Marilyn Duke, was an American singer from the swing era of the mid to late 1930s and early 1940s.
16 Facts About Marilyn Duke
1.
2.
Marilyn Duke began as a soloist in 1933 on radio in Atlanta, then, beginning 1936, was carried on syndicated and network radio from New York City.
3.
Marilyn Duke was a tall brunette, and, according to journalists, attractive.
4.
Marilyn Duke learned to sing in a choir at her church, likely the Macedonia Baptist Church in Jackson, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.
5.
Marilyn Duke was billed as a blues singer and contralto.
6.
Marilyn Duke sang with the Shep Fields Orchestra in 1937.
7.
Marilyn Duke's father died January 8,1940, of injuries as a pedestrian struck by a truck.
8.
Marilyn Duke had been working as a pianist-singer at a Boston nightclub; but because an infected finger interrupted her playing, she auditioned for Vaughn Monroe and was promptly signed.
9.
Marilyn Duke's notoriety rose rapidly during her tenure with Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra as a featured singer.
10.
Marilyn Duke left the Monroe Orchestra around June 1943 to join the WAAC, but instead, continued performing, which included a two-month stint with Tommy Dorsey.
11.
That same year, Marilyn Duke sang with Will Osborne and His Orchestra.
12.
Around June 1944, Marilyn Duke began a 10-week solo engagement at the Frolic Club, in Revere, Massachusetts, at 155 Revere Beach Boulevard.
13.
Manfrey Lecta Marilyn Duke was born to William Franklin Marilyn Duke, Jr.
14.
Marilyn Duke had 2 half-sisters and 1 half-brother from her father's first marriage to Margaret L Scarbrough.
15.
Marilyn Duke suffered a stroke in 1990 and was treated at Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta.
16.
Marilyn Duke is buried in Crest Lawn Memorial Park, Atlanta, in the family plot of her maternal Aunt Clara Belle Tarrant.