Monday, February 16, 2015

Lesley Gore obit

Lesley Gore, 'It's My Party' and 'You Don't Own Me' singer, dies at 68


She was not on the list.

Lesley Gore, best known for singing the 1960s hits "It's My Party," "Judy's Turn to Cry" and "You Don't Own Me," has died. She was 68.

Gore died Monday in New York City after a battle with cancer, said Blake Morgan, the chief executive of ECR Music Group, which released Gore’s latest album.

While still in high school, Gore burst onto the music scene in 1963 with "It's My Party." The Quincy Jones-produced single, a pouty song from the perspective of a girl lamenting that the boy of her choice has spurned her, topped the charts.

That song was followed by others, including the vengeful sequel "Judy’s Turn to Cry," the resigned "Maybe I Know" and the upbeat "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows," as well as the one that irrevocably linked her to the feminist movement: "You Don’t Own Me."

"She was a wonderful human being — caring, giving, a great feminist, great woman, great human being, great humanitarian," Lois Sasson, Gore’s partner of more than three decades, told the Associated Press.

Jones, who produced several songs Gore sang, said Monday that he was heartbroken over her passing. Recalling her teenage years, he said in a statement: "Lesley was an incredibly soulful singer/songwriter even at that young and that was why the world embraced her songs the way it did."

As a songwriter, Gore worked with her brother Michael. Their "Out Here on My Own" from the 1980 film “Fame” was nominated for an Academy Award.
Gore also dabbled in television acting, playing the role of Pussycat in the cult 1960s show "Batman."

Born in 1946, Gore grew up in Tenafly, N.J. After high school, she slowed the breakneck pace of her music career as she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and American literature at Sarah Lawrence College, then hit the nightclub circuit.

 
"Oddly enough, the performer whose sound she projects most strongly is Bing Crosby," the New York Times said in 1969. "She has Mr. Crosby’s casual, low-throated manner of talking and in the easygoing passages of her songs she uses a husky, glottal projection that is very reminiscent of the old groaner in his heyday."

She appeared on Broadway in "Smokey Joe’s Cafe" in the late 1990s.

A few years later, she was a host of "In the Life," a PBS series that dealt with gay and lesbian issues. She publicly came out as a lesbian around that time, and she told AfterEllen.com in 2005 that she realized it in her early 20s.
Also in 2005, she released her first album in three decades. The jazz-, folk- and indie-tinged "Ever Since," produced by Morgan, heavily featured new material but also revisited "You Don’t Own Me" and "Out Here on My Own."


"Lesley was like my rock ’n’ roll godmother," Morgan told the Los Angeles Times, adding that he had known her since his childhood. "It was a very courageous record for her to make, and a very defiant one…. We toured on that record for more than two years."


Filmography
Film
Year       Film       Role       Notes
1964      The T.A.M.I Show             Herself Documentary
1965      The Girls on the Beach   Herself Sings "Leave Me Alone" and "It's Gotta Be You"
1965      Ski Party               Herself Sings Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows"
1968      The Pied Piper of Astroworld       Bo Peep               Television film
1977      Good Old Days Herself Television film
1985      Good Time Rock 'n' Roll                 Herself Television documentary
1986      Deja View            Herself
1988      Legendary Ladies of Rock & Roll                 Herself Television special
1990      Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones        Herself Documentary
1991      Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll           Herself Television documentary
1992      In the Life            Herself Television documentary
1998      Quincy Jones... The First 50 Years              Herself Television documentary
2000      Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years 1955-1970              Herself Television documentary
2003      Rock at Fifty       Herself Television documentary
2008      An Evening with Quincy Jones    Herself Television documentary
2008      Airplay: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio Herself Documentary

