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For the beauty pageant winner, see Helen Morgan (Miss World). Helen Elizabeth Morgan (born 1951 of Barry, Wales, is the 1974 winner of the Miss United Kingdom Pageant.
Helen Morgan

Helen Morgan photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1935
Born Helen Riggins
August 2, 1900(1900-08-02)
Danville, Illinois
Died October 9, 1941 (aged 41)
Chicago, Illinois
Spouse(s) Maurice Maschke, Jr. Carl Van Vechten ( June 17, 1880 &ndash December 21, 1964) was an American Writer and Photographer who was a Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Danville is a City in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. (1933-1935)
Lloyd Johnston (1941-1941)

Helen Morgan (August 2, 1900 - October 9, 1941) was an American singer and actress who worked in films and on the stage. Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the She was born on 2 August 1900 in rural Danville, Illinois. Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Danville is a City in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. She was born 'Helen Riggins' to a farmer and schoolteacher but became 'Morgan' when her mother remarried. Her mother's second marriage ended in divorce, and she moved to Chicago with her daughter. Morgan never finished school beyond the eighth grade, and worked a variety of jobs to get by. In 1923 she even entered the Miss Montreal contest, even going to New York to meet Miss America Katherine Campbell, but when she returned her American citizenship was discovered and she was disqualified. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. She also worked as an extra in films. By 20 Morgan had taken voice lessons and was singing in speakeasies in Chicago.

Helen Morgan's high, thin, and somewhat wobbly voice was not fashionable during the '20s for the kind of songs that she specialized in, but nevertheless she became a wildly popular torch singer. Torch Song was a British Synthpop and dance band of the early 1980s consisting of William Orbit, Laurie Mayer and Grant Gilbert Her heart bled about hard living and heartbreak onto her accompanist's piano. This draped-over-the-piano look became her signature look while performing at Billy Rose's Backstage Club in 1925. Morgan drank too much and was often drunk during these performances, despite the National Prohibition Enforcement Act passed in 1919. Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common During this period several Chicago gangsters tried to help fund her various attempts to open her own nightclub. However, Prohibition agents kept too strict an eye on her and her attempts failed.

Morgan was noticed by Florenz Ziegfeld while dancing in the chorus of his production of Sally in 1923 and she went on to perform with the Ziegfeld Follies in 1931, the Follies' last active year. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr ( March 21, 1869 &ndash July 22, 1932) called Flo Ziegfeld, was an American Broadway History The Follies were lavish Revues something between later Broadway shows and a more elaborate high class Vaudeville Variety show. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. During this period she studied music at the Metropolitan Opera in her free time. The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880 is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera.

In 1927 Helen Morgan appeared as Julie LaVerne in the original cast of Show Boat, her best-known role. Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book (based on a novel by Edna Ferber) and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein She sang "Bill" (lyrics by P.G. Wodehouse and Oscar Hammerstein) and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" in two stage runs and two film productions of the famous musical over a span of 11 years. Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE (15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975 (ˈwʊdhaʊs was an English Comic novelist who enjoyed enormous popular success Oscar Hammerstein II (ˈhæmɚstaɪn (born Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein) ( July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was " Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man " with music by Jerome Kern, and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, is one of the most famous songs from their classic 1927 Musical (In the first film version of Show Boat, made in 1929, Morgan appeared only in the song prologue; Alma Rubens played Julie in the film proper, which was mostly silent. Alma Rubens ( February 19, 1897 – January 22, 1931) was an American Silent film Actress and stage performer However, Morgan did play the role in the 1936 film version of the musical. )

After appearing in the 1929 film version of Show Boat, Morgan went on to star in Kern and Hammerstein's Broadway musical, Sweet Adeline. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located The title was a pun on the famous barbershop quartet song. Barbershop Vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1940s-present is a style of A cappella, or unaccompanied Vocal music characterized In the musical, Morgan introduced the songs Why Was I Born and Don't Ever Leave Me. Oddly enough, when Sweet Adeline was filmed in 1934, Morgan's role went to her future Show Boat co-star, Irene Dunne, who possessed a lovely soprano, but was certainly not a torch singer. Irene Dunne ( December 20, 1898 - September 4, 1990) was a five-time Academy Award -nominated American film actress and

In the late '30s Morgan was signed up for a show at Chicago's Loop Theater. She also spent time at her farm in High Point, New York. Alcoholism plagued her and she was hospitalized in late 1940. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Her career underwent something of a comeback in 1941, thanks to the help of manager Lloyd Johnson. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. However, the years of alcohol abuse had taken their toll. She collapsed onstage during a performance of George White's Scandals of 1942 and died at 41 of cirrhosis of the liver on 8 October 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. Events 314 - Roman Emperor Licinius is defeated by his colleague Constantine I at the Battle of Cibalae, and loses Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States.

Morgan was married three times, to fan Lowell Army, whom she met at a stage door while she was in Sally, to Maurice "Buddy" Maschke (they married on May 15, 1933 and divorced several years later), and to Lloyd Johnson, whom she married on July 27, 1941. Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1214 - Battle of Bouvines: In France, Philip II of France defeats John of England. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Morgan was portrayed by Polly Bergen in a 1957 Playhouse 90 drama, directed by George Roy Hill, and won an Emmy Award for her performance. Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin, July 14 1930, Knoxville Tennessee) is an American Emmy Award -winning Playhouse 90, a 90-minute dramatic television anthology series was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1961 for a total of 133 episodes George Roy Hill ( December 20, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an Academy Award winning American Film director. That same year, the feature film The Helen Morgan Story starred Ann Blyth as Morgan. In the Film industry, a feature film is a Film made for initial distribution in theaters and being the "main attraction" of the screening The Helen Morgan Story is a 1957 American Biographical film directed by Michael Curtiz. Ann Marie Blyth (born August 16, 1928) is an Oscar-nominated American actress and Singer, often cast in Hollywood

Contents

Filmography

Stage

Bibliography

External links

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