Kay Kyser
Encyclopedia
James Kern Kyser (June 18, 1905 – July 23, 1985) was a popular bandleader
and radio
personality of the 1930s and 1940s.
, the son of pharmacists Paul Bynum Kyser and Emily Royster (Howell) Kyser. Editor Vermont C. Royster was his cousin. Kyser graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was also senior class president. Because of his popularity and enthusiasm as a cheerleader, he was invited by Hal Kemp
to take over as bandleader when Kemp ventured north to further his career. He began taking clarinet
lessons but was better as an entertaining announcer than a musician. He adopted the initial of his middle name as part of his stage name, for its alliterative effect.
, toured Midwest restaurants and night clubs and gradually built a following. They were particularly popular at Chicago's Blackhawk restaurant
, where Kyser came up with an act combining a quiz with music which became "Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge." The act was broadcast on the Mutual Radio
in 1938 and then moved to NBC
Radio from 1939 to 1949. The show rose in the ratings and spawned many imitators. Kyser led the band as “The Ol’ Perfessor,” spouting catchphrases: “That’s right—you’re wrong”, “Evenin’ folks, how y’all?” and “C'mon, chillun! Le's dance!”
Although Kyser and his orchestra gained fame through the "Kollege of Musical Knowledge," they were an excellent band in their own right. They had 11 number one records, including some of the most popular songs of the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Unlike most other big bands of the era, which centered around only the bandleader, individual members of Kyser’s band became stars in their own right and would often receive the spotlight. Some of the more popular members included vocalist Harry Babbitt
, cornetist Merwin Bogue (aka Ish Kabibble
), trombonist Bruce King, saxophonist Jack Martin (who sang lead vocal on the number one hit, "Strip Polka"), Ginny Simms
(who had her own successful acting and singing career after leaving Kyser’s band), Sully Mason, Mike Douglas (years before he became a popular TV talk show host) and Georgia Carroll
. Carroll, a blond fashion model and actress whose best-known role was Betsy Ross
in Yankee Doodle Dandy
, was dubbed “Gorgeous Georgia Carroll” when she joined the group in 1943. Within a year, she and Kyser married.
Kyser was also known for singing song titles, a device copied by Sammy Kaye
and Blue Barron
. When the song began, one of the band's lead singers (usually Babbitt) sang the title phrase, and then the first verse or two of the song was performed instrumentally before the lyrics resumed. Several of his recordings spawned catch phrases, such as “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition
.” His group also had a major hit with the novelty tune, “Three Little Fishes.”
His song "Jingle Jangle Jingle" was used in the E3 trailer, and in-game soundtrack for the game Fallout: New Vegas
because of its 50s-era style.
“Kay left a strong recording legacy in American popular music, including his 'Kollege of Musical Knowledge,' " said Babbitt. “I’m very fortunate and proud to have been an integral part of that band and that legacy." Some of the band members, including Babbitt and Kabibble, noted that Kyser was difficult to know personally. "Kay was a businessman," explained Babbitt. "We all liked him and liked what he stood for. He was first class. It’s sad to say, but there are an awful lot of people who don’t remember Kay Kyser.”
On February 26, 1941, Kay Kyser was the first bandleader to perform in front of military personnel.
During the Swing Era, Kyser, Hal Kemp
and Tal Henry
often performed in or near New York City, making possible a reunion of North Carolina musicians. Later, after retirement, Kyser and Henry got together to share music world memories.
(1939
) and You'll Find Out
(1940). Some of the films built a plot around the band. Around the World (1943
) fictionalized the band's international tours of military camps. In Carolina Blues (1944
), Kyser has to replace his lead singer (Carroll) who has run off to get married. Caught in a jam, he reluctantly hires the daughter of a powerful defense plant owner, played by Ann Miller
. Two of the band’s best-known performance appearances were in 1943
when they appeared in the wartime films Stage Door Canteen
and Thousands Cheer
, both of which were produced to boost the morale of troops and their families.
Kyser also appeared as a light comedian; he acted with (and was billed above) John Barrymore
in John Barrymore
's final film Playmates
(1941). Kyser is the dupe in a scam where Barrymore pretends to teach him how to act in Shakespearean drama. Kyser’s personal performing style was enthusiastic and comical. Unlike most bandleaders of the time, Kyser danced and sang with his band, as illustrated during the group’s performance of “I Dug a Ditch” in Thousands Cheer and other film appearances.
