On Betsy Gay and the Whole Gay Family

Well, what do you know about that? A theme of sort emerges today. February 2 is the birthday of Betsy Gay (b. 1929), a cornfed child performer who sang, danced and yodeled, and it’s also the birthday of Emmett Miller, whose singing featuring elements of yodeling, as well as Frank Weaver of the distinctly rural Weaver Brothers and Elviry. On top of being National Ukulele Day and Ground Hog Day.

Surprisingly, the Gays were from Connecticut. The parents, Professor Charles and Helen Gay, had a music school where they taught singing, piano, banjo, violin, bass, accordion, and guitar. The children were all trained in music; Betsy joined the family act when she was three. When she was six, she began appearing in Our Gang films such as The Pinch Singer (1936), Arbor Day (1936), Came the Brawn (1938), and The Our Gang Follies of 1938. Her other films include The Marx Brothers’ At the Circus (1939), in which she plays a Little Person, When You’re in Love (1937) with Cary Grant and Grace Moore, Nothing Sacred (1937) with Fredric March and Carole Lombard, It Happened in Hollywood (1937) with Richard Dix and Fay Wray,The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938), the all-star Bachelor Daddy (1941), How Spry I Am (1942) with Andy Clyde, and What’s Buzzin’ Cousin? (1943) with Eddie “Rochester” Anderson and Ann Miller.

In 1943, Gay shifted gears and joined her family on their regular radio show, where they performed western music, showcasing her yodeling skills. In 1946 she released two singles “Belle Of The Old Barn Dance” and “Slam My Door When You Go Out”, both written by her mother. In the early 1950s, Betsy and her sister Mary Lou recorded as “The Gay Sisters”, no apparent reference to the 1942 movie with Barbara Stanwyck,Geraldine Fitzgerald, and Nancy Coleman. With and without her sister Betsy Gay performed with various bands and on several different radio shows throughout the ’40s and into the early ’50s. In 1948 she became a cast member of several different early local L.A. tv shows, including the Squeakin’ Deacon’sCountry Store and Cliffie Stone’sHometown Jamboree. From 1954 to 1956 she was a regular on a show called Town Hall Party and from 1957 through 1959 she was on Country America. After this she retired to raise her own brood of five children.

For more about show business historyconsult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, And please stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.