Judy Canova

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Judy Canova with George Raft, 1979

Judy Canova (November 20, 1913 – August 5, 1983) was an American comedienne, actress, singer and radio personality.

1 Early career
2 Radio and films
3 Television
4 Filmography
5 Listen to
6 Reference
7 External links

[edit] Early career

Born Juliette Canova in Waldo, Florida, her show business career began with a family vaudeville routine. She joined her sister Annie and brother Zeke, and their performances as the Three Georgia Crackers took them from theaters in Florida to a club in a New York City. Judy Canova sang, yodeled and played guitar. The standout in the family, she developed her persona as a wide-eyed likeable country bumpkin, often wearing her hair in braids and sometimes topped with a straw hat. When bandleader Rudy Vallee offered her a guest spot on his radio show, it opened the door to a career that spanned more than five decades.

[edit] Radio and films

Publicity photo for The Judy Canova Show

The popularity of the Canova family led to numerous performances on radio in the 1930s, and they made their Broadway debut in the revue, Calling All Stars. An offer from Warner Bros. led to several bit parts before she signed with Republic Pictures. During her career she recorded for the RCA Victor label and appeared in more than two dozen Hollywood films, including Scatterbrain (1940), Joan of Ozark (1942) and Lay That Rifle Down (1955).

In 1943, she began her own radio program, The Judy Canova Show, that ran for 12 years, first on CBS and then on NBC. During World War II, she closed her show with the song "Goodnight, Soldier" ("wherever you may be... my heart's lonely... without you") and used her free time to sell U.S. War Bonds.

In the post-War years, she ended each show by singing a nursery song:

Go to sleep-y, little baby,

When you wake

You'll patty-patty cake,

And ride a shiny little pony.

[edit] Television

By the time her radio program ended in 1955, Canova easily made a smooth transition to television with appearances on The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Steve Allen Show, Matinee Theatre, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and other shows. In 1967, she portrayed Mammy Yokum in an unsold TV pilot adapted from Al Capp's L'il Abner. She also worked on Broadway and in Las Vegas nightclubs through the early 1970s, touring with No, No Nanette in 1971.

Her daughter, Diana Canova, is an actress best known for her role on the ABC television sitcom, Soap.

In 1983, Judy Canova died from cancer at age 69 and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to the film industry (6821 Hollywood Boulevard) and a second star for her radio career (6777 Hollywood Boulevard).