Ireene Wicker

Ireene Wicker (born Irene Seaton, November 24, 1905 – November 17, 1987) was an American singer and actress, best known to young radio listeners in the 1930s and 1940s as “The Singing Lady”, which was the title of her radio program. She added the second 'e' in her first name on the advice of an astrologer.

Early years Wicker's hometown was Quincy, Illinois. She left there at age 15 to go to the University of Illinois, where she said, "I took all the dramatic work there I could find." She studied at the Goodman School of the Theater in Chicago.

Stage Wicker appeared in professional roles at the Goodman Theatre in 1929 and 1930.

Radio Early in Wicker's radio career, she changed the spelling of her first name to Ireene, adding the extra "e" as she was told by a numerologist that one more letter would bring her great success. Despite the title of her show, The Singing Lady, most of it involved Wicker telling adaptations of stories for children,

Television Wicker came to television at WJZ-TV in 1949 with The Ireene Wicker Show in which she told fairy tales. She also had a program, The Singing Lady, on ABC-TV (1948-1950).

In 1950, Wicker was one of several broadcasters whose name was included in the book Red Channels, used by many organizations to blacklist anyone who was included as a supposed Communist "sympathizer". The book charged that she had sponsored a re-election committee for Benjamin J. Davis, a Communist councilman in New York. Although Wicker denied she had even heard of the man, The charges by the House Un-American Activities Committee were later withdrawn with apologies.

Wicker returned to the ABC network in 1953-1954 with Little Lady Story Time, an unusual half-hour series. Here, she told classic fairy tales while a cast of juvenile ballet dancers enacted the storylines. The sponsor was Little Lady toiletries, a line of soaps, powders, and mild cosmetics for young girls. Among the stories produced were "Puss in Boots", "King Midas and the Golden Touch", "Little Red Riding Hood", and "Pinocchio". One episode ("The Green Monkey") of The Ireene Wicker Show and 15 kinescopes of it are housed at the Library of Congress in the J. Fred and Leslie W. MacDonald Collection.

Personal life Wicker married Walter Charles Wicker, a radio writer, producer, and actor; they had a son, Walter Charles Jr., and a daughter, Nancy. In 1941, she became the second wife of businessman Victor J. Hammer.

Recognition On April 19, 1961, Wicker was recipient of a Peabody Award —Personal Award for Children's Programs for her weekly program, The Singing Lady on WNYC radio.

Publication

Ireene Wicker The Singing Lady's Favorite Stories (Whitman, 1934) Ireene Wicker Young Music Makers: Boyhoods of Famous Composers (The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1961)