{"id":7888,"date":"2026-08-27T23:06:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T23:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7888"},"modified":"2026-08-27T23:06:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T23:06:37","slug":"jaye-p-morgan-dies-at-94-1950s-era-pop-star-made-gonzo-turn-as-gong-show-judge-in-1970s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7888","title":{"rendered":"Jaye P. Morgan dies at 94; 1950s-era pop star made gonzo turn as ‘Gong Show’ judge in 1970s"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

By MARK KENNEDY | Associated Press<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Jaye P. Morgan, one of the top female recording artists of the 1950s with five hits in 1955 alone, including \u201cThat\u2019s All I Want From You,\u201d and who later became a frequent talk show guest and game show panelist, infamously taking off her shirt on \u201cThe Gong Show,\u201d has died. She was 94.<\/p>\n

Read more Member of Baby Blue Wrecking Crew convicted of murdering two men for the Aryan Brotherhood<\/a><\/p>\n

Morgan died Monday of natural causes in Longview, Washington, said Mark Sendroff, longtime attorney and friend. She had been living with her nephew and niece, Duke Morgan Spencer and Peggy Sue Spencer.<\/p>\n

Morgan\u2019s Top 10 hits were \u201cThat\u2019s All I Want From You\u201d and \u201cThe Longest Walk.\u201d Her Top 20 hits were \u201cDanger! Heartbreak Ahead,\u201d \u201cIf You Don\u2019t Want My Love\u201d and \u201cPepper-Hot Baby.\u201d She also had two Top 20 hits with Perry Como, \u201cChee Chee-Oo Chee (Sang the Little Bird)\u201d and \u201cTwo Lost Souls,\u201d and a hit with Eddy Arnold called \u201cMutual Admiration Society\u201d that reached No. 47 on the Billboard singles chart.<\/p>\n

Later she would become a regular guest on \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d and make appearances with Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett and Mike Douglas as well as spots on \u201cLove Boat\u201d and \u201cFantasy Island.\u201d But it was her years hamming it up as a celebrity judge \u2014 along with Jamie Farr and Rip Taylor \u2014 on the chaotic \u201cThe Gong Show\u201d starting in 1976 that cemented her fame.<\/p>\n

On the show, amateur performers tried out their acts, and when one of the judges couldn\u2019t stand it anymore, they smashed a gong, ending the proceedings. Whichever performer won the day\u2019s show received a check for the random amount of $516.32.<\/p>\n

On one episode, Eugene Patton \u2014 the dancing stagehand performing as Gene Gene the Dancing Machine \u2014 started his thing when Morgan opened her shirt to expose her breasts, helping bring an end to the show\u2019s run on NBC in 1978.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt paid good money, and it was great exposure. I really enjoyed it,\u201d she told the Los Angeles Times in 1992.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cJaye P. Morgan\u2019s devil-may-care ad libs on television game shows have probably made her more famous as a personality than as a singer,\u201d The New York Times wrote in 1984. \u201cBut the same kooky recklessness that inspires Miss Morgan\u2019s remarks is also a part of her musical sensibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her film credits include \u201cThe All-American Boy\u201d with Jon Voight, \u201cLoose Shoes,\u201d \u201cThe Gong Show Movie,\u201d \u201cNight Patrol\u201d and the 2002 Miramax release \u201cConfessions of a Dangerous Mind,\u201d directed by George Clooney.<\/p>\n

Jaye P. Morgan\u2019s early life<\/h4>\n

Morgan was born Mary Margaret Morgan in a log cabin in Mancos, Colorado, and her show business career started early. At the age of 3, she was part of the Morgan Family, a traveling vaudeville act that included her mother, her father, her sister and five brothers. The group disbanded after their father\u2019s death in 1945.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018All hell will break loose\u2019: UFC 250 attack plotters also planned to ravage Bay Area data centers, FBI says<\/a><\/p>\n

Morgan was class treasurer of her California high school and her peers nicknamed her J.P. after the 19th century financier J.P. Morgan. She later feminized it by changing the initial J to Jaye.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

But by the time she was 17, she was singing professionally again, and in 1950 she joined Frank De Vol\u2019s orchestra, singing with it for three years.<\/p>\n

Her recording career got underway via \u201cLife Is Just a Bowl of Cherries\u201d and \u201cJust a Gigolo\u201d with De Vol on a small label, Derby Records, that reached No. 26 on the Billboard chart. That led RCA Records to come calling with a recording contract.<\/p>\n

She was a regular on the Robert Q. Lewis national daytime variety TV show and the nighttime game show \u201cStop the Music\u201d hosted by Bert Parks. In 1954, DownBeat magazine\u2019s annual DJ poll crowned her best new female singer of the year. She took her nightclub act on the road and made her Las Vegas debut at the New Frontier Hotel & Casino.<\/p>\n

Morgan\u2019s onscreen career<\/h4>\n

Morgan even got her own TV show in 1956 \u2014 \u201cThe Jaye P. Morgan Show,\u201d which featured four of her brothers. Her solo albums include \u201cJaye P. Morgan\u201d \u2014 produced by Davis Foster \u2014 \u201cJay P. Morgan Lately!\u201d and a joint album with Kaye Ballard called \u201cLong Time Friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

An appearance on \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d opened up a career for her on television talk shows and she kept returning to Johnny Carson for five years. \u201cI take my body everyplace I go,\u201d she joked to the host in a 1972 episode. She also was a guest on \u201cThe Odd Couple\u201d playing herself and singing their goofy song \u201cHappy, Peppy and Bursting with Love.\u201d<\/p>\n