Jaye P. Morgan Dies: Singer And Risqué ‘Gong Show’ Judge Was 94
She was not on the list.
Jaye P. Morgan, the singer, actor, nightclub star and, perhaps most famously to fans of ’70s game shows, the outrageously risqué panelist on Chuck Barris’ The Gong Show, died of natural causes Monday, August 24, her family announced. She was 94.
According to attorney and longtime friend Mark Sendroff, Morgan had been living with her nephew and niece, Duke Morgan Spencer and Peggy Sue Spencer, in Longview, Washington, having previously lived for many years in the San Fernando Valley in California.
Born Mary Margaret Morgan on December 3, 1931, in Mancos, Colorado, Morgan took the name Jaye P. Morgan after high school classmates provided the nickname after banking mogul J.P. Morgan. She began appearing on the vaudeville stage in a family act that was featured in the 1935 film Stars Over Broadway.
As a teenager, Morgan performed frequently in Los Angeles with the Western Swing musician Hank Penny, according to her official website. After graduating high school, she joined the Frank DeVol Orchestra as its lead female vocalist from 1950-53, recording the hits “Just A Gigolo” and “Life Is Just A Bowl of Cherries.”
Two years after leaving the group, she scored her own hit singles with “That’s All I Want from You,” “The Longest Walk,” “Danger! Heartbreak Ahead,” “If You Don’t Want My Love” and “Pepper-Hot Baby.”
She was introduced to television audiences in 1955 as a regular on CBS’ daytime variety program The Robert Q. Lewis Show. In addition to hosting her own TV variety show The Jaye P. Morgan Show in 1956, she was soon appearing on nightclub stages and such primetime variety series as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Perry Como Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Steve Allen Show and The Dinah Shore Show, among numerous others.
Morgan enjoyed a resurgence in popularity during the 1970s through her frequent witty and candid appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Mike Douglas Show, The Merv Griffin Show and Dinah! She guested in episodes of The Muppet Show, Lucas Tanner, The Love Boat and others.
In a memorable 1973 episode of The Odd Couple, she played herself and performed a song written by Tony Randall’s character Felix Unger, who penned “Happy and Peppy and Bursting With Love” as an uptempo, and thoroughly, corny number which Morgan slowed down to a moody jazz groove, thoroughly upsetting the persnickety Unger.
Morgan also sang the theme song of the 1975 NBC sitcom Fay starring Lee Grant.
But perhaps her signature credit was as one of the celebrity judges on Barris’ zany syndicated program The Gong Show from 1976-78, in which contestants performed their wacky and often awful talents (or non-talents). Like her Match Game counterpart Brett Somers, Morgan became known for brash and brazen double entendres.
Morgan proved so popular on the show that Barris cast her on his other programs including The Chuck Barris Rah Rah Show and The $1.98 Beauty Show and in 1980’s The Gong Show Movie (which included footage of an infamous breast-baring moment from the TV show). She later would portray herself in George Clooney’s imaginative 2002 Barris biopic Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.
Her many regional stage credits include Sugar Babies, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Annie Get Your Gun, Guys & Dolls, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, The Pajama Game, Miss Margarida’s Way and Nunsense. Additional film credits include 1973’s The All-American Boy with Jon Voight and Night Patrol with Linda Blair and Pat Paulsen in 1984.
Morgan married three times, most significantly to musician Art Kane, with whom she adopted son Paul Kane, who predeceased her. In addition to Duke and Peggy Sue Spencer, Morgan is survived by the children and grandchildren of her siblings, many of whom were with her when she passed. Sendroff said there will be no memorial service “so her family may honor her wishes and remember her privately.”
