| Cass Daley | |
|---|---|
| Born | Catherine Dailey July 17, 1915 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | March 22, 1975 (aged 59) Hollywood, Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Actress, singer, comedienne |
| Years active | 1936-1975 |
| Spouse | Frank Kinsella (1941 - ?) Robert Williamson (? - March 22, 1975) |
Cass Daley (July 17, 1915 – March 22, 1975) was an American radio, television and film actress, singer, and comedienne. The daughter of an Irish streetcar conductor, Daley started to perform at nightclubs and on the radio as a band vocalist in the 1940s.
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Born Catherine Dailey in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Daley began singing as a child in front of neighborhood storefronts. Noted for her buck teeth and comical singing style, she sang at clubs as a teen while working as a hat-check girl and electrician. In the 1930s, she began a stage career appearing in the 1936-1937 Ziegfeld Follies. In the 1940s, Daley embarked on a movie career, most notably in The Fleet's In (1942) with Dorothy Lamour and Betty Hutton and Crazy House (1943) with Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson. As a frequent radio guest, she appeared semi-regularly in 1944 on The Bob Burns Show on NBC. In 1945, she joined the cast of The Fitch Bandwagon, another popular radio show. In 1950, starred in her own radio show The Cass Daley Show.[1][2]
With radio in decline, she retired to raise her son in Newport Beach. After her divorce from husband Frank Kinsella, she attempted a comeback in the 1970s appearing in small television, film and stage roles.[2] She was among the stars in the 1972 nostalgia revue Big Show of 1928, which toured the country and played New York's Madison Square Garden.
On March 22, 1975, alone in her apartment, the 59 year-old comedienne apparently fell and landed on her glass coffee table. A shard of glass jammed into her throat and she bled to death before her husband came home and discovered her.[3] For her contribution to the television industry, Cass Daley has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6303 Hollywood Blvd. Cass Daley was buried along the roadside in Section 8 (the new Garden of Legends), at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1942 | The Fleet's In | Cissie | |
| Star Spangled Rhythm | Mimi | ||
| 1943 | Crazy House | Herself/Sadie Silverfish | |
| Riding High | Tess Connors | ||
| 1945 | Out of This World | Fanny (drummer) | |
| Duffy's Tavern | Herself | ||
| Screen Snapshots: Radio Shows | Herself - The Sunday Bandwagon Program | Short subject | |
| 1946 | Unusual Occupations | Herself (Uncredited) | Short subject |
| 1947 | Ladies' Man | Geraldine Ryan | |
| Variety Girl | Herself | ||
| 1951 | Here Comes the Groom | Herself | |
| 1954 | Red Garters | Minnie Redwing | |
| 1967 | The Spirit Is Willing | Felicity Twitchell | |
| 1970 | The Phynx | Herself | |
| Norwood | Mrs. Remley | ||
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1950 | The Jack Carter Show | Herself | 1 episode |
| The Ed Wynn Show | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 1952 | Stars in Their Eye | Herself | |
| 1954 | The Bob Hope Show | Herself | 1 episode |
| 1955 | The Jimmy Durante Show | Herself | 1 episode |
| 1964 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Patsy Willis | 1 episode |