LOWER LAKE — The Lower Lake Historical School Preservation Committee will host singer and actress Peggy King for a one-night performance on July 8. “An Evening with Peggy King” takes place at 7 p.m. in Weaver Auditorium at the Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum, located at 16435 Main St. in Lower Lake.
King started her career singing with Charlie Spivak and his orchestra, then with Ray Anthony and Ralph Flanagan. According to Assistant Curator Dwain Goforth, King is probably best remembered as “Pretty Perky Peggy King,: the singer on the 1950s Emmy-winning George Gobel Show.
King released a number of popular records and has performed in movies including “Zero Hour” and “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy” and made guest appearances on many TV shows, including The Jack Benny Show, The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show. King also acted in a number of television shows, including Maverick, Dragnet and the Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-television musical film, “Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates.”
King has starred in stage productions of “Kiss Me Kate” and “Meet Me in St. Louis,” toured with Bill Haley and the Comets and co-hosted the Emmy Awards show with Danny Kaye. She was nominated for an Emmy Award and named the Best New Singer of 1956 by Downbeat and Billboard magazines.
For her television career, King has earned a star on Hollywood Boulevard. In 2010, she was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame.
Terry Gross, host of NPR”s “Fresh Air,” has said, “Peggy King is one of the foremost interpreters of American music. She should be declared a national treasure.”
King is still performing for benefit and tribute concerts around her home in Philadelphia.
In Lower Lake, King will be singing a number of jazz and popular songs from the 1930s and 1940s, with music by Rodgers & Hart, the Gershwin brothers, Jerome Kern and others and will also share stories of movie and TV celebrities. There will be a question/answer period after the main performance.
All tickets cost $8. Proceeds will go toward museum improvements.
Seating is limited so early reservations are advised; attendees can reserve tickets by calling the museum at 995-3565. The Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
