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All Music Guide:
A popular singer, actress and comedienne, Jaye P. Morgan is an entertainer who became a household name in the 1950s and '60s. She appeared on several television programs, in films and sang and performed concerts, recitals and in nightclubs. Her husky voice became her trademark.
Born in Colorado, Jaye P. Morgan began her career at an early age constantly performing for family and friends. After a while she moved to California to graduate from high school and begin a singing career. In 1949 she graduated from Verdugo Hills High School. From there her professional singing career took off.
After graduating from high school, Jaye P. Morgan landed a spot as a vocalist with the Frank DeVol Orchestra. During the '50s, she made quite a name for herself as a vocalist. Performing concerts and recording songs was what she did in the '50s. Two of her songs, "The Longest Walk" and "That's All I Want From You" were both successful on the American record charts. Her notoriety did not stop with a few hits on the music charts. In the '50s, she also performed as a vocalist on television shows. Jaye P. Morgan made her television debut as a vocalist on Stop the Music, a quiz show which ran from 1954-55. After this show ended, Jaye P. Morgan decided to go it on her own. In 1956 she became the hostess and vocalist on her own show, The Jaye P. Morgan Show. She was also a regular on Robert Q. Lewis' daytime series and on the variety show Perry Presents. In 1960 she portrayed an old time singer on the popular daytime comedy My Three Sons.
During the '60s she led a rather obscure and private life performing infrequently on the nightclub scene. Jaye P. Morgan re-emerged in the '70s concentrating on an actress/entertainer career rather than a singing career. She portrayed herself on The Odd Couple in 1973 and was a plush horse singer in the television movie Adventures of Nick Carter. She is probably best-known for her antics, comedy routines and singing as a panelist on The Gong Show. The show lasted four years and also starred panelists Arte Johnson, Phyllis Diller, Jamie Farr and Rex Reed. the show was made into a movie in 1980 in which Jaye P. Morgan played herself. Her '70s television credits include being a regular on The Chuck Barris Rah Rah Show, The $1.98 Beauty Show and she made a guest appearance on The Muppet Show in 1977 where she used both her singing and acting talents.
Although not as prevalent a personality as she used to be, Jaye P. Morgan continued to be the singer, actress, comedienne and entertainer she was in the '50s. Her credits of the '90s included the films Night Patrol, Coming Attractions and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Her name, however, will most often be associated with her boisterous, fun-loving comedy of The Gong Show.
Wikipedia:
Mary Margaret Morgan (born December 3, 1931), known professionally as Jaye P. Morgan, is a retired popular music American singer, actress and game show panelist.
Biography
Early life
Morgan was born in Mancos in Montezuma County in far southwestern Colorado, but her family moved to California by the time she was in high school. In the late 1940s, at Verdugo Hills High School in Tujunga, Los Angeles, California, she served as class treasurer (and got the nickname "Jaye P." after the banker J. Pierpont Morgan) and sang at school assemblies, accompanied by her brother on guitar.
1950s
In 1950, a year after graduation from high school, Morgan made a recording of "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" which made it to the Top 10 in the U.S. Billboard record chart . Soon after, she received an RCA Victor recording contract, and she had five hits in one year, including "That's All I Want from You," her biggest hit, which reached #3 on the chart. Other notable hits included "The Longest Walk" and "Pepper Hot Baby". In 1954, she married Michael Baiano.
From 1954 to 1955, Morgan was a vocalist on the ABC television series show Stop the Music. In November 1955, the British music magazine, NME, reported that Morgan was the top female vocalist in the U.S. Cash Box poll.
In 1956, she had her own The Jaye P. Morgan Show and made guest appearances on a number of other variety shows. She was a charter member of the Robert Q. Lewis "gang" on Lewis's weekday program on CBS, and was featured on a special episode of The Jackie Gleason Show in which Lewis's entire company substituted for the vacationing Gleason. In 1958, Morgan appeared on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom. On October 6, 1960, she guest starred on NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.
1960s and 1970s
After a period in the 1960s when she did little in the entertainment field, confining herself to a small number of nightclub appearances and a guest starring role on My Three Sons as a fading singer, Morgan returned to the public eye in the 1970s, mainly as an actress. She played herself on a 1973 episode ("The Songwriter") of the sitcom, The Odd Couple.
Morgan also guest starred on The Muppet Show (episode 2.18) in which she and Dr. Teeth sang "That Old Black Magic."
Game show panelist
In the 1970s, Morgan was a panelist on the game/variety shows The Gong Show and Rhyme and Reason and Match Game and in the 1980 "behind-the-scenes" movie version of The Gong Show. She also appeared on the Playboy Channel game show Everything Goes. She also appeared with her longtime Gong partner Jamie Farr on Hollywood Squares Game Show Week II in 2004.
She also appeared in the 2002 George Clooney-directed film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, a version on the life of Chuck Barris, author of TV game shows such as The Gong Show and The Dating Game.
