Penny Singleton(1908-2003)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Her father was Irish Philadelphian newspaperman, Benny McNulty. He was
related to Jim Farley Roosevelt's campaign managers and later Postmaster
General. As a child, she sang songs at a silent movie theater. After
the sixth grade she joined a touring vaudeville act called "The Kiddie
Kabaret." Billed as Penny McNulty, she sang and danced with Milton Berle and
Gene Raymond. Her first speaking part was in a Jack Benny Broadway show "Great
Temptations".
Moving to Hollywood, she took a new name after marrying dentist
Lawrence Singleton. Her first name derived from having saved large
amounts of penny coins. She played a tough nightclub dancer in After the Thin Man (1936)
and acted/sang/danced in Swing Your Lady (1938), one of the movies Humphrey Bogart
regarded as his worst. Though naturally a brunette, she bleached her
hair blonde ever since she got the role of Blondie in that long-lived
series.
related to Jim Farley Roosevelt's campaign managers and later Postmaster
General. As a child, she sang songs at a silent movie theater. After
the sixth grade she joined a touring vaudeville act called "The Kiddie
Kabaret." Billed as Penny McNulty, she sang and danced with Milton Berle and
Gene Raymond. Her first speaking part was in a Jack Benny Broadway show "Great
Temptations".
Moving to Hollywood, she took a new name after marrying dentist
Lawrence Singleton. Her first name derived from having saved large
amounts of penny coins. She played a tough nightclub dancer in After the Thin Man (1936)
and acted/sang/danced in Swing Your Lady (1938), one of the movies Humphrey Bogart
regarded as his worst. Though naturally a brunette, she bleached her
hair blonde ever since she got the role of Blondie in that long-lived
series.