Kitty Jean (Bilbrew) Lee (1923 - 2009)

Born 7 Jul 1923 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States

Ancestors

Died 11 Aug 2009 at age 86 in Palm Springs, Riverside, California, United States

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Biography

Kitty (Bilbrew) Lee is Notable.

Known by the professional name "Kitty White" after her marriage, Kitty was born 7 July 1923 in Los Angeles to Ralph Richard Bilbrew and Alice Caldonia (Harris) Bilbrew.^[1] Kitty had a twin sister, Maudie Jeanette Bilbrew.

Kitty in 1930 was aged 6, living with her parents Ralph R. Bilbrew and A. C. Bilbrew and her mother's sisters Clara Simpson and Amy Harris.^[2]

Her parents were musicians and singers, and her uncle was a well-known vaudevillian and disc jockey. After appearing in Los Angeles nightclubs from the age of sixteen, Kitty branched out and opened at the Black Orchid in Chicago, where she was introduced to executives at Mercury Records, who signed her to a recording contract.

In 1940 Kitty's parents were divorced; she was age 16 and living with her mother Alice C. Bilbrew and her twin sister Maudie. Also with them was a half-sister Roberta U. Scott age 25 b Texas.^[3]

Kitty married songwriter Edward White on 8 Dec 1940 in Los Angeles.^[4] Her husband was the son of Lory White and Mattie Lee Harvey.

She was cast to sing "The Lullaby Song" in the film "The Night of the Hunter" (1955). Her other film credits included "Kiss Me Deadly" (1955), "The Magnificent Matador" (1955), "Pillow Talk" (1959) and "Wall of Noise" (1963). In the 1960s, she recorded for the jazz division of Mercury Records with hits including "The End", The Ballad of Emmett Till", "Roly Poly", "Rather Have the Blues" and "I Went to Your Wedding". She also performed and recorded with jazz artists, Duke Ellington, Laurindo Almeida, Red Callendar, Buddy Collette and Ben Webster.

She sang a duet, "Crawfish," with Elvis Presley in the 1958 film "King Creole."

She sang at the Spa Hotel in Palm Springs for sixteen years. A link to her Wikipedia page is here:^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPHG-4TDM : 1 March 2021), Kitty Gean Bilbrew, 7 Jul 1923; citing Birth, Los Angeles, California, United States, California State Archives, Sacramento.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCVF-H9J : accessed 7 December 2021), Kittie J Bilbrew in household of Ralph R Bilbrew, Los Angeles (Districts 0251-0500), Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 298, sheet 11A, line 9, family 140, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 144; FHL microfilm 2,339,879.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9C1-V61 : 6 January 2021), Kitty Jean Bilbrew in household of Alice C Bilbrew, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 60-474, sheet 8B, line 50, family 212, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 413.
4. ↑ "California, County Marriages, 1850-1952," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K8VJ-4DH : 9 March 2021), Edward White and Kitty Jean Bilbrew, 08 Dec 1940; citing Los Angeles, California, United States, county courthouses, California; FHL microfilm 2,114,461.
5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_White

• "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VS71-DMV : 12 January 2021), Kitty Jean Lee, 11 Aug 2009; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK28-3GJD : accessed 7 December 2021), Kitty White, California, United States, 03 Sep 2009; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Los Angeles Times, born-digital text.