Gisele MacKenzie
Encyclopedia
Gisèle MacKenzie was a Canadian
-American
singer, most famous for her performances on the popular television
program Your Hit Parade
.
, Manitoba
, and studied violin
and voice at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Ontario. She had at least two Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
radio
programs, Meet Gisèle and Gisele and Mr. Cable, before moving to Los Angeles
, California
, in 1951. She became a naturalized U.S.
citizen in 1955.
MacKenzie possessed a crystalline, resonant singing voice, and perfect pitch
. She recorded album
s and single
s on various record label
s, most notably Capitol
and RCA
. In 1953 she reached #6 in the UK Singles Chart
, with her rendition of "Seven Lonely Days". Her biggest selling song was "Hard To Get
" in 1955.
MacKenzie was an accomplished violin
ist and performed many comedic musical duets
with mentor Jack Benny
. She remarked that Benny was so enthusiastic about his own violin playing that at each break in rehearsal he would get his violin and they would play duets. In an often-played clip, she and Benny perform a violin duet of "Getting To Know You
", in which she breaks their synchronization several times to add some extra musical flourishes, to his mock irritation. Finally, he breaks in with a lengthy (and stereotypically mediocre) flourish of his own, and evokes audience laughter with mock indignation: "Fool around with ME, sister!
She sang frequently on early television shows such as The Jack Benny Program
, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
, The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
, and The Ed Sullivan Show
. She appeared too in the NBC
legal drama
Justice
, based on cases of the Legal Aid Society of New York. She also appeared frequently in Las Vegas
venues and in numerous North American concerts.
In the U.S., she appeared on radio on such stars' programs as Bob Crosby
and Mario Lanza
. She also hosted a radio show entitled Airtime.
In 1952 and 1953, she toured with Benny, who recommended her for Your Hit Parade. During her tenure on that show, "Hard to Get" became a hit
. MacKenzie appeared on the show for several years, finally leaving in 1957 to head her own short-lived variety program, The Gisele MacKenzie Show
. She returned to television in 1963 on The Sid Caesar Show and was a panelist on many quiz programs. 1963 also saw the release of the children's album she recorded, "Gisele MacKenzie Sings and Tells the Adventures and Travels of Babar
the Elephant," in which her narration of the beloved children's book by French author Jean de Brunhoff
is complemented by gentle lullabies and stirring ballads that showcase her range and pitch.
In later years, MacKenzie performed widely in musical theater in such shows as Mame, Gypsy
, The Sound of Music
, and Hello, Dolly!
She turned to acting in the 1990s, making guest appearances on television series including Murder, She Wrote
and MacGyver
.
MacKenzie has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
at 1601 Vine.
She died from colon cancer, aged 76, in September, 2003 in Burbank, California
. Her daughter is contemporary jazz artist Gigi MacKenzie
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer, most famous for her performances on the popular television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
program Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade, is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or...
.
Biography
She was born Gisèle Marie-Louise Marguerite LaFlèche in WinnipegWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, and studied violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and voice at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Ontario. She had at least two Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
programs, Meet Gisèle and Gisele and Mr. Cable, before moving to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in 1951. She became a naturalized U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
citizen in 1955.
MacKenzie possessed a crystalline, resonant singing voice, and perfect pitch
Absolute pitch
Absolute pitch , widely referred to as perfect pitch, is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of an external reference.-Definition:...
. She recorded album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s and single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
s on various record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s, most notably Capitol
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
and RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
. In 1953 she reached #6 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, with her rendition of "Seven Lonely Days". Her biggest selling song was "Hard To Get
Hard to Get
"Hard to Get" can refer to:*"Hard to Get" , a 1955 song popularized by Gisele MacKenzie*Hard to Get , starring Jack Oakie*Hard to Get , featuring Olivia de Havilland, Dick Powell, and Bonita Granville...
" in 1955.
MacKenzie was an accomplished violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist and performed many comedic musical duets
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
with mentor Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
. She remarked that Benny was so enthusiastic about his own violin playing that at each break in rehearsal he would get his violin and they would play duets. In an often-played clip, she and Benny perform a violin duet of "Getting To Know You
Getting to Know You
"Getting to Know You" may refer to:*"Getting to Know You" , a 1951 show tune*Getting to Know You a 1998 science fiction short story by David Marusek...
", in which she breaks their synchronization several times to add some extra musical flourishes, to his mock irritation. Finally, he breaks in with a lengthy (and stereotypically mediocre) flourish of his own, and evokes audience laughter with mock indignation: "Fool around with ME, sister!
She sang frequently on early television shows such as 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...
, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A...
, The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford
The Ford Show
The Ford Show is a half-hour comedy/variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired in color on NBC television on Thursday evenings from October 4, 1956 to June 29, 1961....
, The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom
The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom is a half-hour variety show that aired on ABC from October 3, 1957 to June 23, 1960, starring the young singer Pat Boone and a host of top-name guest stars. The program was of course sponsored by Chevrolet...
, and The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
. She appeared too in the 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...
legal drama
Legal drama
A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...
Justice
Justice (1954 TV series)
Justice is an NBC half-hour drama television series about attorneys of the Legal Aid Society of New York, which aired from April 8, 1954 to March 25, 1956. In the 1954-1955 season, Justice starred Dane Clark as Richard Adams and Gary Merrill as Jason Tyler. In the 1955-1956 season, William Prince...
, based on cases of the Legal Aid Society of New York. She also appeared frequently in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
venues and in numerous North American concerts.
In the U.S., she appeared on radio on such stars' programs as Bob Crosby
Bob Crosby
George Robert "Bob" Crosby was an American dixieland bandleader and vocalist, best known for his group the Bob-Cats.-Family:...
and Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza
right|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....
. She also hosted a radio show entitled Airtime.
In 1952 and 1953, she toured with Benny, who recommended her for Your Hit Parade. During her tenure on that show, "Hard to Get" became a hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
. MacKenzie appeared on the show for several years, finally leaving in 1957 to head her own short-lived variety program, 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....
. She returned to television in 1963 on The Sid Caesar Show and was a panelist on many quiz programs. 1963 also saw the release of the children's album she recorded, "Gisele MacKenzie Sings and Tells the Adventures and Travels of Babar
Babar
Babar means Lion. Babar may refer to:Names* Babur , 16th-century ruler of Indian subcontinent and founder of the Mughal Empire* Babar Luck, musician from England...
the Elephant," in which her narration of the beloved children's book by French author Jean de Brunhoff
Jean de Brunhoff
Jean de Brunhoff was a French writer and illustrator known for creating the Babar books, the first of which appeared in 1931. He was the fourth and youngest child of Maurice de Brunhoff, a publisher, and his wife Marguerite. He attended Protestant schools, including the prestigious Ecole Alsacienne...
is complemented by gentle lullabies and stirring ballads that showcase her range and pitch.
In later years, MacKenzie performed widely in musical theater in such shows as Mame, Gypsy
Gypsy: A Musical Fable
Gypsy is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business...
, The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
, and Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
She turned to acting in the 1990s, making guest appearances on television series including Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
and MacGyver
MacGyver
MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...
.
MacKenzie has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 1601 Vine.
She died from colon cancer, aged 76, in September, 2003 in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
. Her daughter is contemporary jazz artist Gigi MacKenzie
Gigi MacKenzie
Gigi MacKenzie is a smooth jazz artist, daughter of the singer Gisele MacKenzie.Now residing in West Toluca Lake, California. MacKenzie worked for 10 years as a studio singer in Los Angeles. She has recorded national commercials and major movie soundtracks, including the hit movie Mr. Holland's...
.