Have you Heard of Marilyn Lowe

[cheech]

I have some original music typed up by or for Marilyn lowe “ The girl in front of the band” has anyone heard of her or any information thank you

 

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[Red-Coat]

Never heard of her, but here’s a few thoughts.

The address on her card is given as the Park Central Hotel, but the registered package sent to her is addressed as “Park Sheraton”. The Park Central was bought by Sheraton and renamed to the Park-Sheraton in 1948, so it has to have been sent later than that, but probably not much later.

If the card was printed before 1948 and she was 17 at the time then at least some of her experience must have been as a child performer for her to claim 7 years movie experience and 8 years radio experience. There’s no record of her in IMDb.

Some of that experience must have been in wartime, which ties in with the mention of O.W.I. on both radio and recorded spot commercials, as well as the mention of “Keep ‘em Rolling”. I assume the O.W.I. is the United States Office of War Information, created in June 1942 and in operation until September 1945. They made radio broadcasts, short films and such of a patriotic nature to connect the battlefront to industrial production and civilian communities, using the propaganda catchphrases: “Keep ‘Em Rolling”, “Keep ‘Em Coming” and “Keep ‘Em Shooting,” The “Keep ’em Rolling” phrase had also been used by the Office of Emergency Management from 1941 as America began to ramp up its production prior to entry into the war.

I would also guess that the “Cavalcade” mentioned under her Radio experience relates to the “Cavalcade of America” show aired on radio from 1935 to 1953. It was an anthology series with dramatised true-life stories of a feel-good nature, biographies of popular composers and occasional musical productions, originally on CBS, and sponsored by the DuPont Company. The actress Helen Hayes (also mentioned on the card) featured during the life of the series. The card also mentions “Big Town”, which was an extremely popular serialised radio drama about a crusading newspaper editor that aired from 1937 to 1952.

Looks like your Marilyn had a history of child/teen bit-parts and commercial work during the late 1930s to mid-1940s which may well have gone uncredited, and was looking to audition for bigger roles in musical productions. There’s no mention of that song anywhere, so probably whatever it was written for never happened. Who knows whether she ever made a career for herself. Given she was only in her late teens or possibly very early 20s, she might have married and achieved something under a different name.

 

[Holt0222]

Social Security number 132-10-9057 was issued to MARILYN CUTLER, who was born 23 June 1928 and, Death Master File says, died 21 February 2007.

If anyone has an archives subscription.

https://www.archives.com/search/vit...dByName_NamesPagesLinkAd1&recordtype=5&aff=93

 

[cheech]

Thanks everyone this was also in the envelope looks like she purchased it from Al Seigell ??

 

[HistoryTeacher]

Al Seigel's Orchestra--maybe?
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0796890/

 

[Holt0222]

Probably since it does say plus extra orchestrations.

 

[Red-Coat]

I'd say highly likely. Al Siegel was no longer performing or recording at this time, but he was still writing, arranging, and coaching young female singers. That was quite some investment young Marilyn made... $250 for an exclusive song from an established professional and a long let apartment in a swanky hotel. Looks like Mummy and Daddy may have been pushing her career and bankrolling her. Doesn't look like she realised the dream though.

 

[cheech]

Al Siegel has music in the film swing high swing low 1937 still doing some research thanks for the help

 

[treasurekidd]

Here's a mention of a Marilyn Lowe in a Mae West Broadway melodrama called "Diamond Lil" in 1949. Might not be the same person, but the city and the year seem right.

Billboard - Google Books

Diamond Lil may have been her only appearance on stage, as IBDB list two runs in 1949-1950 as her only credits:

Marilyn Lowe – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB

 

[Red-Coat]

Looks like that’s your girl. Well done 'treasurekidd'. I didn't think to check IBDB as well as IMDb.

‘Diamond Lil’, as a revival of Mae West’s original 1928 play, had a short ‘tryout’ at the Forrest Theatre in December 1948. I can’t tell from this incomplete scan if Marilyn Lowe was in the cast at the time.



She was certainly in the cast (as ‘Barbara’) during its subsequent run from 5th February - 26th February of 1949 (by which time the Forrest had been renamed to the Coronet). The show closed prematurely on 26th February as a result of Mae West breaking her ankle when she slipped in the bathtub.

After Mae West’s recovery, the show re-opened at the Plymouth Theatre and ran from 7th September 1949 – 21st January 1950, again with Marilyn Lowe cast as Barbara. The playbill for the 1949-50 run includes a “Who’s Who in the Cast” section, but Marilyn was too far down the list to get a mention.



The play also ran for a short period at the Nixon Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA with the last performance on 24th April 1950 just before it temporarily closed for redevelopment work. There’s no mention of Marilyn Lowe for that run.

 

[Red-Coat]

Another titbit from some ‘showbiz’ gossip in the New York Daily News of 16th March 1949: “Marilyn Lowe of "Diamond Lil" is doubling as a singer from the Hickory House bandstand, these nights”. Maybe the song relates to those gigs.

Hickory House was one of the last jazz clubs on 52nd Street in Manhattan, opened in 1933 and surviving into the 1960s. The bandstand at the Hickory House was an elevated stage in the centre of a large oval bar, with a pyramid of liquor bottles at each end. Known not only for its music but also its food, it was said to be the best steak house in New York. It had a huge meat locker with glass windows to show off the sides of beef hung within, log fires along the back wall where the steaks were cooked, and the side walls covered with pictures of famous musicians who had performed there and celebrities who had frequented it.

Some pics (none showing Marilyn):

 

[jones6780]

Couldn't find much, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/77471308/marilyn-cutler

 

[cheech]

Thanks for all the help I really appreciate everyone.That would explain why Marylin lowe was in the pile of Mae west stuff that I picked up it was all group together here are some more photos a letter from Mae West and I believe some type of Business book of her it’s not completely full just partial pages

 

[GopherDaGold]

Am I the only one who sees the glaring similarity to a certain Charlie Daniels song?