Occupation(s) Musician Name Ada Leonard | Role Musical performer Genres Jazz, Swing music | |
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Born July 22, 1915
Lawton, Oklahoma ( 1915-07-22 ) Died November 29, 1997, Santa Monica, California, United States Movies Meet the Missus, Forty Naughty Girls Similar People Peggy Gilbert, International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Clora Bryant, Ina Ray Hutton, Lil Hardin Armstrong | ||
Ada Leonard
Ada Leonard (July 22, 1915 – November 29, 1997) was an American bandleader.
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She was the leader of the All-American Girl Orchestra, the first all-girl group to tour with the USO during World War II. The big-band band leader was a performer with a background in musical performance.
Early life
Ada Leonard was born in Lawton, Oklahoma on July 22, 1915. Her father was an actor, and her mother a dancer who also played several different musical instruments. Before she embarked on her career as a big band leader, she performed as a burlesque dancer.
Musical career
While Leonard played the cello and the piano, she did not play either instrument professionally.
The Ada Leonard Orchestra was the first all-girl band officially signed by the USO, and they performed at army camps throughout the United States during World War II. From 1952 to 1954, she hosted a variety show on television and subsequently went on to realize her ambition of leading an all-male big band.
She was married, and widowed, twice: first to George L. McCall, who had managed her career; and, subsequently, Dr. Harold Bernstein, one of the founders of the Reiss-Davis Clinic. She died in Santa Monica, California on November 27, 1997, at the age of 82.