Veteran Singer and Former Gong Show Judge Jaye P. Morgan Dies at 94
Jaye P. Morgan, known for her singing career and as a judge on The Gong Show, died on August 24 at age 94, according to her family.
Jaye P. Morgan, a singer, actress and former panelist on The Gong Show, died on Monday, August 24, her family said. She was 94 and a resident of Castle Rock, Washington; the announcement did not disclose a cause of death.
Born Mary Margaret Morgan on Dec. 3, 1931, in Mancos, Colorado, she adopted the stage name Jaye P. Morgan after classmates likened her to the financier J.P. Morgan. She began performing on vaudeville stages as a child and appeared in the 1935 film Stars Over Broadway.
In her teens she sang with Western swing musician Hank Penny in Los Angeles. After high school she joined the Frank DeVol Orchestra as lead female vocalist from 1950 to 1953, and later recorded several pop singles, including “That’s All I Want from You” and “Pepper-Hot Baby.”
Morgan entered television in 1955 as a regular on The Robert Q. Lewis Show and subsequently appeared on a range of variety programs such as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Perry Como Show and The Steve Allen Show. She maintained a public profile through the 1970s with frequent guest spots on talk shows and sitcoms, and sang the theme for the 1975 NBC series Fay.
From 1976 to 1978 she served as a celebrity judge on Chuck Barris’s syndicated talent show The Gong Show, where her witty remarks became a hallmark of the program. Barris later cast her in related projects, including The Chuck Barris Rah-Rah Show, The $1.98 Beauty Show and the 1980 film The Gong Show Movie. She also appeared as herself in the 2002 film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.
Morgan is survived by her son, Paul.