PENNY SINGLETON BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Penny Singleton, originally named Mariana Dorothy Agnes Letitia McNulty, was born on September 15, 1908. She was an American actress with a career that spanned over sixty years, and is most noted for her role as Blondie in a series of movies that ran from 1938 until 1950. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an Irish-American newspaper man who gave her the nickname Penny, which she would later choose as her professional name. Her show business career began as a child, for she would sing and dance onstage at a local silent movie theatre. She later toured with a vaudeville group called “The Kiddie Kabarat”, and then went on to perform with people like Milton Berle and Gene Raymond. Eventually she made it to Broadway. In 1937 she moved to Hollywood to further her career in acting. Singleton’s first screen job was in the short “Belle of the Night” (1930). However, she was billed as Dorothy McNulty. Her first picture was “Good News” (1930), in which she had played the same part in the stage production three years prior. In 1936 she appeared as a nightclub dancer in the film “After the Thin Man”, still credited as Dorothy McNulty. The year following, she married dentist Lawrence Singleton, and changed her professional name to Penny Singleton.

Apparently this was the alteration she needed, for in 1938 she was cast in over ten different pictures, not limited to “Swing Your Lady”, “Boy Meets Girl”, “Secrets of an Actress”, and “The Mad Miss Manton”. As well, she was given the role opposite Arthur Lake in the Columbia Pictures feature “Blondie”, which was based off of the internationally popular comic strip by Chic Young. Their roles were repeated on a radio comedy show, and they went on to make a total of twenty eight “Blondie” films. In each movie, Singleton, with her bleached blonde hair (she was a natural brunette) would outsmart her dimwitted husband Dagwood Bumstead, played by Arthur Lake. Some of their motion pictures include “Blondie Has Servant Trouble” (1940), “Blondie’s Lucky Day” (1946), “Blondie Hits the Jackpot” (1949), and their final film, “Beware of Blondie” (1950). Singleton was very dedicated to this role, and throughout her time as this character she only appeared in one other movie, “Young Widow” (1946).

Following her role as Blondie, Singleton pretty much only found work in television. The actress made appearances in a few series. However, she voiced Jane Jetson in “The Jetsons” (1962-85) TV show, two television movies titled “The Jetsons Meet the Flinstones” (1987) and “Rockin’ with Judy Jetson” (1988), as well as one major motion pictures called “Jetsons: The Movie” (1990). The latter was her final contribution to acting. On November 12, 2003, Singleton passed away following a fatal stroke. She has one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her involvement in the motion picture industry.

Filmography

1990     Jetsons  : The Movie
1990     The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera
1988     Rockin' with Judy Jetson
1987     The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones
1986     Murder, She Wrote
1964     The Best Man
1964     Twilight Zone
1963     Death Valley Days
1962     The Jetsons
1950     Pulitzer Prize Playhouse
1950     Beware of Blondie
1950     Blondie's Hero
1949     Blondie Hits the Jackpot
1949     Blondie's Big Deal
1948     Blondie's Secret
1948     Blondie's Reward
1947     Blondie's Anniversary
1947     Blondie in the Dough
1947     Blondie's Holiday
1947     Blondie's Big Moment
1946     Blondie Knows Best
1946     Blondie's Lucky Day
1946     Young Widow
1945     Life with Blondie
1945     Leave It to Blondie
1943     Footlight Glamour
1943     It's a Great Life
1942     Blondie for Victory
1942     Blondie's Blessed Event
1942     Blondie Goes to College
1941     Go West, Young Lady
1941     Blondie in Society
1941     Blondie Goes Latin
1940     Blondie Plays Cupid
1940     Blondie Has Servant Trouble
1940     Blondie on a Budget
1939     Blondie Brings Up Baby
1939     Blondie Takes a Vacation
1939     Blondie Meets the Boss
1938     Blondie
1938     Hard to Get
1938     The Mad Miss Manton
1938     Garden of the Moon
1938     Campus Cinderella
1938     Secrets of an Actress
1938     Boy Meets Girl
1938     Mr. Chump
1938     Racket Busters
1938     Men Are Such Fools
1938     Outside of Paradise
1938     Swing Your Lady
1937     Sea Racketeers
1937     Vogues of 1938
1936     After the Thin Man
1930     Love in the Rough
1930     Good News