Gisele MacKenzie

Birth Name:

Gisele Marie-Louise Marguerite LaFleche

Birth Place:

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Profession

Actress, Soundtrack

Studied violin at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto when she was in her teens
Born to a doctor who played the violin and a mother who sang and played the organ, her musical talents were encouraged from a young age
Made the final decision of whether to be a singer or a concert violinist when her $3,000 violin was stolen from a parked car
Met military bandleader Robert Shuttleworth at a party where she was performing for wartime sailors, and he later hired her to perform with his hotel orchestra
While studying classical music, she would play and sing popular songs on the piano after school
Her regional theater credits include "Mame," "Gypsy," "The King and I" and "Hello, Dolly!" along with other musicals
Often played comedic duets on the violin with Jack Benny on "Your Hit Parade․"
Was a regular on "Your Hit parade" from 1953 to 1957, joining such vocalists as Snooky Lanson, Russell Arms and Dorothy Collins to sing popular songs
Had pictorials published in "Sunday News" and "Song Hits" in 1952 and 1954 respectively
Her popularity on Canadian radio earned her the informal title Canada's first lady of song

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