The Pittsburgh Press (October 17, 1940)
KAY, GINNY PUZZLE IS IN BALANCE
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If Kyser Number Comes Up Is He Single?
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By Si Steinhauser
The draft has Kay Kyser behind the eight ball. He registered yesterday, for military training, giving his age as 34, his birth date as June 18, 1906. Now if his number comes up in the lottery Kay will have to tell the draft board “Yes” or “No” to what every radio fan wants to know “Is he married to Virginia Simms?”
Kay has had nothing to say about the natter. He has dodged the issue cleverly. Virginia has never tried to dodge it. She told us, frankly, "If I were married to Kay I would be the proudest girl in the land. But if and when I marry – no matter to whom – I will not be found singing with a band or doing another kind of work. I’ll be just an old-fashioned housewife, keeping a home in order.
Virginia said that as though she mean it. But maybe she told a little white lie. Kay showers her with costly gifts, which Ginny identifies only as “from my boyfriend.” She has never said “From Kay.”
Kay gets up at 7 these mornings and spends from 10 to 14 hours on his new talkie, You’ll Find Out. His spare time is devoted to radio.
Here’s a note from him:
I just had a laugh all to myself. If I didn’t laugh, I’d blow my top.
Here I am, writing next week’s broadcast script and figuring out a wire to the recording laboratories. I have a couple of personal appearances to make on special programs day after tomorrow, my manager is waiting at his office for this script, a fellow is waiting here to play a song for me, a publicity man is here to take me someplace to say a few words, the band is due to rehearse in half an hour and I must be there because we’re making records tomorrow? Tell me, what would YOU do first?
To get back to Kay and the draft, if he isn’t married to Gunny, he can truthfully say that he has at least one dependent, Kay has been providing for his mother in queenly style. He has kept his silence about this and about the draft, expecting to do whatever the country asks of him.
Kay isn’t the only orchestra leader who has folks thinking he is single and may be married. We know several who are married. We know several who are married and have been keeping their status a “secret” for feminine appeal. They’ll break a lot of fan hearts, soon.