Vaughn DeLeath

Vaughn DeLeath, although forgotten today, was a household name in the 1920s. She was born in Mt. Pulaski, IL, in 1894 (according to her birth certificate -- most sources say 1896) and her origins in show business are obscure. However in 1921, she was in on the ground floor of radio, singing in Chicago over WJZ. DeLeath's success on the air in the earliest days of radio was largely due to her endurance; able to accompany herself on banjo, ukulele, guitar, and piano, DeLeath could literally entertain for hours at a time when there was an excess of programming time and scant material to go on the air with. By 1923, DeLeath's power and popularity in radio grew to where she was the first woman executive in the medium, running WJZ and a small network of low power stations. This proved a bit much for even her considerable ability, and by 1925 DeLeath returned to performing full-time. She made her debut on recordings in 1922, and made dozens of records under her own name and a plethora of pseudonyms; most frequently as "Gloria Geer," but also as Mamie Lee, Sadie Green, Betty Brown, Nancy Foster, Marion Ross, Glory Clark, Angelina Marco, and Gertrude Dwyer. She literally appeared under one name or another for just about every record label active in the 1920s. In 1928, DeLeath appeared on experimental television broadcasts, and in 1928 or 1929 DeLeath was the featured guest when the Voice of Firestone Radio Hour went on the air for the first time. For some time Vaughn DeLeath had billed herself as "the First Lady of Radio," and in 1931 DeLeath sued singer Kate Smith for co-opting this tag. Smith withdrew, instead using her other trademark "the Sweet Songbird of the South," although after Vaughn DeLeath died Smith resumed her use of "the First Lady" designation. It was a...