Harriet Lee was an American radio singer during theGolden Age of Radio in the 1920s–1930s.[2][3] She was best known as abluescontralto on theColumbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and, later,NBC Radio Networks. Called the "Songbird of the Air", she was named Miss Radio 1931 based on nationwide submittals from radio stations, judged byFlo Ziegfeld andMcClelland Barclay, to select the "most beautiful radio artist" for the Radio World's Fair inNew York City.[4][5] Lee was one of the highest paid radio stars that year.[6] She hosted theHarriet Lee show on experimentalNew York City stationW2XAB (now WCBS-TV) in 1931, making her one of the first singers to have a show on U.S. television.[2]
After her radio appearances ended in the mid-1930s, Lee was a voice coach working with various film stars for major Hollywood studios. Between the 1930s–1960s, she gave singing lessons toDorothy Lamour,Ava Gardner,Esther Williams,Rhonda Fleming,Ginger Rogers, andJanet Leigh, among others.[7][8]
Lee was a great-great niece ofSam Houston and grew up inChicago, Illinois, where she was somewhat of atomboy as a girl.[9] Her father had an automobile dealership in Chicago, where she answered phones as a teen.[10] Lee later studied piano and voice at theChicago College of Music in the evening, while working during the day at a music store.[4]
Lee began singing off-stage withTed Fiorito's band at theEdgewater Beach Hotel. Called "Bobby Lee" as a publicity stunt because of her lowcontralto voice, many in the audience assumed the unseen singer they were hearing was a man.[3] Lee performed on Chicago radio for more than four years in the mid-1920s, getting her start in radio in 1925 on the old WOK,[11] then as one of the singers onWLS-AM and otherWindy City stations, includingKYW (when it was licensed to Chicago in the 1920s) and the oldWIBO.[2][11] While with WLS, Lee sang as part of the "Harmony Team" and also played "Aunt May" on theChildren's Hour show.[3][11]
In April 1929, Lee was introduced byWendell Hall as the "Chicago Nightingale" onThe Majestic Theater of the Air show on theCBS radio network.[12] She then left Chicago for New York to sing on CBS full-time.[3][11][13][14] On January 4, 1930, she performed on a coast-to-coast radio production from both New York andLos Angeles, singing from New York on theParamount Playhouse show originating onKNX-AM in Los Angeles and picked up byKHJ-AM, the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles.[15] Later that year, she was featured on the cover of the May–October 1930 issue ofRadio Digest magazine, dubbed "The Songbird of the Air".[16] By 1931, Lee was one of the highest paid and best known singers on network radio.[6] In July 1931, she sang on theCunard Weekend Program, sponsored by theCunard Line on CBS. InVariety's review of the program, the entertainment trade magazine called Lee a "heavy voiced crooner", whose performance "gave a pleasing rendition of a new ballad".[17]
In September, 1931, impresarioFlo Ziegfeld and artistMcClelland Barclay judged a nationwide survey of radio stations to crown the "most beautiful radio artist" as Miss Radio 1931 for the Radio World's Fair. Lee was their unanimous choice from among 600 candidates.[4][18]Graham McNamee described her as a "blonde statuesque beauty" wowing the 28,000 Fair attendees at New York'sMadison Square Garden, where great interest was shown in the nascent television technology.[5][10][19] In early 1932, Lee left CBS for theNBC Blue Network, debuting April 7 onflagship stationWJZ in New York.[20][21] After two years, Lee moved toHartford, Connecticut, to perform onWTIC-AM, where her program was carried on theNBC Red Network, beginning in October 1934.[18] By 1936, her popularity had diminished when she appeared onWOR's radio show,Return Engagement, which featured radio stars of yesteryear.[22] In his syndicated newspapergossip column of May 3, 1938,Jimmy Fidler said Lee had "slipped into oblivion" as far as the radio listening public was concerned, but noted she had found a new, behind-the-scenes role asvoice teacher for actressDorothy Lamour.[6] The introduction of Hollywood'sHays Code in 1934 contributed to Lee's decline of employment because her low-pitched voice did not conform to code standards, which were based on females singing in higher octaves.[23]
