Ginny Simms

Birthday

May 25, 1915

Bio: Texas-born Ginny Simms had originally wanted to teach, and to that end attended Fresno State Teachers College. While an undergrad, she organized a singing trio as a means of earning tuition money; after a few engagements, she was encouraged by friends and fans to try her luck as a solo vocalist. At the age of 20, Simms signed as female songstress with the Tommy… More Bio: Texas-born Ginny Simms had originally wanted to teach, and to that end attended Fresno State Teachers College. While an undergrad, she organized a singing trio as a means of earning tuition money; after a few engagements, she was encouraged by friends and fans to try her luck as a solo vocalist. At the age of 20, Simms signed as female songstress with the Tommy Gerun band, then joined the Kay Kyser orchestra in 1938. She was featured on Kyser's popular Kollege of Musical Knowledge radio weekly, then accompanied Kyser and the band to Hollywood, where the whole crew made their film debut in 1939's That's Right, You're Wrong. Reportedly, Simms and Kyser fell in love with each other, but she broke off the relationship when the shy bandleader dragged his heels concerning marriage. Simms left the Kyser troupe in 1941, when she was signed to her own radio program. She went on to star or co-star in such lightweight film fare as Here We Go Again (1942, with Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy and Fibber McGee & Molly), Hit the Ice (1943, with Abbott & Costello) and Broadway Rhythm (1944), and was also featured in the 1946 Cole Porter biopic Night and Day. She retired in the early 1950s, briefly re-emerging for an unsuccessful comeback in 1958. Ginny Simms died in April of 1994 at the age of 78; two months later, her one-time Kay Kyser Orchestra cohort Ish Kabibble also passed away. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi