Acting
Gertrude Niesen
Gertrude Niesen was a talented American torch singer, actress, comedian, and songwriter who gained immense popularity during the 1930s and 1940s. She embarked on her musical journey in the early 1930s, initially credited as Gertrude Nissen, and made her film debut in the Vitaphone short Yacht Party, performing alongside Roger Wolfe Kahn and His Orchestra, as well as Artie Shaw.
Niesen became a prominent figure on old-time radio, serving as the featured singer on The Ex-Lax Big Show and hosting The Show Shop on NBC-Blue. Throughout the 1930s, she recorded with major labels like Victor, Columbia, and Brunswick, and notably became the first artist to record "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," a classic by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach, in 1933.
Her Broadway career flourished with performances in musicals such as Calling All Stars in 1934 and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1936. She also starred in productions like Follow the Girls and Take a Chance. Niesen transitioned to film, appearing in titles such as Top of the Town, Start Cheering, and A Night at Earl Carroll's, where she showcased her songwriting talent with "I Want to Make with the Happy Times."
In 1944, she co-starred with Jackie Gleason in Follow the Girls, performing "I Want to Get Married," one of her signature songs. Niesen continued to record for Decca Records into the 1940s and released a self-titled LP in 1951. After a brief marriage to nightclub owner Al Greenfield, the couple divorced but remarried in 1954, staying together until her passing at the age of 63 in 1975 in Hollywood, California.