Actress
Sam Rockwell in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
7.0
Jaye P. Morgan
2002
Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
6.9
Celeb #2
1992
Night Patrol (1984)
Night Patrol
4.7
Kate Parker
1984
Lydia Cornell, Jim J. Bullock, Nancy Dussault, Ted Knight, and Deborah Van Valkenburgh in Too Close for Comfort (1980)
Too Close for Comfort
6.6
TV Series
Cora Mathews
1984
Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker in Simon & Simon (1981)
Simon & Simon
7.1
TV Series
Helen Brackett
1984
The Gong Show Movie (1980)
The Gong Show Movie
4.5
Jaye P. Morgan
1980
Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin MacLeod, and Lauren Tewes in The Love Boat (1977)
The Love Boat
6.3
TV Series
Olivia Brinkley
1979
Coming Attractions (1978)
Coming Attractions
4.5
Stop-It Nurse
1978
David Hartman in Lucas Tanner (1974)
Lucas Tanner
6.9
TV Series
Judy Farrell
1975
Burt and the Girls
TV Movie
1973
Jack Klugman and Tony Randall in The Odd Couple (1970)
The Odd Couple
7.9
TV Series
Jaye P. Morgan
1973
Jon Voight in The All-American Boy (1973)
The All-American Boy
5.2
Magda Valentine
1973
The Adventures of Nick Carter (1972)
The Adventures of Nick Carter
6.1
TV Movie
Plush Horse Singer
1972
Stuart Margolin and Julie Newmar in Love, American Style (1969)
Love, American Style
6.8
TV Series
Martha (segment "Love and the Mistress")
1971
The Outsider (1968)
The Outsider
7.8
TV Series
Ginny McCabe
1969
William Demarest, Don Grady, Barry Livingston, Stanley Livingston, and Fred MacMurray in My Three Sons (1960)
My Three Sons
7.1
TV Series
Claudia FarrellSusan Duvall
1964–1966
Vacation Playhouse (1963)
Vacation Playhouse
7.3
TV Series
Maggie Feeney
1965
Angela Lansbury and Tuesday Weld in The Eleventh Hour (1962)
The Eleventh Hour
7.3
TV Series
Ruth Evans
1964
Angela Cartwright, Rusty Hamer, Sherry Jackson, Marjorie Lord, and Danny Thomas in The Danny Thomas Show (1953)
The Danny Thomas Show
7.1
TV Series
Cousin Julianne
1963
Joey Bishop in The Joey Bishop Show (1961)
The Joey Bishop Show
6.6
TV Series
Kitty Flanders
1962
Hennesey (1959)
Hennesey
8.0
TV Series
Patti Maxwell
1962
Ronald Reagan in General Electric Theater (1953)
General Electric Theater
6.8
TV Series
Sally Dwight
1961
Jack Benny in The Jack Benny Program (1950)
The Jack Benny Program
8.5
TV Series
Jaye P. Morgan
1960
Music Department
Lee Grant in Fay (1975)
Fay
6.4
TV Series
theme song: sung bytheme music: sung by
1975
Soundtrack
Andrew Wilkinson, Kimberly Camacho, and Austin Reyle in Q (2017)
Q
Short
performer: "That's all I want from you"
2017
Just Looking (1999)
Just Looking
6.6
performer: "That's All I Want From You"
1999
Frank Oz, Jim Henson, Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, Richard Hunt, Kathryn Mullen, Jerry Nelson, and Steve Whitmire in The Muppet Show (1976)
The Muppet Show
8.4
TV Series
performer: "Tweedle Dee", "That Old Black Magic"
1978
William Demarest, Don Grady, Barry Livingston, Stanley Livingston, and Fred MacMurray in My Three Sons (1960)
My Three Sons
7.1
TV Series
performer: "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To", "Gonna Get You"
1966
Vic Damone in The Lively Ones (1962)
The Lively Ones
TV Series
performer: "So in Love", "Nobody's Sweetheart"
1963
Angela Cartwright, Rusty Hamer, Sherry Jackson, Marjorie Lord, and Danny Thomas in The Danny Thomas Show (1953)
The Danny Thomas Show
7.1
TV Series
performer: "(Up A) Lazy River" (uncredited), "So In Love"
1963
Jack Benny in The Jack Benny Program (1950)
The Jack Benny Program
8.5
TV Series
performer: " (Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey" (uncredited)
1960
The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (1956)
