Karen Kay (TV personality)

Karen Kay
Born Adrianne Judith Pringle
18 July 1947
Blackburn, Lancashire, England
Occupation Comedian, actress, TV impressionist, singer
Spouse(s) Mervyn Kay (?-?)
Children Jay Kay (born 30 December 1969; by Luís Saraiva)

Karen Kay (born Adrianne Judith Pringle;[1] 18 July 1947)[2] is a British former jazz singer, cabaret singer, comedian and impressionist. She is the mother of acid jazz singer Jay Kay.

Life and career

Kay was born Adrianne Judith Pringle in Blackburn, England, the daughter of Ethel (Hesmondhalgh) and James S. Pringle.[2] When she was young, her mother died, and after living briefly with the family of her cousin Margaret Tomlinson, she was adopted by the Cheetham family, [then living in Preston, Lancashire].[2] Karen's adoptive father Victor (Vic) Cheetham was a fighter pilot in WW2, he served in Burma with RAF 113 Squadron flying Hurri-bombers supporting the infantry in a very successful action around Dimapur and Palel in 1944.

Judith, as she was then known, made her professional debut in the Black and White Minstrel Show, Blackpool when she was 16. About this time she adopted the stage name Karen Kay.

On 30 December 1969 while living in Stretford, Greater Manchester, she gave birth to twins boys, Jason and David. A few weeks after birth, David died.

Karen Kay became a regular guest at the Starlight Club in Little Harwood, and was tipped as The Face of 1979.[2] She worked together with Lenny Henry and David Copperfield on a TV series entitled Six of a Kind, which later was produced without her under the title Three of a Kind.[2]

Karen Kay has appeared and acted in Lennie and Jerry (1979), Des O'Connor Tonight (1981), Max Bygraves Side by Side (1982), The Bob Monkhouse Show (1983) and Aspel and Company (1985). She had her own television series Karen Kay in 1983.

In 1983 her son Jason and stepfather Mervyn spent six months in Thailand. Years later Jay Kay formed the band Jamiroquai.

References

  1. ↑ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.; at ancestry.com
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Star's secret past (From This Is Lancashire)". thisislancashire.co.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2010.

External links

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