Born Manfrey Lecta Duke in Jackson, Georgia, she learned to sing in a choir at her church, likely the Macedonia Baptist Church in Jackson, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. She began her career as a soloist in 1933 on radio in Atlanta and after winning a radio audition contest around 1934, Duke headed to New York City, where, from December 30, 1934, to 1936 (and later), she sang regularly on NBC radio and the Mutual Broadcasting Company. She was billed as a blues singer and contralto.
Her radio broadcasts included performances with the orchestras of Leon and Nathan Brusiloff and Paul Whiteman. In 1935, her broadcast performances were sometimes with The Charioteers, a male choral quartet. Beginning December 30, 1934, Duke sang on WOR two or three times a week, typically Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 5:15 pm. She sang 15-minute segments, usually. The WOR broadcasts were carried on the Mutual Network. From Mid to late-1930s, Duke, as vocalist, was the star attraction for Manny Gates and his Orchestra in Miami. She joined Jolly Coburn's Orchestra, a society band, around July 1937 after playing a piano stint at a Boston nightclub. Duke also sang with the Shep Fields Orchestra in 1937 (in Philadelphia).
On New Year's Eve 1940, Duke debuted with the Vaughn Monroe Orchestra at the Statler Hotel Boston, eight months after Monroe founded the orchestra. Monroe formed his orchestra April 1940 in Miami at the urging and sponsorship of band agent Willard Alexander and New England–based band leader Jack Marshard, who saw an opportunity when offered two simultaneous bookings. Marshard became his manager. Marylin Duke was Monroe's first female vocalist. She had been working as a pianist-singer at a Boston nightclub; but because an infected finger interrupted her playing, she auditioned for Vaughn Monroe and was promptly signed.
Her notoriety rose rapidly during her tenure with Monroe and traveled and recorded as his featured singer. Duke was a tall brunette, and according to journalists, attractive and was acclaimed for having an engaging personality. In fact, she was known as the tallest female singer in the business. Published accounts state that she was 5'9". She left the Monroe Orchestra around June 1943 to join the WAAC, but instead, continued performing, which included a two-month stint with Tommy Dorsey. That same year Duke also sang with Will Osborne and His Orchestra. Filling the void, Monroe hired Phyllis Lynne, in Los Angeles, to replace Duke. Monroe gave Lynne her East Coast debut on September 14, 1943, in New York City at the Paramount. Duke was a blonde when she re-joined Monroe's band in 1944. Her recorded hits with Vaughn Monroe include "There'll Be Some Changes Made" and "The Trolley Song," the latter being a late-1944, post-Petrillo-ban, rush-to-market, swing band vocal duet with Monroe.
In September 1944, she married Peter O'Brien, a Boston amusement park owner. (They adopted two sons, Michael and Patrick. Their marriage ended in divorce.) She then permanently left the orchestra in April1945. By December she was performing at the Music Box in Boston. After her career with big bands and into the late 1960s, she performed on-and-off as a nightclub pianist-singer in the metropolitan areas of Boston, New York City, and Newport, Rhode Island.
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| Marilyn at the Moulin Rouge '55 |
Duke was a heavy smoker and had problems, before her stroke, with alcohol; Marilyn smoked Camel Cigarettes, the brand that Vaughn Monroe promoted beginning 1946. She suffered a stroke in 1990 and was treated at Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta. Her maternal 1st cousin, Marilyn Jean Howell, cared for her until her death August 7, 1995, aged 78 years. Duke is buried in Crest Lawn Memorial Park, Atlanta, in the family plot of her maternal Aunt Clara Belle Tarrant.
(Edited from Wikipedia)