Gordon MacRae was born in East Orange, New Jersey,[2] to parents William LaMont MacRae, a toolmaker and radio singer, and Helen Violet Sonn, a concert pianist.[3] His father was descended from Clan MacRae. MacRae attended Nottingham High School in Syracuse, New York, where he was active in the Drama Club.[4] He later attended and graduated in 1940 from Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and thereafter served as a navigator in IX Troop Carrier Command in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.
He made his Broadway debut in 1942, acquiring his first recording contract soon afterwards. Many of his recordings were made with Jo Stafford.[2]
Radio
On the radio in 1945, his talents were showcased on the Gordon MacRae Show on the CBS network in collaboration with the conductor Archie Bleyer.[6] In 1946, his fifteen minute variety show Skyline Roof also featured emerging musical talent, including the accordionist John Serry Sr.[7][8][9] MacRae was also the host and lead actor on The Railroad Hour, a half-hour anthology series made up of condensed versions of hit Broadway musicals.[10] The programs were later released as popular studio cast albums, most of which have been reissued on CD.[11]
MacRae signed a contract with Warner Bros. in 1947. In 1948, he appeared in his first film, The Big Punch, a drama about boxing.[2] He followed this with a film noir with Virginia Mayo, Backfire (made in 1948, released 1950).
During Christmas 1958, MacRae and Ford performed the Christmas hymn "O Holy Night".[13] Earlier in 1958, MacRae guest-starred on the short-lived NBC variety series The Polly Bergen Show.
MacRae was married to Sheila MacRae from 1941 until 1967.[14] They met on the set of a play and it was "love at first sight."[15] The couple were the parents of four children, including actresses Heather and Meredith MacRae. Sheila later married television producer Ronald Wayne.[15]
MacRae's second marriage was to Elizabeth Lambert Schrafft on September 25, 1967, and together they had one daughter. They remained married until his death. He battled alcohol problems for many years, but overcame them by the late 1970s.[2]
MacRae had cancer of the mouth and jaw.[2] He died in 1986 of pneumonia, at his home in Lincoln, Nebraska, aged 64.[16] He was buried at the Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska.
MacRae replaced Frank Sinatra on a radio program in 1943, but he soon had to leave for military service. In 1946, he was the "singing emcee" of The Teentimers Club, a Saturday morning program.[5] From 1945 to 1948 he also hosted and performed on The Gordon MacRae Show for the CBS radio network.[6]
He also appeared in programs as shown in the table below.
^McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 338. ISBN0-14-02-4916-8.
