Carmel Quinn obit

Irish singer and entertainer Carmel Quinn passes away in New Jersey

Dublin-born entertainer Carmel Quinn passed away on March 6.

 

She was not on the list.

Quinn passed away at the age of 95 at her home in Leonia, New Jersey on March 6.

Originally from Dublin, a biography note on her website says she began her singing career there with the Bobby Murphy Orchestra singing at small charity concerts and a few other jobs around the country.

“Eventually, I came to America,” she wrote on the website. “It was the mid-fifties when I appeared on the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts radio show and won the contest. My prize was to then appear on the show for the next three days. I did, and I stayed on as a regular for six additional years.

“The American audience came to know of me from my daily appearances on the show with my singing and telling of humorous anecdotes about my life. This won for me instant popularity.

"In the intervening years, I have appeared in numerous musicals, engaged in repartee on the various talk shows and have performed for presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and to SRO audiences at Carnegie Hall for more than 25 years.”

Her biography added that she appeared on many national shows including Today, The Tonight Show, Live With Regis, and Kathie Lee, and guest appearances on The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom (three times between 1957 and 1960) The Ed Sullivan Show, The Joe Franklin Show, Match Game, Candid Camera, and other variety and talk shows

“Her numerous albums and cassettes and CDs have earned accolades from every sector of the populace; her special love for children engendered ‘Patrick Muldoon and His Magic Balloon,’ a recording which earned her a prestigious Grammy Award nomination.

“Whether singing or telling her wonderfully outrageous anecdotes or meeting the great demand for speaking engagements, she immediately has an audience in the palm of her hand, making it sing, laugh, or reminisce.”