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Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee

Born: 1920-05-26 • Jamestown, New York, USA

Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer and actress, in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and performer. She wrote music for films, acted, and created conceptual record albums—encompassing poetry, jazz, chamber pop, and art songs.

In 1952 Lee starred in The Jazz Singer, a Technicolor remake of the early Al Jolson part-talkie 1927 film of the same name. In 1955, she played an alcoholic blues singer in Pete Kelly's Blues, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 1955 Lee did the speaking and singing voices for several characters in Disney's Lady and the Tramp: she played the human "Darling", the dog "Peg", and the two Siamese cats "Si and Am". In 1957, Lee guest starred on the short-lived ABC variety program, The Guy Mitchell Show.

Filmography
Peggy Lee: Things Are Swingin' poster
Peggy Lee: Things Are Swingin'
2021 • Singer
Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas poster
Queens of Jazz: The Joy and Pain of the Jazz Divas
2013 • Self (archive footage)
…Sings Musicals poster
…Sings Musicals
2012 • Self (archive footage)
Jazz Voice - The Ladies sing Jazz Vol.2 poster
Jazz Voice - The Ladies sing Jazz Vol.2
2006 • Self (archive footage)
Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook poster
Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook
2005 • (archive footage)
Judy Garland Duets poster
Judy Garland Duets
2005 • Self (archive footage)
Fever: The Music of Peggy Lee poster
Fever: The Music of Peggy Lee
2004
No Image
Man and Cat
2001 • Poor Old Woman
Dean Martin: That's Amore poster
Dean Martin: That's Amore
2001 • Self (archive footage)
Night of 100 Stars III poster
Night of 100 Stars III
1990 • Self
Disney's Greatest Lullabies Volume 2 poster
Disney's Greatest Lullabies Volume 2
1986 • (voice) (archive footage)
Disney's Halloween Treat poster
Disney's Halloween Treat
1982 • Si / Am (voice) (archive footage)
Lady and the Tramp: A Lesson in Sharing Attention poster
Lady and the Tramp: A Lesson in Sharing Attention
1978 • Darling (voice)
Julie's Christmas Special poster
Julie's Christmas Special
1973 • Self / Sugar Plum Fairy
Petula poster
Petula
1970 • Self
President Kennedy's Birthday Salute poster
President Kennedy's Birthday Salute
1962 • Self
Big Night Out: The Peggy Lee Show poster
Big Night Out: The Peggy Lee Show
1961
Jazz Ball poster
Jazz Ball
1956 • Self (archive footage)
Pete Kelly's Blues poster
Pete Kelly's Blues
1955 • Rose Hopkins
Lady and the Tramp poster
Lady and the Tramp
1955 • Darling / Si / Am / Peg (voice)
The Jazz Singer poster
The Jazz Singer
1953 • Judy Lane
Mr. Music poster
Mr. Music
1950 • Peggy Lee
No Image
Jasper in a Jam
1946 • Harp (singing voice)
Jasper and the Beanstalk poster
Jasper and the Beanstalk
1945 • Harp
Stage Door Canteen poster
Stage Door Canteen
1943 • Benny Goodman Orchestra Singer (uncredited)
The Powers Girl poster
The Powers Girl
1943 • Peggy Lee - Goodman Band Vocalist (uncredited)
Nat King Cole & Friends Unforgettable Hits poster
Nat King Cole & Friends Unforgettable Hits
— • Self (archive footage)