After the war, Kyser’s band continued to record hit records, including two featuring Jane Russell
as vocalist. It’s All Up to You features vocals by Frank Sinatra
and Dinah Shore
, although Kyser's participation in this recording is disputed, record label showing Axel Stordahl
as conductor. Kyser had intended to retire following the end of the war, but performance and recording contracts kept him in show business for another half decade. During this time, Kyser made a cameo appearance in a Batman
comic book.
and Liza Palmer, plus The Honeydreamers vocal group and the dance team of Diane Sinclair and Ken Spaulding. Ben Grauer
was the announcer during the first season. Always the businessman, Kyser reunited his band especially for this series and just as quickly disbanded it when the show ended.
After a four-year hiatus, the "Kollege of Musical Knowledge" was revived by Tennessee Ernie Ford
, prior to the launching of his own NBC program, The Ford Show
from 1956-1961.
sometime between 1944 and 1946, despite the fact his mother had been the first female pharmacist in his home county. Nevertheless, he had become interested in Christian Science when conventional medicine did not relieve his problems with arthritis
. It was this arthritis which is often cited as one of the reasons Kyser retired from performing in 1950. In the early 1960s, several members of the Kay Kyser team (including Kabibble and Simms but not Kyser) reunited to record an album of new versions of Kyser’s greatest hits.
In the 1970s, Kay ran the film and television department of the Christian Science Church in Boston
. He became an important lecturer for the faith and was also a Christian Science Practitioner
. This service to the denomination led to his being given the honorary title of “President of the Worldwide Church of CS” in 1983. He insisted though that it was honorary, joking “I haven’t been elected Pope or anything...”
Kyser and Georgia Carroll
remained married until his death. They had three children. He died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
is custodian of a large archive of documents and material about Kyser which was donated by his widow; this archive became available to the public April 8, 2008.
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
and 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...
personality of the 1930s and 1940s.
Early years
He was born in Rocky Mount, North CarolinaRocky Mount, North Carolina
Rocky Mount is an All-America City Award-winning city in Edgecombe and Nash counties in the coastal plains of the state of North Carolina. Although it was not formally incorporated until February 28, 1867, the North Carolina community that became the city of Rocky Mount dates from the beginning of...
, the son of pharmacists Paul Bynum Kyser and Emily Royster (Howell) Kyser. Editor Vermont C. Royster was his cousin. Kyser graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was also senior class president. Because of his popularity and enthusiasm as a cheerleader, he was invited by Hal Kemp
Hal Kemp
James Harold "Hal" Kemp was a jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. He was born in Marion, Alabama and died in Madera, California following an auto accident...
to take over as bandleader when Kemp ventured north to further his career. He began taking clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
lessons but was better as an entertaining announcer than a musician. He adopted the initial of his middle name as part of his stage name, for its alliterative effect.
Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge
Following graduation, Kyser and his band, which included Sully Mason on saxophone and arranger George DuningGeorge Duning
George Duning was an American musician and film composer. He was born in Richmond, Indiana and educated in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where his mentor was Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco....
, toured Midwest restaurants and night clubs and gradually built a following. They were particularly popular at Chicago's Blackhawk restaurant
Blackhawk (restaurant)
The Blackhawk was a restaurant in the Chicago Loop from 1920 to 1984. It served a menu of American cuisine, notably prime rib and a signature "spinning salad bowl," and was, in the early part of its history a nationally known entertainment venue for Big Band music...
, where Kyser came up with an act combining a quiz with music which became "Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge." The act was broadcast on the Mutual Radio
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
in 1938 and then moved to 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...
Radio from 1939 to 1949. The show rose in the ratings and spawned many imitators. Kyser led the band as “The Ol’ Perfessor,” spouting catchphrases: “That’s right—you’re wrong”, “Evenin’ folks, how y’all?” and “C'mon, chillun! Le's dance!”
Big band era
Unlike most other big bands of the era, which centered around only the bandleader, individual members of Kyser’s band became stars in their own right and would often receive the spotlight. Some of the more popular members included vocalist Harry Babbitt
Harry Babbitt
Harry Babbitt was an American singer and star during the Big Band era. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he joined the Kay Kyser band in 1938. With Kyser he recorded several hits in his rich baritone...
