Juliette Cavazzi born 27 August 1926

Juliette Augustina Cavazzi, CM (née Sysak; 27 August 1926 – 26 October 2017), ,was a Canadian singer and television host.

With her folksy pop style and easy rapport with an audience, big band and country singer Juliette made her CBC Saturday night music variety program Juliette (1956–66) one of Canada’s most popular television shows. Known as “our pet Juliette,” she was the country's most successful television entertainer for more than a decade. She was a Member of the Order of Canada, the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame. Her sister Suzanne, also known only by her first name as a vocalist, is also a member of the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame.

Juliette Sysak was born in suburban Winnipeg to Polish-Ukrainian 
parents. She sang at the local Ukrainian hall and won a number of amateur singing contests before her family moved to Vancouver when she was 10. After singing at the Kitsilano Showboat, she began performing with Dal Richards's orchestra at the Hotel Vancouver at age 13, under the stage name Juliette. At 15, she made her CBC network debut on George Calangis's radio program Sophisticated Strings.

After spending 1943–44 in Toronto, where she appeared on Alan Young's CBC Radio show and with Lucio Agostini's orchestra, she returned to Vancouver and sang on many other CBC Radio programs, including Burns Chuckwagon (a country music show with the Rhythm Pals), and Here's Juliette. She also appeared at Theatre Under the Stars.]

She married musician Tony Cavazzi, who became her manager, and in 1954 the two moved to Toronto, where she co-starred with Gino Silvi on CBC Radio's Gino and Juliette. She was also a featured guest on CBC TV’s Holiday Ranch and a regular performer — introduced as “our pet Juliette” — on Billy O'Connor's The Late Show (1954–56). In 1954 she was approached by American big-band leader Harry James to be his singer for a gig at the Hollywood Palladium. James was a star — Frank Sinatra was one of his old singers. But she turned him down.

In 1956, Juliette became host of the long-running Saturday night music variety program, Juliette (1956–66), succeeding O’Connor’s Late Show on CBC TV. It was one of the broadcaster’s most popular shows of the day, regularly ranking behind only Hockey Night in Canada and the national news in viewership. As the program followed Hockey Night in Canada, it was often shortened or extended depending on when the hockey game ended, adding an extra layer of spontaneity to the live show. The wholesome, conservative program took place on a living room set and featured Juliette beginning each episode with “Hi there, everybody” and ending it with “Goodnight, Mom.”

           Here's "Matchmaker" from her 1968 album "Juliette"

                                 

Despite her popularity with the public, Juliette generally received little love from critics, who typically dismissed her as bland. The ​Globe and Mail’s television critic, Dennis Braithwaite, wrote in 1965 that her show exhibited “an unexciting format, uninspired production, bad writing, unglamorous costuming and a drab image of wholesomeness.” Her show was still ranked in the Top 10 when it fell prey to a new CBC ratings system and was cancelled in 1966.

After appearing in a number of TV and radio specials, Juliette hosted the CBC TV talk shows After Noon (1969–71) and Juliette and Friends (1973–75). She also sang the anthem at the very first home game for the Vancouver Canucks in 1970.

She began winding down her career in the 1980s, retiring to Vancouver and performing at occasional benefits and nostalgia shows. Her husband died in 1988 of Alzheimer's. She later enjoyed a romance with Raymond Smith, a widower and retired president of forestry giant MacMillan Bloedel, who had once been a member of Mr. Richards's orchestra. She rarely performed after the 1990s but during 2004 she made a special appearance at an event marking the 85th birthday of

bandleader Dal Richards with whom she sang regularly up to her retirement.

Juliette recorded two 78s for RCA's “X” label and one with the Rhythm Pals for Aragon in the early 1950s. She later made three LPs for RCA Camden: Juliette (1968), Juliette’s Christmas World (1968) and Juliette’s Country World (1969).She also recorded many transcription discs of the Juliette show. She appeared on a recording of Dolores Claman's musical comedy Timber! (1954) and the compilation album The Saga of Canadian Country and Folk Music (1972).

Juliette died on Oct. 26, 2017 at a Vancouver rehabilitation centre, where she was staying after suffering injuries from a fall. She was 91.  

(Compiled and edited from various sources mainly the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)

Here’s Juliette & Frank Ifield dueting with “Don’t Blame Me” in this CBC "Show of the Week" from 1968.