Shirley Dinsdale
| Shirley Dinsdale | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 31, 1926 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 1999 (aged 72) Stony Brook, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Ventriloquist/Television & Radio personality |
| Years active | 1940–1986 |
| Spouse(s) | Frank Layburn (1953–her death) |
Shirley Dinsdale Layburn (October 31, 1926 – May 9, 1999), better known by her maiden name of Shirley Dinsdale, was an American ventriloquist and television and radio personality of the 1940s and early 1950s.
She is best remembered for her dummy, "Judy Splinters", and for the early 15-minute children's television show that bears that name. In 1949, she received the first ever Emmy award (first award in the first presentation) for Outstanding Television Personality when she was a student at UCLA. After her television career, she also achieved success in a second career as a cardiopulmonary therapist.
Dinsdale was born in San Francisco, California in 1926. After being badly burned in a household accident when she was 5 years old, she was given a ventriloquist's dummy by her father, who manufactured dummies for department stores, as part of her recovery. That dummy, which she named Judy Splinters, inspired her to make her break into radio. Lawrence Johnson, a ventriloquist, helped Dinsdale improve her natural talent for throwing her voice.
Dinsdale was an A student at Drew School in San Francisco. By the time she was 16, she had received a Distinguished Honor Citation from the United States government for her promotion of war bonds. During the war, she was student chairman for Southern California Schools at War.
Dinsdale made her start in radio in 1941 with a program, Judy in Wonderland, on KGO in San Francisco. The program later moved to KPO in San Francisco.
In 1942, she and her family moved to Los Angeles and she was given a spot on Eddie Cantor's program. She was called "radio's most refreshing discovery in years." A successful season on Nelson Eddy's Electric Hour program on CBS in 1945 led to a tour lasting almost 11 months, during which she visited patients in military hospitals under the auspices of the United Service Organizations and participated in more than 500 USO shows during that span.
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