, cornetist Merwin Bogue (aka Ish Kabibble
Ish Kabibble
Ish Kabibble was a comedian and cornet player. Born Merwyn Bogue in North East, Pennsylvania; he returned to Erie, Pennsylvania with his family a few months after his birth.-Career:...
), trombonist Bruce King, saxophonist Jack Martin (who sang lead vocal on the number one hit, "Strip Polka"), Ginny Simms
Ginny Simms
Ginny Simms was an American Popular Singer and film actress. She labeled with Dinah Shore, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Jo Stafford and others. Born in San Antonio, Texas, she sang with big bands and worked as MGM contract player film actress.She appeared in 11 movies from 1939 to 1951, when she...
(who had her own successful acting and singing career after leaving Kyser’s band), Sully Mason, Mike Douglas (years before he became a popular TV talk show host) and Georgia Carroll
Georgia Carroll
Georgia Carroll was an American singer, fashion model, and actress, best known for her work with Kay Kyser's big band orchestra in the mid-1940s....
. Carroll, a blond fashion model and actress whose best-known role was Betsy Ross
Betsy Ross
Betsy Ross is widely credited with making the first American flag. There is, however, no credible historical evidence that the story is true.-Early life:...
in Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
, was dubbed “Gorgeous Georgia Carroll” when she joined the group in 1943. Within a year, she and Kyser married.
Kyser was also known for singing song titles, a device copied by Sammy Kaye
Sammy Kaye
Sammy Kaye , born Samuel Zarnocay, Jr., was an American bandleader and songwriter, whose tag line, "Swing and sway with Sammy Kaye", became one of the most famous of the Big Band Era.-Biography:...
and Blue Barron
Blue Barron
Blue Barron , born Harry Freidman, was an American orchestra leader in the 1940s and early 1950s during the "Big Band" era....
. When the song began, one of the band's lead singers (usually Babbitt) sang the title phrase, and then the first verse or two of the song was performed instrumentally before the lyrics resumed. Several of his recordings spawned catch phrases, such as “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition
Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition
"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" is an American patriotic song written by Frank Loesser and published as sheet music in 1942 by Famous Music Corp. The song was a response to the attack on Pearl Harbor that marked United States involvement in World War II.The song describes a chaplain ...
.” His group also had a major hit with the novelty tune, “Three Little Fishes.”
His song "Jingle Jangle Jingle" was used in the E3 trailer, and in-game soundtrack for the game Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas is a first person action role-playing video game in the Fallout series developed by Obsidian Entertainment, and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is based in a post-apocalyptic environment in and around Las Vegas, Nevada...
because of its 50s-era style.
“Kay left a strong recording legacy in American popular music, including his 'Kollege of Musical Knowledge,' " said Babbitt. “I’m very fortunate and proud to have been an integral part of that band and that legacy." Some of the band members, including Babbitt and Kabibble, noted that Kyser was difficult to know personally. "Kay was a businessman," explained Babbitt. "We all liked him and liked what he stood for. He was first class. It’s sad to say, but there are an awful lot of people who don’t remember Kay Kyser.”
On February 26, 1941, Kay Kyser was the first bandleader to perform in front of military personnel.
During the Swing Era, Kyser, Hal Kemp
Hal Kemp
James Harold "Hal" Kemp was a jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. He was born in Marion, Alabama and died in Madera, California following an auto accident...
and Tal Henry
Tal Henry
Tal Henry was an American orchestra director in the swing and big band eras.Henry was born Talmadge Allen Henry in Maysville, Georgia. At the age of 7, he started playing the violin. He left Maysville in 1914 to attend Shenandoah Conservatory of Music located in Dayton, Virginia...
often performed in or near New York City, making possible a reunion of North Carolina musicians. Later, after retirement, Kyser and Henry got together to share music world memories.
Movies
During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Kyser’s band appeared in several motion pictures, usually as themselves, beginning with the successful That’s Right You’re WrongThat’s Right You’re Wrong
That's Right You're Wrong is a musical film, directed by David Butler and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film starred Kay Kyser and his band, with a cast that included Adolphe Menjou, Lucille Ball, Edward Everett Horton, Roscoe Karns, and Ginny Simms .-Cast:*Kay Kyser as Kay Kyser*Adolphe...
(1939
1939 in film
The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) and You'll Find Out
You'll Find Out
You'll Find Out is a 1940 comedy film directed by David Butler and starring Boris Karloff. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 1941 for Best Original Song...
