Wini Shaw
Wini Shaw was born Winifred Lei Momi on February 25, 1907, in San Francisco, California, to James Edmonds Shaw and Esther Pua Kinamu Stephenson. She was of Hawaiian and Irish descent, and the youngest of thirteen children.
Shaw began her time in the entertainment industry as part of her parents’ vaudeville act in 1915 during the San Francisco World’s Fair. The family had a hula act in which Shaw danced as a child. Once the act disbanded, Shaw pursued an independent career.
At 17, Shaw married Leo Cummins and had three children: Elizabeth, James, and John. They divorced in 1933.
Shaw performed in revues and as part of the Ziegfeld Follies of 1931. Additionally, she worked on radio as well as various short-lived Broadway plays and musicals.
Later, Shaw performed in several Warner Brothers musical films, for which she is best known. During this period, Shaw introduced “Lullaby of Broadway” in Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935). Her only commercial recording would be with Dick Jurgens and his Orchestra, which included “Lullaby of Broadway” and “I’m Goin’ Shoppin’ with You” from the film. Shaw also introduced “The Lady in Red” in In Caliente (1935).
By 1939, she left the film industry. During the World War II years, she toured service camps and Red Cross clubs as part of the USO alongside Jack Benny and Larry Adler.
Shaw performed on Broadway and in nightclubs before ultimately retiring in 1955. According to her family, Shaw married three more times, with her final husband being box office manager William “Bill” Joseph O’Malley. When Shaw suffered a stroke from which she did not fully recover, O’Malley remained devoted to her and assisted her throughout this time.
Shaw passed away on May 2, 1982, in New York. Shaw was buried at Calvary Cemetery in New York. Her epitaph credits her performances of “Lullaby of Broadway” and “The Lady in Red,” in addition to the phrase, “I will sing to my God a new song.” She was 75 years old.
In 1910, Shaw and her family resided at 210 N. Hoyt St., Portland, Oregon. The home no longer stands. In 1930, she resided at 111-26 177th St., Jamaica, New York, which stands.
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–Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub
Annette Bochenek pens our monthly Classic Movie Travels column. You can read all of Annette’s Classic Movie Travel articles here.
Annette Bochenek of Chicago, Illinois, is a PhD student at Dominican University and an independent scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the Hometowns to Hollywood blog, in which she writes about her trips exploring the legacies and hometowns of Golden Age stars. Annette also hosts the “Hometowns to Hollywood” film series throughout the Chicago area. She has been featured on Turner Classic Movies and is the president of TCM Backlot’s Chicago chapter. In addition to writing for Classic Movie Hub, she also writes for Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, and Chicago Art Deco SocietyMagazine.
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