MORTON DOWNEY

'Morton Downey' (November 14, 1901 – October 25, 1985) was a singer popular in the United States, enjoying his greatest success in the 1930s and 1940s. Downey was nicknamed '"The Irish Nightingale"'.^[1]

Contents

Early years

Music

Radio

Television

Personal life

References

Early years

Morton Downey was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, the child of Irish immigrant parents.^[2]

Music

For a time in the 1920s, Downey, a tenor, sang with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. He first recorded in 1923 for Edison Records under the pseudonym 'Morton James'; the following year he recorded for Victor with the S.S. Leviathan Orchestra. In 1925 he began 4 years of recording for Brunswick Records. In 1926 he had a hit in the show ''Palm Beach Nights''.^[2]
He toured London, Paris, Berlin, New York City and Hollywood. He also began appearing in motion pictures in 1929.
Downey was also a songwriter whose most successful numbers include "All I Need is Someone Like You", "California Skies", "In the Valley of the Roses", and "Now You're in My Arms", "Sweeten Up Your Smile", "That's How I Spell Ireland", "There's Nothing New", and "Wabash Moon". He joined ASCAP in 1949.^[2]

Radio

In 1930, Downey began making national radio broadcasts after opening his own nightclub (The Delmonico) in New York. He was voted
America's "Radio Singer of the Year" in 1932. In the 1930s he recorded for ARC and Decca Records, and in the 1940s made records for Columbia.^[2]

Television

Starting in 1949, Morton Downey began appearing on television. In the 1950s, he hosted the television show ''Star of the Family''.

Personal life

Morton Downey was the father of the late right-wing television personality Morton Downey, Jr., by his late wife, Barbara Bennett (1906 - 1958, the sister of actresses Constance and Joan Bennett) whose early promise as a dancer gave way to her turbulent marriage with Downey, and a steady descent into alcoholism.
Morton Downey died in Palm Beach, Florida of a stroke, at
age 83.

References

1. "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 242-243. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998
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