- Composer, songwriter ("Down Hearted Blues"), author and singer who was a singer on early recordings after high school, later appearing in the London production of 'Showboat' and at the Palladium and throughout Europe and Egypt. She had a radio program over NBC, and toured Europe and the Pacific entertaining troops during World War II, and later, Korea and Japan. On Broadway she appeared in the stage productions of 'Mamba's Daughters' and 'Mrs. Patterson'. She was also a practical nurse, working at New York's Goldwater Memorial Hospital. Joining ASCAP in 1952, her other popular-song compositions include "Down South Blues", "Chirping the Blues", "My Castle's Rocking", "I Want to Thank You, Lord", "You Got to Reap Just Reap What You Sow", "Will the Day Ever Come When I Can Rest", "Kind Treatment", and "What's the Matter, Baby?".
- IMDb mini biography by: Hup234!
- SpouseWillard Townsend(1919 - 1923) (divorced)
- Although "Show Boat" had opened on Broadway in 1927, and although the character Queenie is a black woman, the role was not played by one until Ms. Hunter played it in London. In the U.S., Queenie was played in the original production by Tess Gardella, a white actress who appeared in blackface.
- Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame in 1996.
- Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 409-411. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.
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