Phyllis Irene Elizabeth Marshall (4 November 1921 – 2 February 1996) was a Canadian singer and actor. She was one of the first Canadian television stars, described by ''

Encyclopedia of Music in Canada ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available for ...

'' as a "pioneer among black Canadian performers". Her singing career started at age 15 and included stage work in Canada and US, as well as television and radio work for CBC, CTV and the

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. Her 1964 LP ''That Girl'' won a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

Early life and education

Phyllis Irene Elizabeth Marshall was born to American parents on 4 November 1921 in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. As a child she studied piano and was a track athlete. The family moved to Toronto and she attended Runnymede secondary school.

Career

At the age of 15 years, Marshall made her singing debut on Toronto radio station CRCT, and later performed on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

with

Percy Faith Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian-American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listenin ...

. She performed in the Silver Slipper nightclub in Toronto in September 1938. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s she sung jazz, both with the

Cab Calloway Orchestra Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...

touring through the US and on stage in Toronto. Starting in 1949 and through until 1952, she was a regular performer on the CBC Radio show initially called ''Blues for Friday'' later called ''Starlight Moods.'' In 1959, she appeared on a BBC television show ''The Phyllis Marshall Special.'' Her acting career started in 1956 when she first performed at the Crest Theatre in Toronto. She appeared in a CBC production of ''

The Amen Corner ''The Amen Corner'' is a three-act play by James Baldwin. It was Baldwin's first work for the stage following the success of his novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain''. The drama was first published in 1954, and inspired a short-lived 1983 Broadwa ...

,'' as well as the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

show ''

Paul Bernard, Psychiatrist ''Paul Bernard, Psychiatrist'' is a Canadian dramatic television series which aired on CBC Television from 1971 to 1972. Premise Each episode portrayed a patient's appointment with psychiatrist Paul Bernard (Chris Wiggins) at his office. The pati ...

'' and the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

/ CTV show ''

Night Heat ''Night Heat'' is a Canadian police crime drama series that aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. Original episodes were broadcast from 1985 to 1989. ''Night Heat'' was the first Canadian original drama series that was also ...

.'' In 1964, she released the jazz album ''That Girl'' which won a

. She was one of the first Canadian television stars, and was described by ''

'' as a "pioneer among black Canadian performers". In a CBC interview in 1960 she stated that she had never experienced racial prejudice in her career.

Family life and death

Marshall had daughter, Sharon Lee Marshall, who worked as a model. She married CBC staffer Ed McGibbon and lived in the Rosedale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. Marshall died on 2 February 1996 aged 74 in Toronto.

References

External links

Toronto Public Library photo archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Phyllis 1921 births 1996 deaths Actresses from Toronto Canadian jazz singers Black Canadian actresses Juno Award winners Musicians from Barrie Singers from Ontario Singers from Toronto 20th-century Canadian actresses 20th-century Black Canadian women singers 20th-century Canadian women singers