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Carmel
Quinn
 Carmel
Quinn still remains one of the great singers and storytellers
in entertainment today. She was a headliner during the first
Milwaukee Irish Fest in 1981 and over twenty years later she
remains a crowd-pleaser as her fans will testify to from her
shows at Irish Fest 2002.
Carmel Quinn was born in Dublin, Ireland.
Her father was an excellent violinist and the family was quite
musical. Upon completion of her early schooling, she entered
college with the intention of becoming a teacher, but soon
thereafter took a chance on an audition for singers at the
Dublin Theater Royal. She won a week's engagement, and went
from there to the Crystal Ballroom for two months. Another
audition won her a permanent spot with Johnny Devlin's Orchestra,
and other orchestra and theatrical engagements followed. At
length she went to London and made her radio debut over the
BBC.
Carmel married Bill Fuller who at the time
owned ballrooms in Dublin and in London. Because of the large
amount of Irish immigrating to the States he decided to open
ballrooms in New York, Boston, Chicago & San Francisco
where the Irish were amassing again. His ventures were all
successful. When Carmel came to America, in March of 1954,
it was to perform in these ballrooms.
A few months later she appeared on the Arthur
Godfrey Talent Scouts program and won the contest. Her husband
was back in Ireland and didn't even know that she was on the
program until he heard that she won it. The prize was to appear
on the show for the next three days. She did; and she stayed
on as a "regular" for six additional years. American
audiences loved her songs and her humorous tales about life.
Carmel was one of many popular stars today
that got their start from Irish-American Arthur Godfrey's
show. These include Pat Boone, the McGuire Sisters, Tony Bennett
and Connie Francis. Two big stars missed by the show's screening
staff were Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, both flunked the
show's auditions.
 After
leaving the Godfrey show, Carmel became a popular guest on
many of America's favorite talk shows. These include the Today
Show, the Tonight Show, the Ed Sullivan Show, the Dick Cavett
Show, the Merv Griffin Show, Nashville Now, Live with Regis
and Kathie Lee, the Ralph Emery Show, and Candid Camera too!
Once again it is her unique charm and talent that endears
her to the audience.
Carmel appeared in numerous stage musicals
such as Finian's Rainbow, The Sound of Music, Wildcat, The
Boy Friend and many others. She also performed for Presidents
John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Her annual concert
at Carnegie Hall has sold out for over 25 years. Her numerous
recordings have received accolades from every sector of the
populace. Her special love for children engendered "Patrick
Muldoon and His Magic Balloon" - a recording which earned
her a prestigious Grammy Award nomination, and a recent offer
to do her own children's show. She is also only the second
woman to have received the John F. Kennedy Award for Excellence
in her field of activity.
Whether singing or telling her wonderful
outrageous anecdotes or meeting the great demand for speaking
engagements, she immediately has the audience in the palm
of her hand - making them sing, laugh or reminisce. As one
critic from the Canada Evening Times Globe remarked "
She is a graduate of the Dublin school of stage artistry…their
finest and best known living product…mixing humor with
the pathos of story-telling and superb showmanship…no
one quite beguiles an audience so quickly or more effortlessly."
Carmel has a great affection for America.
Nearly all of her concerts contain some patriotic songs. She
does a lot of charity work in New York for Catholic schools
and for literary programs. She also spends time with her four
children and three grandchildren. After 50 years in show business
Carmel is still going strong.
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