Pat Suzuki

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American singer

title: "Pat Suzuki" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1930-births", "living-people", "american-women-pop-singers", "traditional-pop-music-singers", "american-musical-theatre-actresses", "singers-from-california", "american-actresses-of-japanese-descent", "american-musicians-of-japanese-descent", "american-television-actresses", "japanese-american-internees", "rca-victor-artists", "vik-records-artists", "actresses-from-california", "people-from-merced-county,-california", "american-women-musicians-of-japanese-descent", "20th-century-american-women", "21st-century-american-women", "san-jose-state-university-alumni"] description: "American singer" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Suzuki" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American singer ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

FieldValue
namePat Suzuki
imagePat Suzuki 1967.JPG
captionSuzuki in 1967
backgroundsolo_singer
birth_nameChiyoko Suzuki
birth_date
birth_placeCressey, California, United States
instrumentVoice
genreTraditional pop
labelRCA Victor
associated_actsFlower Drum Song (original Broadway cast)
module{{Infobox
header1Signature
below[[File:Signature of Pat Suzuki on a 4" x 6" index card, October 30, 1976 (cropped to signature).jpg
::

|name = Pat Suzuki |image = Pat Suzuki 1967.JPG |caption = Suzuki in 1967 |background = solo_singer |birth_name = Chiyoko Suzuki |alias = |birth_date = |birth_place =Cressey, California, United States |instrument = Voice |genre = Traditional pop |label = RCA Victor |associated_acts = Flower Drum Song (original Broadway cast) |module = {{Infobox|child=yes | header1 = Signature | below = [[File:Signature of Pat Suzuki on a 4" x 6" index card, October 30, 1976 (cropped to signature).jpg|150px|alt=Suzuki's signature from an index card]] Pat Suzuki (born Chiyoko Suzuki; September 22, 1930) is an American popular singer and actress, who is best known for her role in the original Broadway production of the musical Flower Drum Song, and her performance of the song "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in the show.

Early life

Suzuki is a Nisei or second-generation Japanese American, and was born Chiyoko Suzuki,

In February 1942, a few months after the United States entered World War II, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. Under XO 9066, the Suzuki family and more than 110,000 other Japanese American residents of the U.S. Pacific coast states were forced to evacuate their homes and enter American internment camps. The Suzukis were sent to the Merced Assembly Center and later, the Granada War Relocation Center in Colorado. The Suzuki family left Granada to work on a sugar beet farm and returned to California after the war.

During the early 1950s, Suzuki attended five colleges, earning teaching credentials for elementary and secondary schools. After deciding against a career in education, she decided to travel to Europe, but ran out of money in New York, so she obtained a part in a touring production of the play, The Teahouse of the August Moon.

Career

While touring with the company, Suzuki took on gigs singing in nightclubs to cover her expenses, and ended up becoming a local celebrity at the Colony Club in Seattle in 1955, appearing for three years and more than 2,000 consecutive performances.

After appearing on Jack Paar, Richard Rodgers called Suzuki to offer her the role of Linda Low, Suzuki's rendition of "I Enjoy Being a Girl" is deemed to be the definitive recording. Suzuki and Flower Drum Song costar Miyoshi Umeki were photographed by Philippe Halsman for the December 22, 1958 cover of Time.

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However, Suzuki did not appear in the 1961 film version of Flower Drum Song. Actress Nancy Kwan performed the role in the film and singer B. J. Baker dubbed her singing voice. Suzuki had married photographer Mark Shaw on March 28, 1960 and had given birth to their son David shortly before the film was being shot; in addition, Kwan had recently become notable for starring in The World of Suzie Wong.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Pat_Suzuki_Pat_Boone_Chevy_Show_1959.JPG" caption="Pat Suzuki with the host on ''[[The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom]]'' in 1959"] ::

In 1960 Suzuki was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category, for her album "Broadway '59". When Shaw was serving as the photographer for John F. Kennedy, the couple became close friends with the Kennedys, and Suzuki performed at Kennedy's inaugural ball in 1961 as a Hawaiian politician in a stereotypical accent, which Suzuki later described as "pretty corny."

However, Suzuki had largely retired from show business after David's birth. She returned to touring nightclubs in 1963 (including several on the Sunset Strip), Reportedly, Shaw had returned home one day to the New York apartment they shared with their son and, after describing his exciting fashion shoot earlier that day, enquired about Suzuki's activities, prompting her to launch the nightclub tour.