(1940). Some of the films built a plot around the band. Around the World (1943
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) fictionalized the band's international tours of military camps. In Carolina Blues (1944
1944 in film
The year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
), Kyser has to replace his lead singer (Carroll) who has run off to get married. Caught in a jam, he reluctantly hires the daughter of a powerful defense plant owner, played by Ann Miller
Ann Miller
Johnnie Lucille Collier, better known as Ann Miller was an American singer, dancer and actress.-Early life:...
. Two of the band’s best-known performance appearances were in 1943
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
when they appeared in the wartime films Stage Door Canteen
Stage Door Canteen
Stage Door Canteen is a musical film produced by Sol Lesser Productions and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by Frank Borzage and features many cameo appearances by celebrities, and the majority of the film is essentially a filmed concert although there is also a storyline to the...
and Thousands Cheer
Thousands Cheer
Thousands Cheer is a 1943 American comedy musical film released by MGM. Produced at the height of the Second World War, the film was intended as a morale booster for American troops and their families.-Plot:The film is essentially a two-part program...
, both of which were produced to boost the morale of troops and their families.
Kyser also appeared as a light comedian; he acted with (and was billed above) John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
in John Barrymore
John Barrymore
John Sidney Blyth , better known as John Barrymore, was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III...
's final film Playmates
Playmates (1941 film)
Playmates is a comedy film directed by David Butler, and starring Kay Kyser and John Barrymore. This was Barrymore's final film.-Cast:*Kay Kyser as Kay Kyser*John Barrymore as John Barrymore*Lupe Vélez as Carmen Del Toro...
(1941). Kyser is the dupe in a scam where Barrymore pretends to teach him how to act in Shakespearean drama. Kyser’s personal performing style was enthusiastic and comical. Unlike most bandleaders of the time, Kyser danced and sang with his band, as illustrated during the group’s performance of “I Dug a Ditch” in Thousands Cheer and other film appearances.
After the war, Kyser’s band continued to record hit records, including two featuring Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
as vocalist. It’s All Up to You features vocals by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
, although Kyser's participation in this recording is disputed, record label showing Axel Stordahl
Axel Stordahl
Axel Stordahl was an arranger who was active from the late 1930s through the 1950s. He is perhaps best known for his work with Frank Sinatra in the 1940s at Columbia Records...
as conductor. Kyser had intended to retire following the end of the war, but performance and recording contracts kept him in show business for another half decade. During this time, Kyser made a cameo appearance in a Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
comic book.
Television
In 1949 and 1950, "Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge" aired on NBC-TV. In addition to Kyser, the TV show featured Ish Kabibble and vocalists Mike Douglas, Sue BennettSue Bennett
Sue Bennett was a vocalist on various network shows during the live television era of the 1940s and 1950s.Bennett starred on the NBC quiz and variety show, Kay Kyser's College of Musical Knowledge in 1949-50, on the DuMont show Teen Time Tunes in 1949, and was featured on the popular Your Hit...
and Liza Palmer, plus The Honeydreamers vocal group and the dance team of Diane Sinclair and Ken Spaulding. Ben Grauer
Ben Grauer
Benjamin Franklin Grauer was an US radio and TV personality, following a career during the 1920s as a child actor in films and on Broadway. He began his career as a child in David Warfield's production of The Return of Peter Grimm. Among his early credits were roles in films directed by D.W....
was the announcer during the first season. Always the businessman, Kyser reunited his band especially for this series and just as quickly disbanded it when the show ended.
After a four-year hiatus, the "Kollege of Musical Knowledge" was revived by Tennessee Ernie Ford
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernest Jennings Ford , better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres...
, prior to the launching of his own NBC program, The Ford Show
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....
from 1956-1961.
Later life
Kyser converted to the Church of Christ, ScientistChurch of Christ, Scientist
The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, by Mary Baker Eddy. She was the author of the book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. Christian Science teaches that the "allness" of God denies the reality of sin, sickness, death, and the material world...
sometime between 1944 and 1946, despite the fact his mother had been the first female pharmacist in his home county. Nevertheless, he had become interested in Christian Science when conventional medicine did not relieve his problems with arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
. It was this arthritis which is often cited as one of the reasons Kyser retired from performing in 1950. In the early 1960s, several members of the Kay Kyser team (including Kabibble and Simms but not Kyser) reunited to record an album of new versions of Kyser’s greatest hits.
