Grammy-nominated recording artist, 90-year-old Marilyn Maye returns to the Celebrity Room at Dino's Backstage, 287 N. Keswick Ave. in Glenside, on Nov. 15 to 17.

by Len Lear

I was unable to confirm it by Googling, but I would bet a year’s pay that Marilyn Maye is the oldest cabaret singer ever to be touring nationally in the history of popular music. The legendary singer, who has been performing professionally for an unbelievable 75 years and appeared more times (76) on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson than any other guest, is booked through 2019, performing all across the U.S. at the age of 90!

(Tony Bennett still performs occasionally at age 92 and Peggy King at 88, and Elaine Stritch performed almost up until her death at 89 in 2014, but no one except Maye has toured the country for performances at age 90.)

And as part of her national tour, the indomitable entertainment icon will be performing at The Celebrity Room at Dino’s Backstage, 287 North Keswick Ave. in Glenside, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 15 through 17, 8:30 p.m. each evening, with dinner seating at 7.

For the past dozen years, Maye, who was called “super singer” by Johnny Carson, has performed steadily in New York cabarets and theaters, including Rose Hall, The Appel Room and Dizzy’s, all within Jazz at Lincoln Center. In the last two years, she has performed with the Wynton Marsalis Orchestra three times, and she performs annually for extended stays at Feinstein’s 54 Below, Birdland, the 92nd Street Y Theater and many others.

How much more difficult is it to travel and perform at age 90 compared to decades ago? “It is, and always has been, 'not easy,' but traveling and performing are part of the business,” Maye told us last week. “The good news is that today the presenters who contract me are most considerate of the fact that it’s ‘not easy,’ so they help to arrange with airline tickets and ground transportation.”

Born Marilyn Maye McLaughlin in Wichita, Kansas, the musical legend began her career as a child, competing in amateur contests in Topeka, Kansas, where her father, a pharmacist, owned a drugstore. She was accompanied on piano by her mother, who named her after singer Marilyn Miller. She began her musical training with her mother at the age of 3. At age 9 she began taking voice lessons in Topeka.

At age 14, while attending junior high school, she auditioned for songwriters Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and was so impressive that she was given a 15-minute radio show on KRNT in Des Moines, Iowa. Moving to Kansas City, Missouri, she came to the attention of Steve Allen, originator of The Tonight Show. Allen invited her to appear on his show; and shortly thereafter, she signed a recording contract with RCA Victor.

The legendary Marilyn Maye in 1967 at the age of 39.

Maye received a 1966 nomination for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Her version of the “Cabaret” became a hit, and after singing on a commercial for Lincoln Mercury, she was given a new car every year for four years. Marilyn sang in nightclubs and musicals such as “Mame,” “Can-Can” and “Hello, Dolly.” At 78, her career was revived in 2006 when she performed at Lincoln Center at a benefit for the Mabel Mercer Foundation.

If Marilyn had it all to do over again, would she do anything differently? “I feel the circumstances I have lived through during my life, good and bad, only add to my attitude toward life and my way of delivering the lyrics. This is one of the main reasons I am so careful about what each song says lyrically when I choose to do the song.”

Maye believes her most impressive characteristic that enabled her to have such a long career is “a positive attitude and a sense of humor,” although “I’m certainly glad I have my voice and my performing abilities.”

In all of her thousands of performances, the most memorable one was “singing for Princess Grace in Monaco at a private gathering, but each time I performed for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show was memorable and most important to my career and my life.”

Who were Maye’s own favorite performers of the last 60 years or so? “Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Torme for their jazz interpretations. Steve Allen, Alan King and Shecky Greene for great comedic value and Brian Stokes Mitchell, a consummate performer of today.”

What is the best advice Maye ever received? “Don’t tell EVERYTHING you know.”

What is the hardest thing she has ever done in her 90 years? “Leave my husband, who was a genius pianist/accompanist but an alcoholic!”

What talent that Maye does not have would she most like to have? “Learn to cook, to be creative like various great chefs I know.”

For more information or reservations for Maye's three performances, call 215-884-2000 or visit dinosbackstage.com