Television
Year       Name    Role       Notes
1963      Club 1270            Herself A teen-oriented dance-party television show on WXYZ-TV in Detroit ("1270" was a reference to the frequency of WXYZ-AM radio, a leading Top 40 station in the Detroit area at the time, now WXYT).
1963      The Keefe Brasselle Show             Herself
1963      American Bandstand       Herself Season 6, Episode 194, AB-1528: Lesley Gore - aired 5/30/63.
1963–64               Thank Your Lucky Stars Herself Recurring guest; 2 episodes
1963–70               The Ed Sullivan Show      Herself Recurring guest; 4 episodes: Season 16, Episode 3 – Other guests: Tony Bennett, Frank Gorshin, Bob & Ray – aired 10/13/63; Season 17, Episode 18 – Other guests: Burt Lancaster, Mickey Rooney, Miriam Makeba, Shelley Berman – aired 1/31/65; Season 21, Episode 32 – Other guests: Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Gwen Verdon; Season 22, Episode 30 – Other guests: Richie Havens, Moms Mabley, Stiller & Meara – aired 4/26/70.
1963–75               New American Bandstand 1965 Herself Recurring guest; 3 episodes: Season 10, Episode 31 - Other guest: The Music Machine - aired 4/8/67; Season 10, Episode 4 - Other guest: ? (Question Mark) and the Mysterians - aired 10/1/66; Season 19, Episode 4 - aired 9/27/75.
1964      The Beat Room Herself
1964      The Lloyd Thaxton Show               Herself Season 4, Episode 10 – aired September 28, 1964[30]
1965      Fanfare                 Herself Season 1, Episode 7 – other guests: Tom Jones, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass - aired July 31, 1965
1965      Shindig!                Herself Recurring guest; 2 episodes: Season 1, Episode 30 - Show 30 - April 7, 1965 - other guests: Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, Larry Hovis, Martha and the Vandellas, Righteous Brothers
Season 2, Episode 5 - Show 56 - September 30, 1965 - other guests: Mickey Rooney (guest host), Major Lance, The Turtles
1965      Hollywood A Go-Go        Herself
1965–66               Hullabaloo          Herself Recurring guest; 3 episodes: Season 1, Episode 8 – Show #8 - Host: Trini Lopez – aired 3/2/65; Season 2, Episode 7 – Show#25 – Host: Peter Noone (of Herman's Hermits) – aired 11/1/65; Season 2, Episode 16 – Show #34 – Host: Roger Smith – aired 1/3/66; Season 2, Episode 30 – Show #48 - Host: Paul Anka – aired 4/11/66.
1965–70               Merv Griffin Show            Herself Recurring guest: 8 episodes: Season 2, Episode 76 – aired 8/23/65; Season 5, Episode 104 – aired 1/25/68; Season 5, Episode 157 – aired 4/9/68; Season 6, Episode 96 – aired 1/13/69; Season 6, Episode 154 – aired 4/3/69; Season 7, Episode 162 – aired 4/2/70; Season 7, Episode 239 – aired 7/16/70; Season 7, Episode 243 – aired 7/22/70.
1965–71               The Mike Douglas Show                Herself Recurring guest; 13 episodes: The Mike Douglas Show Herself
Season 4: Episode 237 - aired 8/4/65, Season 5: Episode 47 - aired 11/9/65, Season 5, Episode 216 – aired 7/11/66, Season 6: Episode 16 - aired 9/26/66, Season 6: Episode 92 - aired 1/10/67, Season 6: Episode 176 - aired 5/8/67, Season 7: Episode 106 - aired 1/29/68, Season 7: Episode 201 - aired 6/10/68, Season 8: Episode 42 - aired 11/5/68, Season 8: Episode 150 - aired 4/4/69, Season 9: Episode 25 - - aired 10/3/69, Season 9: Episode 51 - aired 11/10/69, Season 9: Episode 136 - aired 3/9/70, Season 10: Episode 118 - aired 2/17/71
1965      Shivaree               Herself Season 2, Episode 16 – Show #48 0 aired 12/25/658.
1966      The Andy Williams Show               Herself Season 5, Episode 10 – aired November 13, 1966.
1966      The Donna Reed Show   Herself Episode 27: "By-Line--Jeff Stone" - aired 2/19/66