Usingmechanical television technology, theColumbia Broadcasting System's W2XAB (nowWCBS-TV) in New York City began regular broadcasting on July 21, 1931.[24] One of the new station's first programs,Harriet Lee, featured Lee as Columbia's popular radio singer.[25] TheHarriet Lee television show aired in a 15-minute evening time-slot on Wednesdays and Fridays, produced live at W2XAB's Manhattan studios. It was among the earliest entertainment programs to have aired on U.S. television on something resembling a regular basis, with at least 12 episodes being scheduled. W2XAB broadcast an earlyHarriett Lee episode on Wednesday, July 29, 1931, at 8:30 p.m., preceded byTony's Scrap Book and followed by an interview.[5][26] A later episode aired Wednesday September 30, 1931, at 8:00 p.m. and was the first show on the day's schedule of limited broadcasting.[27] At the time, there were an estimated nine thousand television sets in the New York area.[28] Because W2XAB was broadcasting in theshortwave band, the station's signal could be received beyond the New York metropolitan area, as far away asBoston andBaltimore.[24][29] InAllentown, Pennsylvania, some 80 miles (130 km) distant, W2XAB's daily program schedules were listed by the local newspaper, as did theIthaca Journal in upstate New York, 175 miles (282 km) northwest.[28][30] None of the episodes are known to exist, as methods to record live television were not practical until the 1940s whenkinescope recording began.[31]
Between 1926 and 1933, Lee made several recordings on theRCA Victor,Columbia, andBrunswick Records labels. Some of her recordings were solos and others were with accompanists such as organistJesse Crawford and ensembles, such asAnson Weeks and his Orchestra.[32][33]
Lee appeared in someVitaphone short films during the 1930s, such asRambling 'Round Radio Row in 1934.[34] She did the voice ofBetty Boop in the 1931 animated film,The Bum Bandit[16] and was the uncreditedvoice double forJean Harlow in the 1933 film,Hold Your Man.[18] In the 1940s, she sang in the filmZiegfeld Follies and was the voice double for actressAudrey Totter inDangerous Partners.[35] Her final film work was in 1951, which she was the voice double forBarbara Stanwyck inThe Man with a Cloak.[36]
In September 1936, Lee left New York for Hollywood, having received a lucrative contract as avoice teacher.[37] She worked atParamount Pictures andMGM in the 1930s–1940s with such Hollywood stars asDorothy Lamour,Ava Gardner, andRhonda Fleming.[7][38] She also did music arrangements for such entertainers as French singerJean Sablon in 1938.[39] In 1940, students from Lee's Los Angeles voice studio performed onStage One, a Sunday afternoon radio program onKMPC.[38] In 1946, Lee coachedEsther Williams for her first singing part in the film,Easy to Wed.[40]
On August 29, 1951, Lee returned to television in Los Angeles, making a guest singing appearance withCraig Stevens onKTTV'sOpen House show.[41] The 1950s saw Lee continuing her career as a vocal coach for aspiring Hollywood stars. While living inMalibu Beach, she signed in 1952 withUniversal International Pictures as a singing teacher.[42][43] In 1953, actorTony Curtis studied voice with Lee and in 1957,Kim Novak did her own singing in the films,Pal Joey andJeanne Eagels, after studying with Lee.[44][45][46] By 1960, syndicated columnistHedda Hopper was writing of Lee, "She's taught more [stars] how to sing than you could shake a stick at", mentioningGinger Rogers andJanet Leigh.[8] Lee continued to operate her Los Angeles voice studio for would-be singers in the 1960s.[47]
In the 1960s–1970s, Lee worked with a number of performers on theBroadway stage. Among them wereAnn Miller inMame andHello, Dolly!,Anne Baxter inApplause, andGene Nelson inFollies.[48] She also coached other singers who would play the role of Dolly inHello, Dolly!, including Ginger Rogers,Eve Arden, andPamela Britton.[49] In 1973, Lee coachedEva Gabor for her role in a touring version of another hit Broadway musical,Applause.[50] In discussing the art of voice coaching with newspaper columnistNorton Mockridge in 1972, Lee said: "I can teach the technique of singing and I can teach a serious student how to use her speaking voice in song. But no one in the world can put a voice in someone's throat if it isn't there to begin with".[51]
While living in New York in the early 1930s, Lee said she enjoyed cooking, playingbridge, and driving fast cars.[9] After she moved to Hollywood and began working with Dorothy Lamour as her voice coach, they became close friends. Syndicatedgossip columnistJimmy Fidler described Lee as Lamour's "inseparable advisor and friend".[6] In December, 1939, Lee wed Bill Boggess, with Lamour serving as her bridesmaid.[52]
