About this project

Kay Kemble (1911-1989) is a character invented for this project. Kay sang on radio commercials as a child and went on to lead Big Bands and swing ensembles in the 30's and 40's. She worked at Scott Air Field as a WAAC enlistee and a civilian. She produced war bond rallies, and her all-female band promoted a popular shampoo brand. In the 80's there was renewed interest in Kay's musical career.

Kay informally adopted the orphaned niece and nephew of her partner Wilmetta "Teeny" Stockton, and in the early 70's the family moved from St. Louis to New Orleans. After Kay and Teeny's deaths, family members remained in New Orleans until displaced by Hurricane Katrina. In 2014, I arranged to archive, organize, and restore Kay's memorabilia. Most items were damaged due to age, hurried packing , and lack of funds for formal archiving.

I've "become" Kay in reproduction radio broadcasts, and created artifacts to represent damaged or destroyed items in the collection.



Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Australian opera star Margerie Lawrence makes 1947 comeback after polio

 

The 1930s and 1940s were so complex in terms of culture. Star soprano Marjorie Lawrence was most famous for singing the works of Richard Wagner, strongly associated with Nazi culture. Yet Lawrence herself was heroic, traveling with legs weakened by polio and performing from a seated position for Allied soldiers during the Second World War. The French awarded Lawrence the Legion of Honor for her service to France.

 

 


The 1972 radio broadcast below includes this short summary of Lawrence's experience with illness and her return to the stage. 



Thr radio broadcast above makes mention of Laswrence's memoir, Interrupted Melody. 

 


 

The book became an MGM film in 1955. 

 


 





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