1. Helen Grayco was an American singer and actress active from the 1930s to the 1960s.
21 Facts About Helen Grayco
1. 2.
Helen Grayco was most famous for appearances with her husband Spike Jones on The Spike Jones Show in the 1950s and the 1960s.
3.
Helen Grayco is the mother of producer and Emmy recipient, Spike Jones, Jr.
4.
Grayco was born Helen Greco on September 20,1924, in Tacoma, Washington, the second youngest of 11 children born to Charles Battiste Greco and his wife, Rosina.
5.
Helen Grayco had five brothers; John, Ralph, George, Anthony, and James, and five sisters; Mary, Carmella, Katherina, Theresa and Elizabeth.
6.
In 1932, at age eight, Grayco sang on The Carnival Hour, a variety show on radio station KHJ in Los Angeles.
7.
Helen Grayco was then hired to appear on a local variety program in Seattle, Washington.
8.
In 1935, after her collaboration with Crosby ended, Helen Grayco appeared in a non-speaking part in a scene with Allan Jones in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film A Night at the Opera starring the Marx Brothers.
9.
Helen Grayco began her musical career, working with the bands of Chuck Cascalas, Chuck Cabot, and Red Nichols.
10.
Helen Grayco first met bandleader Spike Jones in 1946 while she was performing at the Hollywood Palladium.
11.
Helen Grayco asked to see me after the show and offered me a job.
12.
Helen Grayco had just done "Cocktails for Two" and all that stuff that he was known for.
13.
Helen Grayco got a spot with Jones's Other Orchestra, which he formed in 1946.
14.
Helen Grayco appeared with Jones and his City Slickers on The Colgate Comedy Hour and The Red Skelton Show.
15.
Helen Grayco starred with Jones and his band on a series of television shows between 1954 and 1961 on NBC and CBS known as The Spike Jones Show and Club Oasis.
16.
Helen Grayco continued to sing in various venues for about the next ten years.
17.
In 1961, Helen Grayco was the spokesperson for Kahlua coffee liqueur.
18.
Helen Grayco's activities included a 13-week tour promoting the product.
19.
Helen Grayco married Spike Jones on July 18,1949, in Beverly Hills, California.
20.
Helen Grayco moved to New York with him and later moved back to Los Angeles with him when he opened a restaurant called Gatsby's there.
21.
Helen Grayco died of cancer in Los Angeles on August 20,2022, at the age of 97.