Person in history
Keely Smith
Keely Smith, American singer and actress (born 1928)
Life at a glance
- Died
- 2017 · December 16
Their story
Who they were
Dorothy Jacqueline Keely, professionally known as Keely Smith, was an American jazz and popular music singer, who performed and recorded extensively in the 1950s with her then-husband Louis Prima, and throughout the 1960s as a solo artist.
Path and career
Career When Smith was 11 years old, she sang regularly as a cast member of The Joe Brown Radio Gang program on a Norfolk station. [ 1 ] At age 14, Smith sang with a naval air station band led by Saxie Dowell . At 15, she got her first paying job with the Earl Bennett band. She saw Louis Prima perform in New York City in 1949. [ note 1 ] [ 2 ] They recorded together in 1949 and married on July 13, 1953. [ 2 ] [ 3 ]
Why this date
Keely Smith appears on our December 16 calendar for 2017 as a death entry.
Sources
Cite this page
“Keely Smith”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/people/keely-smith, accessed October 28, 2026.
Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.
Questions about Keely Smith
When did Keely Smith die?
December 16 2017.
Who else was born on this day?
The date page lists everyone we hold for that calendar day.
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