Trudy Erwin

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Trudy Erwin
Born
Virginia Lee Erwin

(1918-08-12)August 12, 1918 [1]
El Monte, California, USA
DiedOctober 29, 2000(2000-10-29) (aged 82)
San Diego, California , USA
GenresPop, Big band, Jazz
OccupationSinger
LabelsDecca, 4 Star
Formerly ofThe Music Maids, Kay Kyser, Bing Crosby

Trudy Erwin (known as Jinny) (born August 12, 1918[1] – October 29, 2000) was an American singer and actress in films who was a vocalist with the Kay Kyser orchestra in the 1940s.

Career

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As a teenager. she was part of a vocal quintet called the Music Maids.

The Music Maids were used in the Bing Crosby film East Side of Heaven[2] to back Crosby on the song "Hang Your Heart on a Hickory Limb." Subsequently the Music Maids joined the cast of the Kraft Music Hall hosted by Crosby, making their debut on February 23, 1939.[3] Whilst working with Bing, she recorded several hit songs with him including the 1943 duets "People Will Say We're In Love (#1) and "Oh! What A Beautiful Mornin' (#4).[4]

Whilst they remained on the show until 1944, Erwin left the group to join Kay Kyser in October 1941 as a partial replacement for Ginny Simms.[5] She had a hit record with Kyser on "Who Wouldn't Love You" when she paired with Harry Babbitt and the song reached the top of the charts in April 1942. She returned to the Kraft show on February 4, 1943 as the resident female singer[6] until December 1943 when she left to have a baby.

Erwin, credited as Trudy Stevens, dubbed Kim Novak's singing voice for My Funny Valentine in the movie Pal Joey.[7][8]

Voice dubbing

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Reference:[9]

Personal life

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Erwin married Murdo MacKenzie,[10] a sound engineer,[11] for Bing Crosby[12] (radio[13][14] and albums), NBC,[15] and ABC, at San Juan Capistrano Mission on February 14, 1942.[16] In December 1943, she left the cast of the Kraft Music Hall hosted by Crosby, to have a baby.

Murdo MacKenzie served as the producer for The Bing Crosby – Rosemary Clooney Show.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Virginia Erwin". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org. Retrieved November 9, 2025. Virginia L Erwin was born on August 12, 1918 in Los Angeles County, California.
  2. ^ Giddins, Gary (2018). Bing Crosby Swinging on a Star The War Years 1940-1946 (First ed.). New York: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 220–222. ISBN 978-0-316-88792-2.
  3. ^ "BING magazine". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 109. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  5. ^ "The Cincinnati Post". October 13, 1941. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  6. ^ "The Fresno Bee". February 4, 1943. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  7. ^ "Pal Joey (Original Soundtrack.) BMCD 3508". discogs.com. December 22, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2025. There is a spelling error in the CD credits. Kim Novak's singing voice was dubbed by Trudy Erwin. Not Ewen.
  8. ^ Belcher, David (August 25, 2025). "Kim Novak, 92, Finds a Defiant Life Has Its Own Rewards". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 29, 2025. Retrieved November 9, 2025. A correction was made on Aug. 26, 2025 : An earlier version of this article misstated who sang "My Funny Valentine" in the movie "Pal Joey." Kim Novak's character performed the song in the film, but her voice was dubbed by Trudy Stevens.
  9. ^ Hagen, Ray; Wagner, Laura; Tompkins, Steven. "MOVIE DUBBERS". janettedavis.net. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  10. ^ "Murdo Mackenzie". Discogs. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  11. ^ Lewis, Steven. "Kraft Music Hall". Bing Crosby Internet Museum. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  12. ^ Hammar, Peter (October 1, 1999). "John T. Mullin: The man who put Bing Crosby on Tape". Mix (magazine). Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  13. ^ "Chapter 5 - The Making of the Legend, 1936–1939". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  14. ^ "The International Club Crosby". www.bingmagazine.co.uk. International Club Crosby. Retrieved November 9, 2025. MACKENZIE, MURDO
  15. ^ Corbett, Noel (September 1, 1937). "NBC Hollywood" (PDF). NBC Transmitter. Vol. 3, no. 11. NBC. p. 9. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  16. ^ "Los Angeles Evening Citizen News". February 12, 1942. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
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