Stage Name: Ginny Simms
Alternate Names: Ginny Eastvold | Ginny Simms Eastvold | Mrs. Don Eastvold | Virginia Eastvold
Birth Name: Virginia Ellen Simms
Occupation: Singer / Big Band Lead Singer / USO Entertainer / Radio Personality /TV Show Host/ Movie Actress / Travel Agent / Interior Decorator
Years Active as Entertainer: 1935-1952.
Notable Works: She was lead singer for the great Kay Kyser Band, had her own popular radio show during the war and also preformed in 11 films among them: one of Abbot and Costello's funniest comedies Hit The Ice (1943), Broadway Rhythm (1944), Shady Lady (1945) and Night and Day starring Cary Grant and Alexis Smith (1946), her last film was in 1951 Disc Jockey. Her radio show was geared towards the GIs and she did some USO camp shows and entertained at the Hollywood Canteen too.
Date/Place Birth: May 25, 1915, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.
Date/Death/Cause: Ginny died of a heart attack April 4, 1994 at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs, California, U.S.A., aged 78. She is buried at Desert Memorial Park, Cathedral City, Riverside County, California, U.S.A.
Spouse(s): socialite, architect, engineer and founder of the Hyatt Hotel chain, Hyatt von Dehn (1945 - 1951 divorced) 2 children, David Martin Dehn, was born 1946 and Conrad Dehn; wealthy oilman, Bob Calhoun (1951 - 1952 divorced); real-estate developer, former Attorney General of Washington State, Don Eastvold (22 June 1962 - rocky marriage lasted until her death April 4 1994) Don had 5 children when he and Ginny married: twins Shawn and Sharon (11), Donald, Jr. (9), Carl (12) and Diane (14).
Short Biography: She was born in Texas but raised in California and had no accent and did some of her best work as a singer, Kay Kyser's Orchestra who Ginny was lead singer for had one of the most popular and successful big bands of the time and even her best movie works involved her singing. She was commended for the work she did to support our troops; did some good works that were not related to the entertainment industry and raised two sons of her own as well, that's not to mention her last husband had 5 children from his previous marriage. The biography at the the fansite www.GinnySimms.com/ is lengthy, detailed and very good; the Ginny Simms mini biography at IMDb is short but pretty good too.