Dennis Day facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dennis Day
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Day in 1960
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| Born |
Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty
May 21, 1916 Bronx, New York City, U.S.
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| Died | June 22, 1988 (aged 72) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1939–1988 |
| Spouse(s) |
Peggy Almquist
(m. 1948) |
| Children | 10 |
| Relatives | Ann Blyth (sister-in-law) |
| Alma mater | Manhattan College |
| Presenting career | |
| Show | The Jack Benny Program |
| Station(s) | NBC, CBS |
Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988) was a talented American actor, comedian, and singer. He was known for his clear tenor voice and his funny characters. Dennis Day had Irish family roots.
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Dennis Day was born and grew up in the Bronx, New York. He was the second of five children. His parents were immigrants from Ireland. His father worked as an engineer in a factory.
Dennis went to Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary. Later, he attended Manhattan College in the Bronx. There, he sang in the college's glee club, which is a singing group.
In 1939, when he was 23, Dennis Day (then known as Gene McNulty) began singing on network radio. He sang with bandleader Larry Clinton. Their shows were popular with college students. Dennis was voted a favorite singer by the audience.
Radio Star
Dennis Day first appeared on Jack Benny's famous radio show on October 8, 1939. He took the place of another singer, Kenny Baker. Dennis stayed with Jack Benny's radio and TV shows for many years, until Benny passed away in 1974.
On the show, Dennis played a young, innocent boy singer. Actress Verna Felton played his bossy mother. This character became very popular and Dennis kept playing a similar role throughout his career.
Jack Benny's wife, Mary Livingstone, first heard Dennis singing on the radio. She liked his voice and told Jack Benny about him. Benny then went to New York to audition Dennis, and that's how Dennis joined the show.
Dennis Day's first recorded song was "Goodnight My Beautiful."
Besides singing, Dennis was also good at doing impressions. On the Jack Benny show, he would imitate famous people like Ronald Colman, Jimmy Durante, and James Stewart.
From 1944 to 1946, Dennis served in the United States Navy as a lieutenant. While he was away, another singer, Larry Stevens, filled in for him on the Jack Benny radio show.
After returning from the Navy, Dennis continued to work with Jack Benny. He also started his own NBC radio show called A Day in the Life of Dennis Day. This show ran from 1946 to 1951. On Benny's show, they often made jokes about Dennis having two shows while Benny only had one.
His last radio series was a comedy and variety show. It aired on NBC during the 1954–55 season.
A Day in the Life of Dennis Day
On his own radio show, Dennis Day played a character similar to the one on Jack Benny's program. In this series, Dennis lived in a made-up town called Weaverville. He stayed at a boarding house run by Clara Anderson, played by Bea Benaderet. Her husband, Herbert Anderson, was played by Dink Trout.
Dennis's character was engaged to their daughter, Mildred, played by Barbara Eiler. He worked at Willoughby's Drug Store, where Mr. Willoughby was his boss. The show was sponsored by Colgate-Palmolive. Each episode usually started with a song by Dennis, then part of the story, another song, the rest of the story, and a final song.
Television Appearances
There was an early attempt to turn A Day in the Life of Dennis Day into a TV show in 1949. It even had the original radio cast, but it was never shown. Later, in 1950, a sample episode for a live comedy show called The Dennis Day Show was made for CBS, but it also wasn't picked up.
Dennis continued to be a regular on The Jack Benny Program when it moved to TV. He stayed with the show until it ended in 1965.
His own TV series, The Dennis Day Show, finally aired on NBC in 1952 and again in 1953–1954. On this show, Dennis played a more grown-up version of himself. He used his natural voice and acted more mature than his character on the Benny show.
Between 1952 and 1978, Dennis Day appeared on many TV shows. He sang and acted on shows like The Gisele MacKenzie Show and The Bing Crosby Show. He also did voice work for animated cartoons.
In 1957, Dennis played himself in an episode of Date with the Angels. His car broke down in front of Vicki Angel's house, played by Betty White. While waiting for help, he did impressions, sang, and even performed a duet with Vicki.
During the last season of The Jack Benny Program (1964–65), Dennis was almost 49 years old. But Jack Benny would still joke about him being "that crazy kid."
His last TV appearance with Jack Benny was in 1970. They appeared in a public service announcement together.
In 1972, he starred in the musical No, No, Nanette with June Allyson.
Dennis also lent his voice to animated holiday specials. In 1976, he was the voice of Parson Brown in Frosty's Winter Wonderland. In 1978, he voiced Fred in The Stingiest Man in Town, an animated version of A Christmas Carol.
Film Roles
Even though Dennis Day was mostly known for radio and TV, he also appeared in a few movies. These included Buck Benny Rides Again (1940) with Jack Benny. He also appeared in Sleepy Lagoon (1943) and Music in Manhattan (1944).
Later films included I'll Get By (1950) and Golden Girl (1951). He was also in The Girl Next Door (1953). In 1976, he played a singing telegraph man in Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood.
For the movie My Wild Irish Rose (1947), Dennis sang the songs for the actor Dennis Morgan. He also provided voices for the "Johnny Appleseed" part of Walt Disney's Melody Time (1948). He voiced Johnny Appleseed, Johnny's Angel, and the Old Settler.
Political Views
Dennis Day was a Republican. He supported Dwight Eisenhower in the 1952 United States presidential election. He also supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.
Selected Filmography
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1959) (Season 4 Episode 26: "Cheap is Cheap") as Alexander Gifford
Images for kids
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Day in 1960
See also
In Spanish: Dennis Day para niños