The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
7.7
TV Series
performer: "I Walk the Line", "I'm Little but I'm Loud" (uncredited)
1960
The Bell Telephone Hour (1959)
The Bell Telephone Hour
7.7
TV Series
performer: "Remember"
1959
The Swindlers (1959)
The Swindlers
6.7
writer: "Was It You", "Baby Rock", "You Told A Lie"
1959
At the Movies (1959)
At the Movies
3.9
TV Special
performer: "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries", "The Lonesome Road" (uncredited)
1959
The Dick Clark Show (1958)
The Dick Clark Show
7.6
TV Series
performer: "Are You Lonesome Tonight" (uncredited)
1959
Ed Sullivan in The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
The Ed Sullivan Show
7.9
TV Series
performer: "Stardust" (uncredited)
1958
Timex All-Star Jazz Show (1957)
Timex All-Star Jazz Show
TV Series
performer: "The Lady Is a Tramp" (uncredited)
1958
Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita in The Steve Allen Show (1956)
The Steve Allen Show
8.4
TV Series
performer: "The Poor People of Paris" (La Goualante du Pauvre Jean)
1956
The Perry Como Show (1948)
The Perry Como Show
7.6
TV Series
performer: "Get Up, Get Up" (uncredited)
1956
Self
Continental (2013)
Continental
7.6
Self
2013
Hollywood Squares (1998)
Hollywood Squares
5.6
TV Series
Self - Panelist
2003
E! True Hollywood Story (1996)
E! True Hollywood Story
6.5
TV Series
Self
2003
Linda Blair in TV's Most Censored Moments (2002)
TV's Most Censored Moments
7.0
TV Movie
Self
2002
The Howard Stern Show (1990)
The Howard Stern Show
7.0
TV Series
Self
1992
Dolly Parton and Joan Rivers in The Joan Rivers Show (1983)
The Joan Rivers Show
6.0
TV Series
Self
1989
Anything for a Laugh
TV Special
Self
1985
Thicke of the Night (1983)
Thicke of the Night
5.2
TV Series
Self
1984
Debbie Reynolds in Do It Debbie's Way (1983)
Do It Debbie's Way
7.0
Video
Self
1983
Talk of the Town
TV Series
Self - Host
1982
Everything Goes
8.6
TV Series
Self - Panelist
1981–1988
Mike Douglas in The Mike Douglas Show (1961)
The Mike Douglas Show
7.0
TV Series
Self - VocalistSelf - Co-HostSelf - Actress
1963–1980
Chuck Barris in The Gong Show (1976)
The Gong Show
7.0
TV Series
Self - Panelist
1976–1979
The Alan Hamel Show (1976)
The Alan Hamel Show
6.5
TV Series
Self
1979
All-American College Comedy Show
TV Special
Self - Host
1979
Evelyn Roth in Celebrity Cooks (1975)
Celebrity Cooks
6.3
TV Series
Self
1979
Canada After Dark (1978)
Canada After Dark
5.7
TV Series
Self
1979
"Dating Game, The" Paul Lynde C. 1967
The Dating Game
5.8
TV Series
Self - Guest star contestant
1978
The $1.98 Beauty Show
7.1
TV Series
SelfSelf - judge
1978–1980
The Chuck Barris Rah-Rah Show
5.4
TV Series
Self - Performer
1978
Frank Oz, Jim Henson, Dave Goelz, Louise Gold, Richard Hunt, Kathryn Mullen, Jerry Nelson, and Steve Whitmire in The Muppet Show (1976)
The Muppet Show
8.4
TV Series
Self - Special Guest Star
1978
Hollywood Connection (1977)
Hollywood Connection
TV Series
Self
1977
Merv Griffin in The Merv Griffin Show (1962)
The Merv Griffin Show
6.6
TV Series
Self - Singer
1966–1977
Billy Barty, Redd Foxx, Bill Saluga, and Hal Smith in Redd Foxx (1977)
Redd Foxx
6.8
TV Series
Self
1977
The Cross-Wits
6.6
TV Series
Self
1977
The All-Star Gong Show Special
7.8
TV Special
Self - Panelist
1977
Carol Burnett in The Carol Burnett Show (1967)
The Carol Burnett Show
8.7
TV Series
Self (uncredited)
1977
Break the Bank (1976)
Break the Bank
6.6
TV Series
Self
1976–1977
Sammy and Company (1975)
Sammy and Company
7.2
TV Series
Self
1977
The Wolfman Jack Show (1976)
The Wolfman Jack Show
7.8
TV Series
Self
1976
Lee Meriwether in Rhyme and Reason (1975)
Rhyme and Reason
5.4
TV Series
Self - Panelist
1975–1976
Dinah Shore in Dinah! (1974)
Dinah!
