OBITUARIES - Oct. 18, 1999

Ella Mae Morse; Blues, Rock Singer

Ella Mae Morse, 75, whose 1942 recording of “Cow Cow Boogie” became Capitol Records’ first million-selling single. Hollywood publicist Alan Eichler described Morse as “a black-trained white ‘hepchick’ who flirtatiously belted a unique roadhouse mix of boogie-woogie, blues, jazz, swing and country.” Morse, who stopped recording in 1957 but performed until 1987, collected 10 gold records and sold 100 million discs, including the rock ‘n’ roll classic “The House of Blue Lights.” Among her other hits were “Mr. Five By Five,” “Pigfoot Pete,” “Shoo Shoo Baby,” “Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet,” “Patty Cake Man,” “40 Cups of Coffee” and “The Blacksmith Blues.” Born in Mansfield, Texas, Morse was singing with her parents’ ragtime band by age 9. At 14, she talked her way into a Dallas audition with Jimmy Dorsey and won the post as his girl singer--until authorities learned she was a minor. Moving with her then-divorced mother to San Diego, Morse sang at a servicemen’s club called Eddie’s, where she reunited with Dorsey pianist Freddy Slack. His band had just been signed by Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs to do the novelty song “Cow Cow Boogie” on their new label, Capitol Records. The record was a hit and established both the new record company and Morse. The singer appeared in a handful of 1940s motion pictures, including “Reveille with Beverly,” “South of Dixie” and “Ghost Catchers.” Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is on Vine Street near the landmark Capitol Records building. On Oct. 16 in Bullhead City, Ariz., of respiratory problems.

Leo Lionni; Artist, Children’s Author

Leo Lionni, 89, eclectic artist and graphic designer who created everything from advertisements to children’s books. Born in the Netherlands, Lionni spent his teens in the United States and youth in Italy, developing into a cutting edge abstract painter and graphic artist. But he fled fascist Italy in 1933 to move to Philadelphia, where he became art director of the advertising agency NW Ayer. There he designed advertising campaigns for such clients as Ford and General Electric and often employed such contemporary artists as Willem de Kooning to illustrate the sales pitches. In the 1950s, Lionni became art director for Fortune magazine and edited catalogs for New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum. “Little Blue and Little Yellow,” his first children’s book, was published in 1959 and was created from a story he had made up to entertain and educate his grandchildren. Its protagonists were a blue dot and a yellow dot whose adventures blend them together into Little Green. Lionni went on to write and illustrate 30 children’s books, which have been published in 11 languages. He moved back to Italy in 1961, working as art director for the magazine Panorama and sculpting in bronze. On Oct. 11 in Radda, Italy, of complications of Parkinson’s disease.