1966      Where the Action Is        Herself Season 6, Episode 237 – aired 9/10/66, other guests: The Four Tops
1967      The Match Game              Herself Season 6, Episode 6 - Lesley Gore & Soupy Sales – aired 10/9/67
1967      Batman                Pussycat               Recurring role; 2 episodes: Season 2 Episodes 40 – That Darn Catwoman – aired 1/19/67; Season 2, Episode 41 – Scat! Darn Catwoman – aired 1/25/67.
1967      Dream Girl of '67              Herself Recurring role; 5 episodes
1967      Malibu U              Herself Season 1, Episode 4 – aired 8/11/67 – Other guests include The Turtles and Lou Rawls
1967      Binnen en Buiten              Herself
1967–68               The Joey Bishop Show    Herself Recurring guest; 3 episodes: Season 1, Episode 78 – aired 8/2/67; Season 2, Episode 122 – aired 3/8/68; Season 2, Episode 128 – aired 3/18/68.
1968      Happening '68   Herself Rock music series on the ABC network. It aired Saturday afternoons following American Bandstand. Happening aired Mon through Fri from 7/15/68-10/25/68.
1968      What's My Line?               Herself Mystery guest; Season 1, Episode 131 – aired 1/31/1968
1969–70               Della      Herself Recurring guest; 2 episodes: Season 1, Episode 14 – aired 6/26/69; Season 1, Episode 154 – aired 1/13/70.
1970      Playboy After Dark           Herself Recurring guest; 2 episodes - Season 2, Episode 11 – Other guests: Don Adams, Fleetwood Mac, Arte Johnson – aired 1/8/70.[30]
1970      The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson             Herself Season 8, Episode 41 700701 – aired 7/1/70.
1970–71               The Rolf Harris Show       Herself Recurring guest; 2 episodes
1970      The David Frost Show     Herself Recurring guest; 2 episodes - Season 2, Episode 104 – aired January 22, 1970; Season 3, Episode 59 – aired December 17, 1970.
1970      The Dick Cavett Show     Herself Season 5, Episode 55 – aired January 22, 1970.
1971      The Virginia Graham Show           Herself
1975–76               The Midnight Special      Herself Guest host – Season 5, Episode 2 – aired 9/24/76. Guest on 2 episodes: Season 3, Episode 34 – Host: Chubby Checker; Season 4, Episode 21 – Host: David Brenner, Other guest: Fleetwood Mac
1976      Dinah!   Herself Season 2, Episode 167 – aired May 24, 1976
1977      Sha Na Na            Herself
1977      $20,000 Pyramid              Herself $20,000 Pyramid - Season 6, Episode 6 – Soupy Sales & 5 female stars – aired 10/10/77
1970      Our Time             Herself
1982–83               All My Children June Gordan       A music publicist for 6 episodes; performed the song "Easy to Say, Hard to Do" which was written for the show
1998      Murphy Brown Herself Episode: Season 10 Episode 16: "Opus One"[34] Frank recreates American Bandstand for Murphy's 50th birthday; guests Dick Clark; Fabian; Lesley Gore; Chubby Checker; Sally Field.
1998      A Capitol Fourth               Herself Lesley performed in concert for the annual "A Capitol Fourth" July 4 celebration in Washington. The show was nationally televised by PBS on the evening of July 4, 1998.
2001      Walk on By: The Story of Popular Song    Herself Episode: "Producer Pop"
2001      Biography            Herself Episode: "Lesley Gore: 'It's Her Party'"
2002      Hollywood Squares          Herself Recurring guest; 2 episodes
2005      Party Planner with David Tutera                 Herself Episode: "Broadway Legend's Soiree"
2006      In the Life            Herself Season 1, Episode 116 on Logo Borders – aired 1/1/06
2007      TV Land Confidential       Herself Episode: "Music"
Unknown            Days of Our Lives              Unknown           
Unknown            Gay USA               Unknown           
 

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