Throughout the 1970s, Suzuki appeared regularly on stage. She played the role of Ma Eng in the off-Broadway production of Frank Chin's The Year of the Dragon.

In 1999, Taragon Records released The Very Best of Pat Suzuki on compact disc. The compilation album collected recordings originally made for her first four albums on RCA Victor, including a performance of "Love, Look Away", the torch song for the character of Helen Chao in Flower Drum Song (music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II), originally issued on her 1959 album, Pat Suzuki's Broadway '59.

Her original LPs are on display at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, Washington.

Suzuki continues to sing and act on stage in small and major venues such as Lincoln Center. She has actively supported Asian American civil rights, and, together with Sab Shimono, hosted the 2018 podcast Order 9066, which detailed the history of Executive Order 9066 with first-person accounts.

''How High the Moon''

Suzuki's haunting studio cover version of "How High the Moon" (music by Morgan Lewis and lyrics by Nancy Hamilton) was released on her eponymous album in 1958. The cover is anachronistically featured in the motion picture Biloxi Blues during the opening credits and in a later dance scene between the characters Eugene Jerome and Daisy (played by Matthew Broderick and Penelope Ann Miller, respectively).

The same recording is also featured in the 1989 film Eat a Bowl of Tea.

Personal life

Suzuki married photographer Mark Shaw in March 1960. The couple divorced in 1965.

Discography

  • 1958 - The Many Sides of Pat Suzuki (Vik)
  • 1958 - Pat Suzuki (Vik)
  • 1959 - Pat Suzuki's Broadway '59 (RCA Victor)
  • 1959 - Flower Drum Song (Original Broadway Cast) (Columbia)
  • 1960 - Looking at You (RCA)

References

References

  1. According to Family Tree Legends (an online birth records database that documents California births between 1905 and 1995) the only "Chiyoko Suzuki" born in Cressey, CA (Merced County) was born September 22, 1930, not September 23, 1934 as it is often reported. [http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/39461?c=search&first=Chiyoko&last=Suzuki]
    1. Pat Suzuki
  3. Cross, Lucy E.. (2018). "Pat Suzuki". Sony Music Entertainment.
  4. "Japanese American Internee Data File: Chiyoko Suzuki". [[National Archives and Records Administration]].
  5. Sanefuji, Noriko. (13 March 2018). "A new podcast: Order 9066". National Museum of American History.
  6. Thomas, Bob. (5 October 1963). "Pat Suzuki Returns To Show Business". Daytona Beach Morning Journal.
  7. (2018). "Pat Suzuki". Densho Encyclopedia.
  8. "Flower Drum Song (St. James Theatre, 1958)". Playbill.
  9. (26 September 2020). "Christine Jorgensen -- I Enjoy Being a Girl".
  10. (December 22, 1958). "Cover".
  11. (30 March 1960). "Pat Suzuki Married". Desert Sun.
  12. (1960-04-11). "Milestones, Apr. 11, 1960". Time, Inc.
  13. "Milestones, Nov. 28, 1960".
  14. Komai, Chris. (11 September 2014). "Don't Forget Pat Suzuki".
  15. (19 September 2012). "Never-before-seen Kennedy family photos released". CBS This Morning.
  16. "The Lost Inaugural Gala for JFK: Never-Before-Seen Performances". PBS.
  17. Purdum, Todd. (February 2011). "From That Day Forth".
  18. "Pat Suzuki". American Public Media Reports.
  19. "The Very Best of Pat Suzuki: The RCA & Vik Recordings".
  20. {{discogs master
  21. "Biloxi Blues". Library of Congress.
  22. Wang, Oliver. (8 June 2003). "Eat a Bowl of Tea (1989)".
  23. "4 Apr 1961, 19 - Honolulu Star-Bulletin at Newspapers.com".
  24. "23 May 1965, 132 - Honolulu Star-Bulletin at Newspapers.com".
  25. {{discogs master
  26. This album is also known as ''Miss Ponytail'' or ''Miss Pony Tail''.
  27. {{discogs master
  28. {{discogs master

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1930-birthsliving-peopleamerican-women-pop-singerstraditional-pop-music-singersamerican-musical-theatre-actressessingers-from-californiaamerican-actresses-of-japanese-descentamerican-musicians-of-japanese-descentamerican-television-actressesjapanese-american-interneesrca-victor-artistsvik-records-artistsactresses-from-californiapeople-from-merced-county,-californiaamerican-women-musicians-of-japanese-descent20th-century-american-women21st-century-american-womensan-jose-state-university-alumni