Capitol, RCA, X, Everest, Mercury, Liberty Sunset, Cricket Playhour, Design.
Musical artist
Gisèle MacKenzie (born Gisèle Marie Louise Marguerite LaFlèche; January 10, 1927 – September 5, 2003)[1] was a Canadian-American singer, actress, and commercial spokesperson, best known for her performances on the US television program Your Hit Parade.
MacKenzie recorded albums and singles on various record labels, most notably Capitol and RCA, Everest, Mercury, Liberty Sunset, and Cricket Playhour (Pickwick). In 1953 she reached No. 6 in the UK Singles Chart, with her rendition of "Seven Lonely Days".[3]
Her biggest selling song was "Hard To Get" in 1955. She was also an accomplished classical violinist, studying at The Royal Conservatory of Music; she performed many comedic musical duets with mentor Jack Benny. 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!"[4]
In the United States, she replaced the Andrews Sisters as a regular vocalist on "Club 15" and her guest appearance on Mario Lanza's "Coke Time" resulted in Lanza inviting her to join his show's cast every week. She also hosted a radio show entitled Airtime at the same time she was appearing on TV's Your Hit Parade. [citation needed]
In 1952–53, she toured with Jack Benny, who recommended her for Your Hit Parade. During her 4-year tenure on that show, "Hard to Get" became a hit. She announced in 1957 that she would not be returning to the show for another season. She went on to star in her own short lived Saturday night NBC variety program, The Gisele MacKenzie Show, and hosted such guests as Benny, Boris Karloff, Ronald Reagan, Bobby Diamond, and folk singer Jimmie Rodgers; it was cancelled after a half season. She returned to television in 1963 as Sid Caesar's 4th television wife on The Sid Caesar Show, in which she did comedy with Caesar and sang a song each week. 1959 saw the release of her first of a series of children's albums, "Gisele MacKenzie sings Lullaby and Goodnight". The album sold very well and resulted in two more for Cricket Play Hour Records (Pickwick).[citation needed]
MacKenzie was married to her personal manager, Robert J. Shuttleworth (February 24, 1958[5] – August 12, 1966) and to Robert F. Klein (May 10, 1975–????); both marriages ended in divorce.[6] She had a son, MacKenzie Duffy,[7] and a daughter,[8] contemporary jazz artist Gigi MacKenzie.[9]
^Goldsborough, Gordon. "Memorable Manitobans: Gisele MacKenzie (1927-2003)". Manitoba Historical Society. Retrieved November 4, 2023. After divorcing him in 1966, she married Robert F. Klein in 1975. That marriage ended in divorce too.
^"Gigi MacKenzie - Skylark". Discogs. 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2024. Gigi MacKenzie, daughter of famous television and recording artist Gisele MacKenzie, releases debut CD on Morpheus Music label