Pat Suzuki

Infobox musical artist
Name = Pat Suzuki


Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Chiyoko Suzuki
Alias = Pat Suzuki
Born = birth date and age|1934|09|23
Cressey, California, USA
Instrument = Voice
Genre = Traditional pop Standards
Label = RCA Victor
Associated_acts = Flower Drum Song (original Broadway cast)

Pat Suzuki (born September 23, 1934) is an American popular singer and actress who is best known for her role in the original Broadway production of the musical "Flower Drum Song" and her performance of the song "I Enjoy Being A Girl" in the show. Suzuki is a Nisei or second-generation Japanese American. She was born in Cressey, California on September 23, 1934. [ibdb name|61539|name=Pat Suzuki] She was nicknamed "Chibi", which is Japanese for "squirt", as the youngest sister.

She sang at church on Sundays. A few months after the United States entered World War II, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt forced Pat and her family and more than 110,000 other Japanese American residents of the U.S. Pacific coast states to evacuate their homes and enter American concentration or detention camps located either in Western deserts or near Arkansas swamps.

During the early 1950s, she attended college at San Jose State. After moving to New York City, she obtained a part in a touring production of the play "The Teahouse of the August Moon".

She subsequently secured a singing gig in a Seattle night club named The Colony. Bing Crosby attended one of her shows at the club on a summer night in 1957. Her singing so impressed Crosby that he helped her obtain a recording contract with RCA Victor Records. She recorded several albums for RCA Victor, including the 1958 album titled "The Many Sides of Pat Suzuki". She also appeared on several national network television shows, including " The Frank Sinatra Show" on ABC.

Her recordings and television appearances helped her land a lead role in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Broadway production of the musical "Flower Drum Song" in 1958. The scene where Suzuki performs "I Enjoy Being A Girl" was a show stopper. Suzuki's rendition of the song is also the definitive recording.

Suzuki did not appear in the 1961 film version of " Flower Drum Song". Actress Nancy Kwan performed the role in the film and singer B. J. Baker dubbed her singing voice.

Suzuki's studio recording of "How High the Moon" (music by Morgan Lewis and lyrics by Nancy Hamilton) is featured in the opening scenes of the motion picture "Biloxi Blues". The recording is also featured in the film "Eat a Bowl of Tea".

Throughout the 1970s, Suzuki appeared regularly on stage. She played the role of Ma Eng in the off-Broadway production of Frank Chin's The Year of the Dragon. She also appeared in Pat Morita's short-lived television sitcom "Mr. T and Tina", the first sitcom starring an Asian American family.

In 1999, Taragon Records released "The Very Best of Pat Suzuki" on compact disc. The compilation CD contains some of her best recordings for RCA Victor, including a beautiful performance of "Love, Look Away" (music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II) from her 1959 album, "Pat Suzuki's Broadway '59".

Her original LPs are on display at the Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington.

Suzuki continues to sing and act on stage in small and major venues such as Lincoln Center.

She has actively supported Asian American civil rights.

Suzuki's husband was photographer Mark Shaw, and they had a son.

References

External links

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* [http://www.themewl.com/movies/index.html An MP3 of Suzuki's recording of "How High the Moon" from the 1950s]