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Zoe Gail

Zoe Gail
Born20 February 1920
Cape Town, Cape Province, Union of South Africa
Died20 February 2020(2020-02-20) (aged 100)
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1943; div. 1950)​
ChildrenStacy Jefferson

Zoe Gail[1] (20 February 1920 – 20 February 2020) was a South African-born British-American actress.

Early life

Gail was born Zoe Margaret Stapelton in Cape Town, Cape Province, Union of South Africa.[1] She was an actress known for Tonight at the London Palladium (1955), No Orchids for Miss Blandish (1948), Lady Luck (1948) and Here's Looking at You.[2][3][4][5] Gail was also known for her comedic abilities. She was married to Hubert Gregg with whom she had one child, Stacey Gregg,[6] and also married to Bert Bernard.[5] Gail was chosen to switch on the lights at the West End of London in 1949 nearly a decade after they were turned off at the outbreak of World War II.[6] She stood in a spotlight on the balcony of the Criterion Restaurant at Piccadilly Circus, dressed in black top hat, white tie and tails, she sang her hit song I’m Going to Get Lit Up When the Lights Go Up in London.[7][8][9] Then she said "Abracadabra, hey Presto" and switched on the lights. She then quickly tossed her top hat into a crowd of ten thousand people. But Zoe had not gotten universal admiration when she first sang the song in Strike a New Note[10] at the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1943. J B Priestley disapproved of her “strange, hermaphroditic garb”.[11]

Death

On 20 February 2020, Zoe Gail died in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on her 100th birthday.[12][13]

References

  1. ^ a b "Zoe Gail". IMDb.
  2. ^ "Zoë Gail". BFI. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018.
  3. ^ "Lady Luck". October 9, 1948. p. 27 – via BBC Genome.
  4. ^ "Here's Looking at You". April 5, 1947. p. 23 – via BBC Genome.
  5. ^ a b "Zoe Gail". IMDb.
  6. ^ a b Obituaries, Telegraph (February 21, 2020). "Zoe Gail, singer who switched on the lights in Piccadilly after the wartime blackout – obituary" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  7. ^ "Shazam". Shazam.
  8. ^ "London's Lights & Brighton's Go Up Again AKA The Lights Go On Again In Uk. (1949)". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  9. ^ "Britain Lights Up (1949)". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  10. ^ "Strike a New Note (1943 play)". Silver Sirens.
  11. ^ "Zoe Gail, singer who switched on the lights in Piccadilly after the wartime blackout – obituary". 21 February 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Zoe Gail: the lady who switched the lights on". The Rock'n'Roll Routemaster. 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  13. ^ "Zoe Gail, singer who switched on the lights in Piccadilly after the wartime blackout – obituary". The Telegraph. 2020-02-21. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
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