineteen year old), naive boy singer — a character he kept through his whole career. His first song was "Goodnight My Beautiful".
Besides singing, Dennis Day was an excellent mimic. He did many imitations on the Benny program of various noted celebrities of the era, such as Ronald Colman
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
, Jimmy Durante
Jimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
, and James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
.
From 1944 through 1946, he served in the US Navy as a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. On his return to civilian life, he continued to work with Benny while also starring on his own NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
show, A Day in the Life of Dennis Day (1946–1951). Day's having two programs in comparison to Benny's one was the subject of numerous jokes and gags on Benny's show, usually revolving around Day rubbing Benny's, and sometimes other cast members and guest stars' noses in that fact. His last radio series was a comedy/variety show that aired briefly on NBC during the 1954-55 season.
Television
An attempt was made to adapt A Day in the Life Of Dennis Day as an NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
filmed series (Sam Berman
Sam Berman
Sam Berman was a leading caricaturist of the 1940s and 1950s.Berman was in high school when he began drawing cartoons for the Hartford Courant. He went to New York to study art and then landed a position as a staff cartoonist for the Newark Star Eagle...
's caricature of Dennis was used in the opening and closing titles), produced by Jerry Fairbanks
Jerry Fairbanks
Gerald Bertram "Jerry" Fairbanks was a producer and director in the Hollywood motion picture and television industry....
for Dennis' sponsor, Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American diversified multinational corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products . Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of...
, featuring the original radio cast, but got no further than an unaired 1949 pilot episode. In late 1950, a sample kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
was produced by Colgate and their ad agency showcasing Dennis as host of a projected "live" comedy/variety series (The Dennis Day Show) for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, but that, too, went unsold. He continued to appear as a regular cast member when The Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy.-Cast:*Jack Benny - Himself...
became a TV series, staying with the show until it ended in 1965.
Eventually, his own TV series, The Dennis Day Show
The Dennis Day Show
The Dennis Day Show was a half-hour 1953–1954 NBC comedy/variety show starring Irish singer and radio and television personality Dennis Day , whose career otherwise was rooted as a supporting cast member of the long-running The Jack Benny Program on CBS and later NBC.From 1952 to 1953, Day hosted...
(aka The RCA Victor Show), was first telecast on NBC on February 8, 1952, and then in the 1953-1954 season. Between 1952 and 1978, he made numerous TV appearances as a singer and actor (such as NBC's The Gisele MacKenzie Show
The Gisele MacKenzie Show
The Gisele MacKenzie Show in an American variety show hosted by Gisele MacKenzie. The series aired live on NBC from September 28, 1957, to March 29, 1958. The Curfew Kids appeared on the program as semi-regulars....
and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's The Bing Crosby Show
The Bing Crosby Show
The Bing Crosby Show is a 28-episode situation comedy television program starring crooner, film star, iconic phenomenon, and businessman Bing Crosby and actress Beverly Garland as a middle-aged couple, Bing and Ellie Collins, rearing two teenaged daughters during the early 1960s...
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
) and voice for animation (such as the Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
feature Johnny Appleseed
Johnny Appleseed (film)
Johnny Appleseed is a bio-fiction animated feature from Walt Disney, using the nickname of Johnny Appleseed, a real-life American frontiersman born as John Chapman.-Synopsis:...
, handling multiple characters).
During the final season of The Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program
The Jack Benny Program, starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th-century American comedy.-Cast:*Jack Benny - Himself...
(1964–65), Day was 48 years old, although Jack was still delivering such lines as "That crazy kid drives me nuts ..."
His last televised work with Benny was in 1970, when they both appeared in a public service announcement together to promote savings and loans.
Personal life
In 1948, Day married Peggy Almquist; the marriage lasted until his death in 1988. The couple had ten children. His brother Jim McNulty, two years younger, was married to actress/singer Ann BlythAnn Blyth
Ann Marie Blyth is an American actress and singer, often cast in Hollywood musicals, but also successful in dramatic roles. Her performance as Veda Pierce in the 1945 film Mildred Pierce was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.-Life and career:Blyth was born in Mount Kisco,...
.
Day died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
(more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease), in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6646 Hollywood Boulevard. He is interred in Culver City's Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
.
Discography (partial)
- From Walt Disney's "Melody Time" - Johnny Appleseed - All Voices by Dennis Day (1949, RCA/Camden)
- Dennis Day Sings Christmas Is for the Family (1957, Design)
- At Hollywood's Moulin Rouge (1957, Masterseal)
- That's an Irish Lullaby (1959, RCA)
- Walt Disney's Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1960, RCA/Camden)
- Shillelaghs and Shamrocks (1963, Reprise)
- Dennis Day Narrates Johnny Appleseed (1963, Bellflower)
- Walt Disney Presents Dennis Day in the Story of Johnny Appleseed (1964, Disneyland)
- White Christmas (1965, Design) [reissue of Christmas Is for the Family]
- My Wild Irish Rose (1966, RCA Camden) [reissue of earlier RCA Victor recordings]
- Clancy Lowered the BoomClancy Lowered the Boom"Clancy Lowered the Boom" is a song written by Hy Heath and Johnny Lange in 1947, made famous by Dennis Day on Jack Benny's radio program...
(1947 RCA Victor single) - Dear Hearts and Gentle PeopleDear Hearts and Gentle People"Dear Hearts and Gentle People" is a popular song published in 1949 with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Bob Hilliard. They were inspired to write the song based on a scrap of paper with the words "Dear friends and gentle hearts" written on it that was found on the body of Stephen Foster when he...
(1949 RCA Victor single) - Christmas in KillarneyChristmas in Killarney"Christmas in Killarney" is an Irish Christmas song written by John Redmond, James Cavanaugh and Frank Weldon, copyright 1950. This song has been performed by many artists, most notably Bing Crosby on his album Merry Christmas. The singer Ruby Murray also recorded a version during the 1950s, as did...
(1950 RCA Victor single)