In the 1970s, Kay ran the film and television department of the Christian Science Church in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. He became an important lecturer for the faith and was also a Christian Science Practitioner
Christian Science practitioner
A Christian Science practitioner is an individual who follows the practice of healing through prayer according to the teachings of Christian Science...
. This service to the denomination led to his being given the honorary title of “President of the Worldwide Church of CS” in 1983. He insisted though that it was honorary, joking “I haven’t been elected Pope or anything...”
Kyser and Georgia Carroll
Georgia Carroll
Georgia Carroll was an American singer, fashion model, and actress, best known for her work with Kay Kyser's big band orchestra in the mid-1940s....
remained married until his death. They had three children. He died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
is custodian of a large archive of documents and material about Kyser which was donated by his widow; this archive became available to the public April 8, 2008.
Cultural references
- Kyser was mentioned several times on the 1970s sitcom All in the FamilyAll in the FamilyAll in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
, usually by devoted fan Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton). In one particular episode ("Cousin Maude's Visit") Maude (Beatrice ArthurBeatrice ArthurBeatrice "Bea" Arthur was an American actress, comedienne and singer whose career spanned seven decades. Arthur achieved fame as the character Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, winning Emmy Awards for both...
) mentioned that Archie BunkerArchie BunkerArchibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
(Carroll O'ConnorCarroll O'ConnorJohn Carroll O'Connor best known as Carroll O'Connor, was an American actor, producer and director whose television career spanned four decades...
) always laughed out loud at Kabibble, who she thought was "as funny as a migraine." - Bob ClampettBob ClampettRobert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
's Porky PigPorky PigPorky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
cartoonCartoonA cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
Africa Squeaks portrays a bandleader named Cake Icer. - Kay Kyser has a cameo in the Tex AveryTex AveryFrederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
cartoon Hollywood Steps OutHollywood steps outHollywood Steps Out is a 1941 short Merrie Melodies cartoon by Warner Brothers, directed by Tex Avery. The cartoon features caricatures of Hollywood celebrities from the 1930s and early 1940s.- Plot :...
, where he is shown in his professor outfit, calling his "students" to witness Sally RandSally RandSally Rand was a burlesque dancer and actress, most noted for her ostrich feather fan dance and balloon bubble dance. She also performed under the name Billie Beck.-Early life and career:...
's dance. - Kyser's version of 'Jingle, Jangle, Jingle', was used as the backing music for the E3 trailer of the video game Fallout: New VegasFallout: New VegasFallout: New Vegas is a first person action role-playing video game in the Fallout series developed by Obsidian Entertainment, and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is based in a post-apocalyptic environment in and around Las Vegas, Nevada...
, and is played on radio stations in the game itself. - In the sixties show Hogan's Heros there is an episode called "Praise the Fuhrer and Pass the Ammunition" after Kay's hit "praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition".
- Kyser appeared in a traffic safety film Highway Mania which became a favorite short on RifftraxRiffTraxRiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries featuring comedians Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett heckling films in the style of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a TV show in which Nelson was the head writer, and later the host. The RiffTrax are sold online and delivered by digital...
. - Kyser appears in Detective ComicsDetective ComicsDetective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
#144 as an ally of BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
to stop a criminal who's disguised himself as one of Kyser's saxophone players.
Noted sidemen
- Noni BernardiErnani BernardiErnani Bernardi , known also as Noni Bernardi, was a big-band musician turned politician in Los Angeles, California. He represented District 7 on the City Council there from 1961 to 1993—at 32 years the second-longest-serving council member in the history of the city...
(1911–2006), big-band musician and member of the Los Angeles, California, City Council, 1961–93
Listen to
- Kyser recordings
- Command Performance: Kay Kyser (April 1, 1942)
- The Glowing Dial (0:48 to 1:20): Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge (October 11, 1944)
External links
- Kay Kyser: A Life in Motion
- WFMU: Kay Kyser in You’ll Find Out
- Kay Kyser Timeline
- Kay Kyser biography
- Kay Kyser biography
- Inventory of the Kay Kyser and Georgia Carroll Kyser Papers, 1906-2004, in the Southern Historical CollectionSouthern Historical CollectionThe Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South...
, UNC-Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States... - Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs: Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge