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BY JACK HOLLAND
Danny Thomas fell under the Lee spell and helped her all he could.
Peggy and Danny having fun during shooting lull on "The Jazz Singer."
With James Brown. Other vocalists have tried but can't imitate Peggy.
You don't have to be slinky and smouldering to intrigue men
while back Warners was getting ready to make a picture called "The Jazz Singer." The star was to be Danny Thomas. But there was one problem: who was going to play opposite Danny?
The usual tests began. About nineteen top-flight actresses were being considered for the role. And then one evening Director Michael Curtiz decided to go nightclubbing. He stopped off at Ciro's where a blonde charmer by the name of Peggy Lee was singing. The more Curtiz listened to her the more intrigued he became. Soon he was under the spell that Peggy Lee weaves over her audience — a sort of quiet but hypnotic sex appeal. Here was a lady who sang not with just a voice but with a body that cut loose in all kinds of subtle movements. And here was also a lady whose face became radiantly beautiful as she sang.
Curtiz turned to a friend and said, "If she can act as well as she sings, maybe we have something, maybe."
To see if he had something, he sent for Peggy. In a rare move, she was given a two-reel test in which she answered questions about herself, then sang a couple of
numbers, and was, for a finish, thrown a dramatic scene to do — cold. The test was so good they almost considered sending it out as a short.
When it was over, Peggy was given the part — her first important role in a motion picture. Her one other film stint had been in a guest spot with Bing Crosby in "Mr. Music" which, of course, did nothing for her cinematically.
already you hear reports that Peggy Lee is a new star. Well, this is possibly true as far as pictures are concerned because her work in "The Jazz Singer" is rumored as terrific. But before hysteria grips the countryside, it's wise to remember that Peggy has been a star for about ten years — on radio, recordings, composing, and in the last couple of years, television.
Peggy's fame lies not only in her voice. She has written several hit tunes, among them "Manana" and the new "Sans Souci" which she worked on (continued on pace 62)
Delivering a song in her inimitable style in "The Jazz Singer."