George Dewey Washington (1898–1954) was an American singer active in vaudeville and motion pictures from the 1920s through the 1940s. He was a

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...

who often appeared on stage in the guise of "The Gentleman Tramp". He was sometimes compared to Al Jolson. Before he became a professional entertainer, Washington worked as a waiter in railroad dining cars, often singing amid noises of the train. Washington appeared in a number of

short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

for

M-G-M Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

and

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

from 1928 to 1932, the early years of " talkies", including some of M-G-M's first musical shorts. At one point, he played three weeks in a row at the

Paramount Theatre Paramount Theater or Paramount Theatre may refer to: Canada * Scotiabank Theatre or Paramount Theatre, a chain of theatres owned by Cineplex Entertainment ** Scotiabank Theatre Toronto or Paramount Theatre Toronto China * Paramount (Shanghai) o ...

on Broadway. He was described at the time as a "hot favorite" with a "sympathetic voice hatgoes straight to the heart" and that is "well adapted for the talkies". In 1933, Washington performed on Broadway in ''Strike Me Pink'', which was "staged as an epic review of black history. Night clubs in which Washington performed include the California Theatre Club in San Francisco and the Club Casino in the

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He also appeared on the bill with films in theaters including the Paramount Theater in Los Angeles. Washington performed for the fifth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles which was produced by

Leon Hefflin, Sr Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

. on July 10, 1949. He was featured along with

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

and his Orchestra, Jimmy Witherspoon, Buddy Banks and his Orchestra and

Big Jay McNeely Cecil James "Big Jay" McNeely (April 29, 1927 – September 16, 2018) was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist. Biography Inspired by Illinois Jacquet and Lester Young, McNeely teamed with his older brother Robert McNeely, who played barito ...

Discography

Washington recorded a number of 10-inch discs for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

between 1928 and 1930, all as a soloist with an orchestra or ensemble, including: *The Spell of the Blues *The Sun is at My Window (Throwing Kisses at Me) *I'll Never Ask for More *Lonely Vagabond *Poor Punchinello *(Step by Step — Mile by Mile) I'm Marching Home to You *High Water *Dreary Night *Signs of the Highway *The Fool's Parade

References

American baritones American bass-baritones Vaudeville performers 1898 births 1954 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers {{US-singer-stub