Kay Kyser - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

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Kay Kyser couldn't read a note of music, and spent nearly as much time doing comedy as music on radio. But for over 15 years, from 1933 until the end of the 1940s, he was one of the most popular bandleaders and music personalities in America, and delighted tens of millions of listeners.

Born into a family of academics, Kyser was supposed to pursue a career in law, but abandoned this after he took over the University of North Carolina campus band. He became so popular as a personality that he was on the road by the time he graduated.

His radio show, Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge, ran for more than 15 years, mixing comic quiz questions with swing music, ballads, and novelty tunes; Kyser presided over it all dressed in an academic gown complete with mortarboard, presenting an easygoing Southern personality and comic manner. He was so popular that RKO signed him up for a series of films, starting with That's Right, You're Wrong, playing himself.

One of Kyser’s featured vocalists was Georgia Carroll, a singer and former John Robert Powers model whom Kyser married. Another featured personality was Merwyn Bogue, who was known on the air as Ish Kabibble, who handled the novelty numbers.

Kyser's hits, included "You, You Darlin'," "Playmates," "With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair," "Friendship," "Tennessee Fish Fry," "The White Cliffs of Dover," and "Old Buttermilk Sky." During World War II, Kyser and his band endeared themselves to millions of listeners and servicemen by appearing at over 500 military installations in USO shows, in addition to their regular appearances on radio. Although the emphasis was on comedy, the band was recognized as a capable swing jazz outfit.

The radio show left the air in 1949, and Kyser retired the following year. During the rest of his life, he spent time as a traveling lecturer on Christian Science, an area in which he was a true scholar. Kyser died in 1985 and is buried along with his wife at the Old Chapel Hill Cemetery at the University of North Carolina.

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Description: Big Band Leader and Radio Personality Date of birth: 06/18/1905 Date of death: 07/23/1985 Area of notoriety: Entertainment Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daylight hours Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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