Kitty Bluett

Kitty Bluett (18 August 1916 - 27 July 1994) was an English-Australian actress and singer for radio, television and film.

[6] Bluett first appeared on stage aged two-and-a-half in her father's vaudeville act at the Sydney Tivoli theatre, when she played "Boy Scout No.

"[33] Bluett would often play the role of soubrette (a 'saucy or flirtatious young woman’' in theatre productions.

[34] Between 1943 and 1944, Bluett, together with Gladys Moncrieff, Bebe Scott and Flo Patonhe, were the first women to travel to New Guinea to entertain the Australian troops.

[55] Before leaving for the States she told an interviewer, "I feel completely frustrated in Australian radio.

"[56] Although the trip was ostensibly a holiday, while she was in the States, Bluett appeared in the following: She also met Ginger Rogers, Esther Williams and Maureen O'Hara.

[63] However, Dick Bentley had sent her details to the BBC while she was en route to England, and, within a week of arriving, she had signed a contract to appear in Ray’s a Laugh.

[64] Before recording started, she squeezed in appearances in a number of shows including Caribbean Rhapsody, Variety Bandbox and Henry Hall's Guest Night.

She played the role "for so long that listeners believed Ray was married to Kitty" in real life.

In March 1950, Bluett was offered a role in a separate musical comedy at a "princely salary" but turned it down saying, "it would not be fair on the rest of the cast [of Ray's a Laugh] to leave so suddenly."

[70] In 1954, the Sydney Daily Telegraph reported that, on the strength of her acting in Ray's a Laugh, "the BBC… feels that Kitty Bluett will turn into a "British Lucille Ball.

"[71] In 1955, a spin-off show, All My Eye and Kitty Bluett, was created specifically as a vehicle for her talents.

[86][87] About her role she said, "I'll pick my own records – swing, orchestral and so on – and there'll be plenty of quiet string music for elderly people.

An article in The Australian Women's Weekly that year described Bluett as "a stalwart in any comedy sketch who can play straight "man" or comedienne at will.

"[104] Her Australian performances included: She married musician Walter "Wally" Robert Zepp Portingale at St John's Church, Darlinghurst, in June 1941.

The following year, she moved back to England and became a household name as a radio actor in Ray's a Laugh.

As a radio star, Bluett's personal life was frequently reported in the news, to the point that in 1950 she said "My romances have become like a tennis match for the public.

Bluett is credited on the following recordings: She also performed with Ted Heath's band as a guest vocalist.

Bluett, Betty Bryant , Joan Robbins and Moya Beaver for the J. C. Williamson production Funny Side Up (1941)