Penny Singleton

Penny Singleton
Penny Singleton in 1989
Born	Marianna Dorothy Agnes Letitia McNulty September 15, 1908(1908-09-15) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	November 12, 2003 (aged 95) Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.
Years active	1930–1990
Spouse(s)	Dr. Laurence Scogga Singleton (1937–1939) (divorced) Robert Sparks (1941–1963) (his death)

Penny Singleton (September 15, 1908 – November 12, 2003) was an American film actress.

During her sixty year career, Singleton appeared in films and television, most frequently as the comic strip heroine, Blondie Bumstead in a series of 28 motion pictures, from 1938 until 1950, and the popular Blondie radio program from 1939 until 1950.

She also provided the voice of Jane Jetson in the animated series, The Jetsons.

Early life and career

Born Marianna Dorothy Agnes Letitia McNulty in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and known as Dorothy McNulty, she was the daughter of an Irish-American newspaperman, Benny McNulty - from whom she received the nickname 'Penny' (because she was "as bright as a penny"). She began her show business career as a child by singing at a silent movie theater, and toured in vaudeville as part of an act called The Kiddie Kabaret. She sang and danced with Milton Berle, whom she had known since childhood, and actor Gene Raymond, and appeared on Broadway in Jack Benny's Great Temptations.

Singleton appeared as a nightclub singer in After the Thin Man, and was credited at this time as Dorothy McNulty. She was cast opposite Arthur Lake (as Dagwood) in the feature film Blondie in 1938, based on the comic strip by Chic Young. They repeated their roles on a radio comedy beginning in 1939, and in guest appearances on other radio shows. As Dagwood and Blondie Bumstead, they proved so popular that a succession of 27 sequels were made from 1938 until 1950. The radio show ended the same year. Singleton's husband Robert Sparks produced 12 of these sequels. Singleton dyed her brunette hair blonde for the rest of her life.

She also toured in nightclubs and roadshows of plays and musicals.

She was active in union affairs and was the first woman president of an AFL-CIO union. She led a strike by the Radio City Rockettes.

She became familiar to television audiences as the voice of Jane Jetson in the animated series The Jetsons, which originally aired from 1962 until 1963, reprising the role for a syndicated revival from 1985 through 1988 and for assorted specials, records, and Jetsons: The Movie (1990).

Singleton died in Sherman Oaks, California following a stroke, and was interred in San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

Personal life

She was married to Dr. Laurence Scogga Singleton, a dentist, from 1937 until their divorce in 1939. She was married to Robert Sparks from 1941 until his death on July 22, 1963. Singleton had a daughter with each of her husbands.

Filmography

Features

Short subjects

• Belle of the Night (1930)
• Campus Cinderella (1938)
• Screen Snapshots Series 19, No. 1 (1939)

External links

• Penny Singleton at the Internet Movie Database
• Penny Singleton at the Internet Broadway Database
• Penny Singleton at Find a Grave
• Blondie: The Movie Series