Helen Grayco, R.I.P.
She was not on the list.
Singer-performer Helen Grayco died this morning at the age of 97. The last time I saw her, which was about ten years ago, she could have passed for 65. She was a beautiful lady, inside and out, and in her heyday a magnificent vocalist.
Talk about starting young. By the age of eight, Helen Greco — she later changed it — was already a singing star on radio in Tacoma, Washington — the city of her birth. A few years later, Bing Crosby discovered her and she relocated to Hollywood where she had small parts in a number of movies including A Night at the Opera. She toured with many of the top bands of the day including Red Nichols' and Stan Kenton's but is best remembered for her long association with Spike Jones. She performed on his records, tours, radio programs and TV shows…and they married in 1948.
She continued to perform, but not often, after Spike died in 1965 and pretty much gave it up after she married restaurateur Bill Rosen in 1968. While dating her niece, Kristine Greco, I got to visit with Helen a few times. She was lovely and charming and she had the kind of sense of humor that was probably mandatory to be married to Spike Jones.
rayco first met bandleader Spike Jones in 1946 while she was performing at the Hollywood Palladium. After her performance he offered her a gig with him and his band, the City Slickers.
In a 2009 interview, Grayco had this to say about her first meeting with Spike Jones:
He asked to see me after the show and offered me a job. He was already established. A huge star. He was going on tour. I was in direct contrast to what he did. I was terribly insulted when Spike first asked to hire me. He had just done "Cocktails for Two" and all that stuff that he was known for. "I don’t know where I could possibly fit in in your group. I‘m not a comedienne," I told him. He said, "No, you’ll do your own thing. You’ll have your arrangements. You’ll do 15, 20 minutes entirely separate from the show." They needed something to calm people down. And that’s how we always worked from then on.
Grayco also got a spot with Jones's Other Orchestra, which he formed in 1946. The group was known for its legitimately "pretty" music in contrast to the City Slickers, who were known for their crazy way of performing. The one outstanding recording by the Other Orchestra is "Laura", which features a serious first half (played exquisitely by the Other Orchestra) and a manic second half (played hilariously by the City Slickers). Even with the success of "Laura", the public preferred the crazy music of the Slickers to the elegant music of the Other Orchestra. The Other Orchestra broke up in 1947, only a year after its founding.
She appeared with Jones and his City Slickers on The Colgate Comedy Hour and The Red Skelton Show. She also 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: 1004 and Club Oasis.
Film
A Night at the Opera (Little girl at the piano; uncredited role) (1935)
That Certain Age (Girl) (1938)
Cha-Cha-Cha Boom! (Performer: "Lilly's Lament (to Cell 29)") (1956)
Starring Dámaso Pérez Prado, Stephen Dunne, the Mary Kaye Trio, Helen Grayco, Luis Arcaraz and his Orchestra, Lucerto Bárcenas, and Manny López and his Orchestra.
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1951 The Colgate Comedy Hour Herself Episode: "The Spike Jones Show"
Original air date: November 2, 1951
1952 Four Star Revue Guest Vocalist 1 episode
1954 The Spike Jones Show Herself/Various roles 18 episodes
1955 The Red Skelton Show Mrs. Spike Jones 1 episode
1957 The Spike Jones Show Herself 20 episodes
1958 Club Oasis Singer 3 episodes
The Frank Sinatra Show Herself Episode: "Spike Jones and Helen Grayco"
Original air date: April 4, 1958
1960 Swinging Spiketaculars Herself 2 episodes
Person to Person Herself 1 episode
1961 The Spike Jones Show Herself 9 episodes
1968 The Dean Martin Show Herself 1 episode
The Pat Boone Show Herself 1 episode
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