Meri Bell

Bell was born in Indiana, but her family moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina soon after. She was educated at St. Genevieve's convent in Asheville, North Carolina, after which she returned to Indiana. She entered a singing contest at WFBM, an Indianapolis CBS station, and sang at the station for some time. After a brief stint in Chicago, she got an audition for Music Corporation of America, and got a two-year contract with Arnheim and his orchestra.

While on the West Coast, she also did dubbing for movies, and sang the vocals for Kay Francis, Joan Blondell, and Jean Harlow. She did some personal tours around the country, and eventually she landed in New York, where she appeared on the CBS show "Five Star Revue", alongside tenor Morton Bowe, Ray Sinatra And His Orchestra and Bill Johnstone.

She married radio announcer Del Sharbutt on 23 March 1936. They moved to Palm Desert, California in 1976. She was the mother of Christian songwriter and musician M.D. Ridge.

Born: 18 October 1912 in Seymour, Indiana, USA
Died: 15 February 1991 in Palm Desert, California, USA