Zoe Gail

Zoe Gail
Born20 February 1920
Cape Town, Cape Province, Union of South Africa
Died20 February 2020(2020-02-20) (aged 100)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
OccupationsSinger, actress
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1943; div. 1950)​
ChildrenStacy Jefferson

Zoe Gail (born Zoe Margaret Stapelton; 20 February 1920 – 20 February 2020) was a South African-British singer and actress.

Life and career

Gail was born Zoe Margaret Stapelton in Cape Town, Cape Province, Union of South Africa. She was known as a musical comedy star in London, headlining revues at the Comedy Theatre, the Hippodrome, and the Palladium. She had not, however gotten universal admiration when she first sang the song in Strike a New Note at the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1943. J B Priestley disapproved of her “strange, hermaphroditic garb”.

Her film appearances included No Orchids for Miss Blandish (1948), and she was on the television variety show Tonight at the London Palladium (1955).

Gail was chosen to switch on the lights at the West End of London in 1949 nearly a decade after they were turned off at the outbreak of World War II. She stood in a spotlight on the balcony of the Criterion Restaurant at Piccadilly Circus, dressed in black top hat, white tie and tails, she sang her hit song I’m Going to Get Lit Up When the Lights Go Up in London. Then she said "Abracadabra, hey Presto" and switched on the lights. She then quickly tossed her top hat into a crowd of ten thousand people.

Personal life

Gail was married to Hubert Gregg with whom she had one child, actress Stacey Jefferson, and also married to Bert Bernard.

1951 accident

While on honeymoon in France, Gail and her new husband were involved in a road accident, which resulted in her leg being virtually crushed from knee to ankle. Despite Drs advising she many never be able to walk again, she recovered sufficiently to perform again at London's Cafe de Paris in January 1953

Death

On 20 February 2020, Zoe Gail died in Las Vegas, Nevada on her 100th birthday.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Zoe Gail, singer who switched on the lights in Piccadilly after the wartime blackout – obituary". The Telegraph. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  2. ↑ "Zoe Gail". IMDb.
  3. 1 2 "Zoe Gail: the lady who switched the lights on". The Rock'n'Roll Routemaster. 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  4. ↑ "Strike a New Note (1943 play)". Silver Sirens.
  5. ↑ "Zoe Gail, singer who switched on the lights in Piccadilly after the wartime blackout – obituary". 21 February 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  6. ↑ "Zoë Gail". BFI. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Lady Luck". October 9, 1948. p. 27. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021 – via BBC Genome.
  8. ↑ "Here's Looking at You". April 5, 1947. p. 23. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014 – via BBC Genome.
  9. ↑ "Shazam". Shazam.
  10. ↑ "London's Lights & Brighton's Go Up Again AKA The Lights Go On Again In Uk. (1949)". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  11. ↑ "Britain Lights Up (1949)". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  12. ↑ "Zoe Gail". IMDb.
  13. ↑ Daily Mirror page 16, Wednesday January 14th 1953