Lorraine Bridges (August 17, 1906 – December 4, 1993) was an American actress and singer who was known for her ability to hit high notes. Bridges was a native of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, where she was a singer for radio station

WKY WKY (930 AM) is a commercial radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, owned by Cumulus Media. It is the oldest radio station in Oklahoma and among the oldest in the nation. WKY airs a sports format which is simulcast with its sister station ...

early in her career. Bridges was a contract player at

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

; the studio dropped her in 1935. She was signed by

MGM 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 ...

three weeks later. Bridges performed as a vocal stand-in, often uncredited, for actresses in popular films such as for

BIllie Burke Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke (August 7, 1884 – May 14, 1970) was an American actress who was famous on Broadway and radio, and in silent and sound films. She is best known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North ...

in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) and

Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette Anna MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was an American singer and Actor, actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (''The Love Parade'', ''Love Me Tonight'', ''The Merry Widow (1934 ...

in ''

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

'' (1940), '' Bitter Sweet'' (1940), and '' Smiling Through'' (1941). Bridges also performed on stage, including with the

St. Louis Municipal Opera The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first come, first se ...

in the 1942 season. She had a show at

The Palace ''The Palace'' is a British drama television series that aired on ITV in 2008. Produced by Company Pictures for the ITV network, it was created by Tom Grieves and follows a fictional British Royal Family in the aftermath of the death of King ...

in New York in 1951. A ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' review of her show described her as "a fine lyric soprano whose voice occasionally achieves the qualities of a coloratura". She married Leonard Ceeley in 1943. They were principal players in the

Marx brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...

revue ''A Day at the Races''. She appeared in a number of shows in England, including an adaptation of ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' titled ''Gardenia Lady'', which was written, composed, produced by and costarred her husband Leonard Ceeley, in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in 1947. Her husband, Leonard Ceeley, died in 1977.

Filmography

* '' It's Great to Be Alive'' (1933) as Singer (uncredited) * ''

Wagon Wheels Wagon Wheels are a sweet snack food sold in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, other Commonwealth countries like New Zealand and India, and Ireland. They consist of two biscuits that form a sandwich with a marshmallow filling with jam, an ...

'' (1934) as Singer ("Estrelita") * '' Escapade'' (1935) as Singer ('You're All I Need') * '' A Night at the Opera'' as Louisa (1935) (uncredited) * '' Swiss Miss'' (1938) as Chambermaid (uncredited) * '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) as Ozmite / Lullaby League Member / Glinda (voice, uncredited) * ''

'' (1940) (vocal stand-in - uncredited) * '' Bitter Sweet'' (1940) (vocal stand-in:

) * ''

Kiss the Boys Goodbye ''Kiss the Boys Goodbye'' is a 1941 comedy film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Mary Martin, Don Ameche and Oscar Levant. It is based on a play by Clare Boothe Luce which was inspired by the search for an actress to play Scarlett O'Ha ...

'' (1941) (uncredited) * '' Smilin' Through'' (1941) (voice double: Jeanette MacDonald) * ''

The Chocolate Soldier ''The Chocolate Soldier'' (German: ''Der tapfere Soldat''

he courageous soldier He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

or ''Der Praliné-Soldat'') is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus (composer), Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, ''Arms and the Man' ...

'' (1941) in Solo Bit in 'Thank the Lord the War is Over' number (uncredited) * '' Rio Rita'' (1942) (vocal stand-in:

Kathryn Grayson Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano.Ronald Berganbr>Obituary '' London Guardian'', February 19, 2010. From the age of twelve, Grayson train ...

) * ''

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

'' (1942) (vocal stand-in: Jeanette MacDonald) * ''

Seven Sweethearts ''Seven Sweethearts'' is a 1942 musical film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Kathryn Grayson, Marsha Hunt and Van Heflin. ''Seven Sweethearts'' generated legal trouble seven years later. In 1949, Hungarian playwright Ferenc Herczeg sue ...

'' (1942) in Specialty Bit in "Little Tingle Tangle Toes" number (uncredited)

References

External links

* *
Lorraine Bridges
at

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Lorraine B Ceeley
at Forest Lawn Memorial Park {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Lorraine 1906 births 1993 deaths Singers from Oklahoma Actresses from Oklahoma 20th-century American women opera singers 20th-century American actresses