7.0
TV Series
Self
1974–1976
Three for the Money
TV Series
Self
1975
Johnny Carson in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
8.5
TV Series
Self - Guest
1963–1975
Celebrity Sweepstakes (1974)
Celebrity Sweepstakes
5.3
TV Series
Self
1974
Virginia Graham in The Virginia Graham Show (1970)
The Virginia Graham Show
6.6
TV Series
Self
1972–1973
Joyce Bulifant, Richard Dawson, Patti Deutsch, Fannie Flagg, Elaine Joyce, Dick Martin, Johnny Olson, Gene Rayburn, Charles Nelson Reilly, Nipsey Russell, Brett Somers, Marcia Wallace, and Betty White in Match Game (1973)
Match Game
8.3
TV Series
Self - Panelist
1973
Baffle (1973)
Baffle
5.2
TV Series
Self
1973
It's Your Bet (1969)
It's Your Bet
7.4
TV Series
Self
1970–1972
The Honeymoon Game
TV Special
Self
1971
Mantrap (1971)
Mantrap
6.8
TV Series
Self - Panelist
1971
Tom Kennedy in The Real Tom Kennedy Show (1970)
The Real Tom Kennedy Show
5.7
TV Series
Self
1970
Paul Lynde in The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965)
The Hollywood Squares (Daytime)
6.8
TV Series
Self - Panelist
1970
The Game Game
7.0
TV Series
Self
1970
The Barbara McNair Show (1969)
The Barbara McNair Show
7.8
TV Series
Self
1970
Della (1969)
Della
8.9
TV Series
Self
1969–1970
The Dennis Wholey Show (1969)
The Dennis Wholey Show
TV Series
Self
1969
Letters to Laugh-in (1969)
Letters to Laugh-in
5.5
TV Series
Self
1969
The Ed Nelson Show
TV Series
Self
1969
You Don't Say (1963)
You Don't Say
6.8
TV Series
Self
1963–1969
The Rosey Grier Show (1968)
The Rosey Grier Show
TV Series
Self
1969
Win with the Stars (1968)
Win with the Stars
TV Series
Self - Celebrity Contestant
1969
The Steve Allen Show (1968)
The Steve Allen Show
7.3
TV Series
Self
1969
The John Gary Show (1966)
The John Gary Show
7.0
TV Series
Self
1969
The Joey Bishop Show (1967)
The Joey Bishop Show
7.1
TV Series
Self
1967
Las Vegas
5.0
TV Series
Self
1967
The Pat Boone Show (1966)
The Pat Boone Show
6.1
TV Series
Self
1966
I'll Bet (1965)
I'll Bet
2.8
TV Series
Self
1965
What's This Song? (1964)
What's This Song?
