Lottie Gee ''(née'' Charlotte O. Gee; 17 August 1886

Millboro, Virginia Millboro is an unincorporated community in Bath County, Virginia, in the United States. Douthat State Park Historic District and Millboro School are listed on the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Pl ...

– 13 January 1973

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

) was an American entertainer who performed in shows and musicals during the

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...

. She is perhaps best known as a performer in the 1921 Broadway hit, ''

Shuffle Along ''Shuffle Along'' is a musical composed by Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle, and a book written by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. One of the most notable all-Black hit Broadway shows, it was a landmark in African-America ...

'', the show that launched the careers of

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

and

Florence Mills Florence Mills (born Florence Winfrey; January 25, 1896 – November 1, 1927), billed as the "Queen of Happiness", was an American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian. Life and career Florence Mills (Florence Winfrey) was born a daughter of for ...

Biography

Lottie Gee was born in

, United States. Initially a dancer in

Aida Overton Walker Aida Overton Walker (February 14, 1880 – October 11, 1914), also billed as Ada Overton Walker and as "The Queen of the Cakewalk", was an American vaudeville performer, actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, and wife of vaudevillian George W ...

's shows, she appeared in ''The Red Moon'' by

in 1904 and later toured the vaudeville circuit in multiple acts. In 1910, composer

Ford Dabney Ford Thompson Dabney (15 March 1883 – 6 June 1958) was an American ragtime pianist, composer, songwriter, and acclaimed director of bands and orchestras for Broadway musical theater, revues, vaudeville, and early recordings. Additionally, for ...

(1883–1958) formed several touring vaudeville groups, among which, he and violinist Willie Carroll ''(né'' William Thomas Carroll; 1881–1943) conceived and produced Dabney's Ginger Girls, a duet composed of Gee, as dancer and soprano, and Effie King, as dancer and

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

. The partnership first performed at Dabney's Theater in Washington, D.C., before touring. Effie King was the stage name of Anna Green ''(maiden;'' 1888–1944), who in 1907, married actor Frank Henry Wilson (1885–1956). Gee sang the song "

I'm Just Wild About Harry "I'm Just Wild About Harry" is a song written in 1921 with lyrics by Noble Sissle and music by Eubie Blake for the Broadway show ''Shuffle Along''. "I'm Just Wild About Harry" was the most popular number of the production, which was the first fin ...

" in the musical ''

'' in 1921. Gee appeared in ''

The Chocolate Dandies ''The Chocolate Dandies'' is a Broadway musical in two acts that opened September 1, 1924, at the New Colonial Theatre and ran for 96 performances – finishing November 22, 1924. Initial production The 1924 debut of ''The Chocolate Dandies' ...

'' (1924). In 1925, she was a featured performer with ''

Chocolate Kiddies The ''Chocolate Kiddies'' is a three-act Broadway-styled revue that, in its inaugural production – from May to September 1925 – toured Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm, and Copenhagen. The show never actually performed on Broadway, but was conceived ...

'' on its European tour. Gee and Edith Spencer became partners as Harlem’s Sweethearts in 1928. Later, Allegretti Anderson (1898–1944) joined the group and they became a trio billed as Harmony Trio, the Creole Beauties, and the Three Dark Sisters. In 1927, Gee was an honorary pallbearer in the funeral of Florence Mills. Gee was a longtime girlfriend of the composer

Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, he and his long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote ''Shuffle Along'', one of the first Bro ...

(1887–1983).

Marriages

Lottie Gee married at least twice: * From 1913 to 1924, she was married to pianist "Peaches" Kyer ''(né'' Wilson Harrison Kyer; 1888–1982). * On October 7, 1967, in

, she married Joseph B. Moy (1887–1986)

Posthumous

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...

portrayed Lottie Gee in ''Shuffle Along, Or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed'' in 2016.

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gee, Lottie 1886 births 1973 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers American musical theatre actresses