Gisèle MacKenzie (born Gisèle Marie Louise Marguerite LaFlèche; January 10, 1927 – September 5, 2003)
Accessed April 2010 was a Canadian-American singer, actress, and commercial spokesperson, best known for her performances on the US television program '' Your Hit Parade''.

Biography

She was born Gisèle Marie Louise Marguerite LaFlèche in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

, Manitoba in 1927. The daughter of a Winnipeg doctor, MacKenzie spent her childhood in Manitoba where she studied violin and attended the Sacred Heart School as a child. As a teenager she studied violin and voice at The Royal Conservatory of Music in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. She had at least two

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...

radio programs, ''Meet Gisèle'', where she played hostess to

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

, Loretta Young,

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality ...

, and others, and ''Gisele and Mr. Cable''. She took on the stage name MacKenzie and moved to Los Angeles, California in 1951 to replace

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...

's daily program, '' Club Fifteen'', starring Bob Crosby, where she alternated as regular vocalist with

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop music singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classi ...

. She became a

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

US citizen in 1955. MacKenzie recorded albums and singles on various record labels, most notably Capitol and

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, Everest, Mercury, Liberty Sunset, Cricket Playhour (Pickwick). In 1953 she reached No. 6 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, with her rendition of "Seven Lonely Days". Her biggest selling song was " Hard To Get" in 1955. She was also an accomplished classical violinist, who studied at The Royal Conservatory of Music and performed many comedic musical

duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episod ...

with mentor

. In an often-played clip, she and Benny perform a violin duet of " Getting to Know You", in which she breaks their synchronization several times to add some extra musical flourishes, to his mock irritation. Finally, he breaks in with a lengthy (and stereotypically mediocre) flourish of his own, and evokes audience laughter with mock indignation: "Fool around with ME, sister!" She was a guest on such shows as ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

'', '' The Dinah Shore Chevy Show'', ''

The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford ''The Ford Show'' (also known as ''The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford'' and ''The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show'') is an American variety program, starring singer and folk humorist Tennessee Ernie Ford, which aired on NBC on Thursday eveni ...

'', '' The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom'', ''

The Bell Telephone Hour ''The Bell Telephone Hour'' (also known as ''The Telephone Hour'') is a concert series that began April 29, 1940, on NBC Radio, and was heard on NBC until June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone as the name implies, it showcased the best in ...

'', '' The Colgate Comedy Hour'', '' The Eddie Fisher Show'', ''The George Gobel Show'', and ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

''. She acted in ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

''. She appeared frequently in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

venues and in numerous North American concerts. She did a European tour with Benny. In the U.S., she replaced

the Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

as a regular vocalist on "Club 15" and her guest appearance on Mario Lanza's "Coke Time" resulted in Lanza inviting her to join his show's cast every week. She also hosted a radio show entitled ''Airtime'' at the same time she was appearing on TV's ''Your Hit Parade''. In 1952–53, she toured with Jack Benny, who recommended her for ''Your Hit Parade''. During her 4-year tenure on that show, "Hard to Get" became a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

. She announced in 1957 that she would not be returning to the show for another season. She went on to star in her own short lived Saturday night NBC variety program, '' The Gisele MacKenzie Show'', and hosted such guests as Benny,

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, Bobby Diamond and folk singer Jimmie Rodgers, which was cancelled after a half season. She returned to television in 1963 as Sid Caesar's 4th television wife on '' The Sid Caesar Show'', in which she did comedy with Caesar and sang a song each week. 1959 saw the release of her first of a series of children's albums, "Gisele MacKenzie sings Lullaby and Goodnight". The album sold very well and resulted in two more for Cricket Play Hour Records (Pickwick). Starting in 1955, during her summer breaks from ''Your Hit Parade'', she added musical comedies to her resume musical theater by starring in such classics as '' Annie Get Your Gun'', ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...

'', and ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

''. In 1986, she appeared in several episodes as a temporary recast in the role of

Katherine Chancellor Katherine Chancellor is a fictional character from the CBS Daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', portrayed by Jeanne Cooper. Created and introduced by show creator William J. Bell in November 1973, Cooper's Katherine was introduced i ...

on ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

''. She expanded her acting credits in the 1990s, making guest appearances on television series including ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The seri ...

''; '' Boy Meets World''; and ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both p ...

''. MacKenzie has a star on the

Hollywood Walk Of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

at 1601 Vine.

Personal life

MacKenzie was married to her personal manager, Robert J. Shuttleworth (February 24, 1958 – August 12, 1966) and to Robert F. Klein (May 10, 1975–????); both marriages ended in divorce. She had a son, MacKenzie Duffy, and a daughter, contemporary jazz artist

Gigi MacKenzie Gigi MacKenzie (born 1962) is a smooth jazz artist; daughter of the singer Gisele MacKenzie. MacKenzie has a number of credits as a studio singer in Los Angeles. She has recorded national commercials and music for major movie soundtracks, inclu ...

Death

MacKenzie died from

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowe ...

, aged 76, on September 5, 2003, in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, who ...

Singles

''This list is incomplete.'' * "Le Fiacre" (February 1952, U.S. airplay #20) Capitol F1907 b/w "Tuh Pocket Tuh Pocket (Mississippi River Boat)" * "Adios" (August 1952, U.S. airplay #14) Capitol F2156 b/w "Darlin', You Can't Love Two" * " Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" (December 1952, U.S. airplay #11/jukebox play #18) Capitol F2256 b/w "My Favorite Song" * " Hard to Get" (June 1955, U.S. airplay #4/sales #5/jukebox play #5) "X" 0137 b/w "Boston Fancy" * "Pepper Hot Baby" (November 1955, U.S. top 100 #60) "X" 0172 b/w "That's the Chance I've Got To Take" * "The Star You Wished Upon Last Night" (November 1956, U.S. top 100 #42)

Vik Vik (Old Norse: vík) means wick or bay in Norwegian and Swedish (''vig'' in Danish), and it may refer to the following: Places Iceland * Vík í Mýrdal, a village in southern Iceland Iran * Vik, Iran, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran Norway ...

0233 b/w "It's Delightful to Be Married" * "He Knows" (February 1957) Vik 0249 b/w "Hello There" * "Oh Pain! Oh Agony! (Know What I Mean Jellybean)" (June 1957, CHUM radio

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

#26) Vik 0274 b/w "The Waltz That Broke My Heart" * "Come to Me, My True Love" (March 1958) RCA 7183 b/w "They're Playing Our Song" * "Hey There" 1958

References

External links

* * *
Old Time Radio Researchers Database of People and Programs
otrrpedia.net. Retrieved February 28, 2015

freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Gisele 1927 births 2003 deaths Actresses from Winnipeg Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian television actresses Canadian women violinists and fiddlers RCA Victor artists Deaths from colorectal cancer People from Greater Los Angeles Musicians from Winnipeg Franco-Manitoban people Deaths from cancer in California The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni X Records artists 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers 20th-century Canadian women singers Traditional pop music singers