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''''Gisèle MacKenzie''' (January 10, 1927 - September 5, 2003) was a [[Canada|Canadian]]-American [[singer]], most famous for her performances on the popular [[television]] program ''[[Your Hit Parade]]''. She was born '''Gisèle Marie-Louise Marguerite LaFlèche''' in [[Winnipeg, Manitoba]], and studied [[violin]] and voice at [[The Royal Conservatory of Music]] in [[Toronto, Ontario]]. She had her own [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] [[radio]] program, ''Meet Gisèle'', before moving to [[Los Angeles, California]] in 1951. She became a naturalized US citizen in 1955. MacKenzie possessed a crystalline, resonant singing voice. She had perfect pitch. It has been said that she was one of the greatest female vocalists of her generation. She recorded [[record album|album]]s and [[45rpm]] [[single (music)|single]]s on various [[record label]]s, most notably [[Capitol Records|Capitol]] and [[RCA Records|RCA]]. Her biggest selling song was "[[Hard To Get]]" in 1955. MacKenzie was an accomplished violinist and performed many comedic musical duets with mentor [[Jack Benny]]. She remarked that Benny was so enthusiastic about his own violin playing that at each break in rehearsal he would get his violin and they'd play duets. In an often-played clip, she and Benny perform a violin duet of ''[[Getting To Know You]]'', in which she breaks their synchronization several times to add some extra musical flourishes, to his mock irritation. Finally, he breaks in with a lengthy (and stereotypically mediocre) flourish of his own, and evokes audience laughter with mock indignation: "Fool around with ME, sister!" She sang frequently on early television shows such as ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]'', ''[[The Dinah Shore Chevy Show]]'', and ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]''. She appeared often at [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] venues and in numerous North America concerts. In the U.S., she appeared on radio on such stars' programs as [[Bob Crosby]] and [[Mario Lanza]]. She also hosted a radio show entitled ''Airtime''. In 1952 and 1953 she toured with Benny, who recommended her for ''Your Hit Parade''. During her tenure on that show, "Hard to Get" became a hit. MacKenzie appeared on the show for several years, finally leaving in 1957 to head her own short-lived variety program, ''[[The Gisele MacKenzie Show]]''. She returned to television in 1963 on ''[[The Sid Caesar Show]]'' and was a panelist on many quiz programs. In later years MacKenzie performed widely in [[musical theater]] in such shows as ''[[Mame]]'', ''[[Gypsy: A Musical Fable|Gypsy]]'', ''[[The Sound of Music]]'', and ''[[Hello, Dolly! (musical)|Hello, Dolly!]]'' She turned to acting in the 1990s, making guest appearances on television series including ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' and ''[[MacGyver]]''. MacKenzie has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk Of Fame]] at 1601 Vine. She died from [[colon cancer]], aged 76, in 2003. Her daughter is contemporary jazz artist [[Gigi MacKenzie]]. ==External links== *[http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0002145 Gisele MacKenzie in the Canadian Encyclopedia] *[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533306 Gisele MacKenzie at IMDB] *[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3cc0HlO7so MacKenzie and Benny] {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Gisele}} [[Category:1927 births]] [[Category:2003 deaths]] [[Category:Canadian Americans]] [[Category:Canadian female singers]] [[Category:Canadian immigrants to the United States]] [[Category:Canadian television actors]] [[Category:Canadian violinists]] [[Category:RCA Victor Records artists]] [[Category:Deaths from colorectal cancer]] [[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]] [[Category:People from the Greater Los Angeles Area]] [[Category:People from Winnipeg]] [[Category:Franco-Manitobans]] [[Category:Cancer deaths in California]] [[Category:The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni]]'