Nancee South
| From: cvmnrob@e... Date: Mon Nov 13, 2000 12:51 am Subject: Nancy South |
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I remember people discussing Nancy South on Classmates and just thought I'd share this info that I just found on the vchs communities site on the ISU server.. Rob W-58 -------------- Nancy South Still charming and talented, Nancee South is a living Wabash Valley entertainment legend. For 25 years - beginning in July 1954 when WTHI-TV became Terre Haute's first television station -"Nancee" hosted her own show each Sunday and, as staff organist, was a regular on The Jerry Van Dyke Show (with Joseph Benti and Ben Falber), The Helen Ryan Show, The Amateur Show and other local productions. On March 4, 1957, she secured national renown by winning first place on the CBS Talent Scouts show hosted by Arthur Godfrey. Appearances with the McGuire Sisters, vocalist Julius LaRosa, actor Peter Lind Hayes and a multitude of show business proposals followed. Nancee spurned those chances to remain in the community where her career was launched as a youngster. Ernest "Chick" and Mary Frances (Organ) South's daughter - then a dance student under Archileen Chambers - made her public debut at age eight by emerging from a large paper Clabber Girl can during a formal dance at the Mayflower Room in the Terre Haute House. Encouraged by her mother, she began taking piano lessons at age seven from Adeline Schulmeyer, her tutor for nine years. As a Deming School student, she made appearances as a singer, drum major and dancer - both tap and ballet - and began studying the pipe organ. When Nancee was 13, her former babysitter Doris Luckenbill Boyd urged her to audition as the house organist at the Wigwam skating rink at 27th and Wabash. Impressed by the pretty teenager's zest, owner Louis Strecker hired her; he wasn't sorry. Nancee was a fixture at the Wigwam for five years. Meanwhile, she embraced opportunities to freelance at weddings and funerals while anchoring Garfield High School musical events. She was also the Maple Avenue Methodist Church organist and appeared at the Hippodrome Theater in Municipal Musical productions under Al Hodgini's direction. Despite her many extracurricular ventures, Nancee was selected the most popular girl in her senior class. After Nancee graduated, Mona and John Carpita asked her to provide dinner music at the elegant Castle Roma at Fruitridge and Wabash, working with veteran musician Clarence Daugherty. The experience served her well, preparing her to entertain adult audiences. Members of the Terre Haute Elks Lodge - where she was club organist for 35 years - and patrons at homecoming celebrations, several Indiana State Fairs and dining rooms throughout the Wabash Valley and in Beverly Hills, Calif., can attest to her proficiency. Dr. John L. Thompson, now minister at the Good Hope Baptist Church in Clay City, is Nancee's son by her marriage to Paul Thompson. She has four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. In 1956, she married Ben Falber Jr., an accomplished pianist who for many years served as executive vice president of WTHI. Mark B. Falber of Terre Haute is her stepson. Nancee's father died in 1957; her mother, now Mary F. Walker, resides in Terre Haute. |