5.7
TV Series
Self
1965
"Pantomime Quiz' Alan Young, Connie Hines c. 1958
Pantomime Quiz
7.9
TV Series
Self - Guest
1964
Vic Damone in The Lively Ones (1962)
The Lively Ones
TV Series
Self
1963
The Perry Como Show (1948)
The Perry Como Show
7.6
TV Series
Self - Singer
1955–1962
The Bob Newhart Show (1961)
The Bob Newhart Show
7.6
TV Series
Self - Guest
1962
Here's Hollywood (1960)
Here's Hollywood
8.4
TV Series
Self
1960
Saturday Prom
TV Series
Self
1960
Ernest Borgnine and Ben Alexander in About Faces (1959)
About Faces
5.5
TV Series
Self
1960
The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (1956)
The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
7.7
TV Series
Self - Singer
1960
Jack Paar in The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar (1957)
The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar
8.3
TV Series
Self
1960
Startime (1959)
Startime
6.6
TV Series
Self
1960
Person to Person (1953)
Person to Person
8.2
TV Series
Self
1959
The Bell Telephone Hour (1959)
The Bell Telephone Hour
7.7
TV Series
Self - Singer
1959
Tony Bennett and Teresa Brewer in Perry Presents (1959)
Perry Presents
TV Series
Self - Vocalist
1959
At the Movies (1959)
At the Movies
3.9
TV Special
Self - Performer
1959
The Sid Caesar-Art Carney Hour
TV Movie
Self
1959
Ed Sullivan in The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
The Ed Sullivan Show
7.9
TV Series
Self - Singer
1958–1959
The Dick Clark Show (1958)
The Dick Clark Show
7.6
TV Series
Self
1959
Gower Champion, Marge Champion, and Louis Jourdan in Accent on Love (1959)
Accent on Love
TV Special
Self - Singer
1959
The Garry Moore Show (1958)
The Garry Moore Show
6.9
TV Series
Self
1959
Jimmy Dean in The Jimmy Dean Show (1957)
The Jimmy Dean Show
8.1
TV Series
Self
1958
The Pat Boone-Chevy Showroom (1957)
The Pat Boone-Chevy Showroom
7.0
TV Series
Self
1957–1958
Timex All-Star Jazz Show (1957)
Timex All-Star Jazz Show
TV Series
Self
1958
The Big Record (1957)
The Big Record
6.4
TV Series
Self
1957
Bette Chapel in The Julius LaRosa Show (1955)
The Julius LaRosa Show
TV Series
Self
1955–1957
The Vic Damone Show
TV Series
Self - Vocalist
1956–1957
RCA Victor Galaxy of Stars
TV Special
Self
1957
Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows in The Jackie Gleason Show (1952)
The Jackie Gleason Show
8.5
TV Series
Self - Guest Vocalist
1954–1957
The Jonathan Winters Show (1956)
The Jonathan Winters Show
8.1
TV Series
Self
1957
Sonja Henie in Holiday on Ice (1956)
Holiday on Ice
TV Movie
Self
1956
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956)
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
8.0
TV Series
Self
1956
Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita in The Steve Allen Show (1956)
The Steve Allen Show
8.4
TV Series
Self - Singer
1956
The Jaye P. Morgan Show
TV Series
Self
1956
The Martin and Lewis Roundup
TV Special
Self - Guest
1956
Stop the Music (1949)
Stop the Music
3.6
TV Series
Self - singer
1955–1956
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (1949)
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends
6.2
TV Series
Self - Guest StarSelf - Singer
1956
5th Annual Celebrity Parade for Cerebral Palsy
TV Special
Self
1955
Sid Caesar Presents Comedy Preview
TV Series
Self
1955
Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin in The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950)
The Colgate Comedy Hour
7.7
TV Series
Self - Singer
1955
The Robert Q. Lewis Show
TV Series
Self
1954
Judge for Yourself (1953)
Judge for Yourself
6.4
TV Series
Self - Guest Star
1954
Coke Time (1953)
Coke Time
7.2
TV Series
Self
1954
Frank DeVol and His Orchestra
Short
Self - Singer
1953
Archive Footage
The Game Show Show (2023)
The Game Show Show
6.6
TV Mini Series
Self (archive footage)
2023
Betty White in Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl (2012)
Betty White's 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America's Golden Girl
8.2
TV Movie
Self (archive footage)
2012
2009 Game Show Awards (2009)
2009 Game Show Awards
6.1
TV Special
Self (archive footage)
2009
The Chuck Barris Story: My Life on the Edge
TV Movie
Self (archive footage)
2006
The Real Match Game Story: Behind the Blanks
7.8
TV Movie
Self (archive footage)
2006
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