Penny Singleton (born Mariana Dorothy McNulty, September 15, 1908 – November 12, 2003) was an American actress and labor leader. During her six decade career on stage, screen, radio and television, Singleton appeared as the comic-strip heroine Blondie Bumstead in a series of 28 motion pictures from 1938 until 1950 and the popular Blondie radio program from 1939 until 1950. Singleton also provided the voice of Jane Jetson in the animated series The Jetsons from 1962 to 1963.
Behind the scenes, Singleton was the first woman to serve as president of an AFL-CIO union, and served two terms as president of the American Guild of Variety Artists<!-- (AGVA) -->. She testified before a Senate subcommittee in 1962 on the union's treatment of women variety workers, and led a strike of the Radio City Rockettes in 1967.
Early life
Singleton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She began performing professionally as a child, and only completed sixth grade in her schooling.
Career
alt=Penny Singleton as Blondie and Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumstead, from a 1944 publicity photograph: A smiling white woman with blonde curls and a striped pinafore apron; a smiling white man wearing a bow tie; a small dog posed between their shoulders; and a microphone in front of them, labeled "Blue"|thumb|Singleton as Blondie and [[Arthur Lake (actor)|Arthur Lake as Dagwood Bumstead, from a 1944 publicity photograph]]
Singleton sang at a silent movie theater, and toured in vaudeville as part of an act called "The Kiddie Kabaret". She sang and danced with Milton Berle, whom she had known since childhood, and actor Gene Raymond, and appeared on Broadway in Jack Benny's The Great Temptations. She also toured nightclubs and in roadshows of plays and musicals.
Singleton appeared as a brunette nightclub singer in After the Thin Man, credited as Dorothy McNulty. She was cast opposite Arthur Lake (as Dagwood) in the feature film Blondie in 1938, based on the comic strip by Chic Young. They repeated their roles on a radio comedy beginning in 1939 and in guest appearances on other radio shows. As Dagwood and Blondie Bumstead, they proved so popular that a succession of 27 sequels was made from 1938 until 1950, with the radio show ending the same year. Singleton's husband Robert Sparks produced 12 of these sequels. Also in 1950, she had her own program, The Penny Singleton Show, on NBC radio.
Singleton held top billing in Go West, Young Lady (1941), over her male co-star, Glenn Ford. Only two other female stars (Dorothy Page and Jane Frazee) were top-billed singing cowgirls at the time.
One of her last live-action roles was as Jessica Fletcher's Aunt Mildred on the Murder, She Wrote episode "The Perfect Foil" (1986).
She provided the voice of Jane Jetson in the 1962–63 animated series, The Jetsons. From 1985 to 1987, Singleton reprised her role for the new seasons of The Jetsons. She also voiced Jane in The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987), Rockin' with Judy Jetson (1988) and Jetsons: The Movie (1990) before retiring from acting.
Labor activism
Singleton was active in union affairs as a vocal member of the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA). She was elected president of the AGVA in 1958–1959, and again in 1969–1970. when she was accused of slandering some of the union's officers, and she countersued. Singleton was reinstated as a union member in 1963, after the dispute reached a legal settlement.
She testified on the exploitation of women in variety work, and the union's shortcomings in representing those workers, before a United States Senate subcommittee in 1962. "I charge here and now that the exotic and strip artists have been abandoned and made outcasts by the very union to which they pay dues for representation and protection," she announced to the subcommittee.
In 1967, she led a successful month-long strike by the Radio City Rockettes for better working conditions.
Personal life and legacy
Singleton married Laurence Scroggs Singleton, a dentist, in 1937; although they divorced in 1939, she kept his surname. She remarried, to Robert C. Sparks, a Marine Corps officer and film producer, in 1941. They remained wed until his death in 1963. Singleton had two daughters. and campaigned for Republicans Thomas E. Dewey in 1948 and Richard Nixon in 1960.
For her contributions to both radio and the motion-picture industry, in 1960, Singleton was honored with two stars during her induction to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her star for radio is located at 6811 Hollywood Boulevard, and her film star is at 6547 Hollywood Boulevard. She was buried at San Fernando Cemetery.
Short subjects
- Belle of the Night (1930)
- Campus Cinderella (1938)
- Screen Snapshots Series 19, No. 1 (1939)
Television credits
- Pulitzer Prize Playhouse (1950) – Wilhelmina
- Frances Farmer Presents (1958) – Belinda Pendergast
- The Quick Draw McGraw Show (1959) – The Cattle Battle Rattled – Wife
- The Jetsons (1962–1963, 1985–1987) – Jane Jetson (voice)
- Death Valley Days (1963) – Maggie Franklin
- The Twilight Zone (1964) – Sounds and Silences – Mrs. Flemington
- Rockin' with Judy Jetson (1988) – Jane Jetson (voice)
- The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987) – Jane Jetson (voice)
- Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration (1989) – Jane Jetson (voice)
- The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera (1990) – Jane Jetson (voice)
Stage work
- Sky High (1925)
- Sweetheart Time (1926)
- Call Me Madam (1959)
- Never Too Late (1964)
- No, No, Nanette (1971) (replacement for Ruby Keeler)
- No, No, Nanette (1974)
- Little Me (1983)
Theme parks
- The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera (1990) – Jane Jetson (voice)