Kallen, Katie "Kittie'

Kitty Kallen (1921–2016) was a popular American singer whose career spanned the big-band era, radio, television, and popular music. Born Katie Kallen in Philadelphia, she began performing as a child and rose to national prominence in the 1940s as a vocalist with the bands of Jimmy Dorsey and Harry James. Her distinctive voice helped make songs such as “Besame Mucho,” “Little Things Mean a Lot,” “In the Chapel in the Moonlight,” and “My Coloring Book” major hits. By the 1950s she had become one of the most successful female vocalists in the United States, earning gold records and regular appearances on radio and television.

Kallen developed strong ties to Englewood, New Jersey, where she and her husband, George DeWitt, made their home for decades. Newspaper accounts from the 1960s and 1970s frequently identified her as an Englewood resident, and she participated in numerous civic and charitable activities throughout Bergen County. She supported local fundraising efforts, modeled in benefit fashion shows, appeared at community events, and assisted charitable campaigns including UNICEF and programs supporting children’s causes. Her involvement reflected the broader role many entertainers played in the civic life of suburban Bergen County during the postwar era.

Although her career took her around the world, Kallen repeatedly expressed affection for Englewood. Later interviews noted that she spent summers at her longtime Englewood home and appreciated the city’s proximity to New York while offering a quieter suburban lifestyle. In 1978, after an erroneous wire-service report mistakenly announced her death, Bergen County newspapers humorously reassured readers that “Kitty is alive, well and living in Englewood.” The episode underscored how closely she had become associated with the community.

Today, Kitty Kallen is remembered both as one of the leading female vocalists of the mid-twentieth century and as a longtime Englewood resident who used her celebrity to support local charities, community organizations, and cultural events throughout Bergen County.

Press of Atlantic City, September 7, 1949 (“Kittie Kallen Heads Show On Steel Pier”).

The Herald-News (Passaic-Clifton), May 20, 1963 (Democratic Women fashion show in Bergen County featuring Kitty Kallen of Englewood).

The Record (Hackensack), November 19, 1963 (UNICEF Christmas card fundraiser in Englewood).

The Morning Call, November 11, 1964 (Children’s Concert Fund benefit fashion show featuring Kitty Kallen of Englewood).

The Record, May 11, 1968 (Bergen County Women for McCarthy fundraiser appearance).

The Record, April 21, 1978 (“Kitty is alive, well and living in Englewood”).

The Record, August 13, 1995 (“Many little things later, Kitty Kallen turns into an icon”).

William Gottlieb

Library of Congress

1949

Public Domain