Gale Garnett, In the Sunshine

I contemplated writing about a much more famous Canadian actor this morning, one who’d certainly attract more clicks, but that’s not how we roll on Travalanche. Mission first, clicks second. And Gale Garnett (b. 1942) is closer to our ordinary beat(s) than the other chap, whom we will inevitably write about anyway. His name rhymes with Ronald Rutherland, and his fame requires no amplification from a gnat like me, although like I say, he’s on my agenda, and like Garnett he was born of a July 17, as were Jimmy Cagney; Phyllis Diller; Will Ferrell; Art Linkletter; Diahann Carroll; Cass Daley;Acquanetta; and the creator of Perry Mason.

As for Garnett, she is best known for her catchy, self-penned 1964 single “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine”, which went all the way to #4 on the pop charts. A sort of modern classic, the tune was also covered widely on television over the years on the variety shows of Dolly Parton, Sonny and Cher,Dean Martin, and The Muppets.

Born in New Zealand, Garnett spent the second half of her childhood in Canada, before coming down to the States in the early ’60s, where she sang in Greenwich Village clubs like the Blue Angel, and appeared in guest starring roles on shows like Bonanza and Have Gun Will Travel. She supplied the voice for Princess Dala in the original Pink Panther movie (1963), played bodily by Italian actress Claudia Cardinale. In 1967 she got one of her best roles, if only as a voice-over, the part of Francesca in Rankin-Bass’s Mad Monster Party. And naturally she was on numerous TV variety shows in support of her records, such as Kraft Music Hall, and The Pat Boone Show.

I was especially delighted to learn that in 1975, she collaborated with Tom O’Horgan on music for H.M. Koutoukas’s play Starfollowers in an Ancient Land at LaMaMa, also appearing in the cast. That’s REALLY what tipped the balance towards featuring her here over a much better known movie star today. She’s got theatrical street cred! All the while she continued recording albums and playing live, acting in solo theatre pieces, appearing on television shows like Kojak, and acting in films like Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990) and My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002).

Over the last quarter century Garnett has focused on writing, including the novels Visible Amazement (1999), Transient Dancing (2003), Room Tone (2007), and Savage Adoration (2009), as well as dozens of essays, columns, and reviews for periodicals.

To learn more about show biz history, please see my book No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, and stay tuned for my next book Electric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety, coming November 2023.