Shirley Ross

Shirley Ross
Bob Hope and Shirley Ross in 1938
Born	Bernice Maude Gaunt (1913-01-07)January 7, 1913 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	March 9, 1975(1975-03-09) (aged 62) Menlo Park, California, U.S.
Other names	Bernice Dolan Blum
Occupation	Singer, actor, pianist
Years active	1927–1946
Spouse(s)	Ken Dolan (m. 1938–51, his death) (2 children) Eddie Blum (m. 1955–75, her death) (1 child)
Children	3
Parent(s)	Charles Burr Gaunt and Maude C. (née Ellis) Gaunt

Shirley Ross (January 7, 1913 – March 9, 1975) was an American actress and singer, notable for her duet with Bob Hope, "Thanks for the Memory" from The Big Broadcast of 1938. She appeared in 25 feature films between 1933 and 1945, including singing earlier and wholly different lyrics for the Rodgers and Hart song in Manhattan Melodrama (1934) that later became "Blue Moon."

Ross was born Bernice Maude Gaunt in Omaha, Nebraska, the elder of two daughters of Charles Burr Gaunt and Maude C. (née Ellis) Gaunt. Growing up in California, she attended Hollywood High School and UCLA, training as a classical pianist. By age 14, she was giving radio recitals and made her first vocal recordings at 20 with Gus Arnheims’s band. Here she attracted the notice of the up-and-coming songwriting duo Rodgers and Hart, who selected her to sell their latest offerings to MGM. One song, which was later re-written as "Blue Moon," led to a successful screen test in 1933 and then to a number of small parts in films that included Manhattan Melodrama with Clark Gable and William Powell in which, made up to look black, she sang "The Bad in Every Man," the original version of "Blue Moon," in a Harlem nightclub.

In 1936, MGM loaned her to Paramount, and she was paired with Ray Milland in The Big Broadcast of 1937. Although this was officially a leading role, the Big Broadcast format included a busy programme of musical comedy sketches with big-name performers who somewhat overshadowed her. But one press review declared that she had ‘one of the sweetest voices of any actress on the screen’ and predicted a big future for her. Paramount signed her to a five-year contract; meanwhile her introduction to the songwriting team of Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger would prove significant.