Page Morton born 27 October 1915

Page Morton (1915-2013) was a cabaret singer who married William Black, founder of the catering and coffee business Chock full o'Nuts. As Page Morton Black she was known for singing the "Heavenly Coffee" jingle on the company's televised advertisements and sponsored broadcasts. When Black died in 1983, she took over his charitable work with the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.

Morton was born Page L. Mergentheim on October 15, 1912 and raised in Winnetka, Illinois. Her father was Morton Adolf Mergentheim, a lawyer and professor of law working in the Chicago area. For a period he was a partner in the law firm of Sigmund Zeisler. Her mother, Rose Heymann, was a classically trained pianist who had studied with Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler, wife of Sigmund. Morton’s only sibling was Morton Alexander Mergentheim who was about 3 years older. They were both educated at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois where her highest grade was 4th year.

Morton came from an affluent family but her father lost his money on the markets so she moved to New York with her mother to find work. In 1940 at the age of 18 she was living with her mother on East 43rd Street, having changed her name from Mergentheim to Morton. Her occupation in the 1940 census was given as model, and one newspaper of the period indicates that she was connected to the John Robert Powers modelling agency.When her father died in 1943, his obituary described her as an actress with the stage name of Page Morton.

During the 1940s and '50s she sang and played piano in various New York clubs, hotel bars and restaurants including the Warwick Hotel's Raleigh Room, Café Pierre, the Vanderbilt and the Sherry-Netherland. The band leader Guy Lombardo saw her perform in the Pierre and suggested to William Black that she could sing the advertising jingle for Chock full o’Nuts coffee.

In the 1960s Morton started to work on radio and television shows. She appeared on the Guy Lombardo New Year's Eve special, sponsored by the Chock full o’Nuts company. In 1961 she had her own radio programmes, and appeared on two further New Year's Eve specials, one hosted by Lombardo and the other by Xavier Cugat. She released her first album for MGM called May You Always and sang a duet with Jimmy Durante advertising the coffee brand

William Black had started his business by selling nuts from a stand on Broadway with a $250 start-up fund. As the company grew, he began selling his own vacuum-packed blend of coffee that eventually accounted for 60% of his multi-million dollar turnover. 

In 1951 he divorced his first wife and married singer Jean Martin. She featured on sponsored radio and television programmes for Black and sang the "Heavenly Coffee" jingle. By 1960 Black and Martin were separated and divorced in 1962. Black married Morton in Connecticut on March 27, 1962. She curtailed her singing career after their marriage. But her voice lived on in the jingle, which was broadcast for more than 20 years. Upon frequent and nostalgic request, she continued singing it at public events long afterward.

Chock Full o’Nuts is that heavenly coffee, Heavenly coffee, heavenly coffee.

Chock Full o’Nuts is that heavenly coffee, Better coffee a millionaire’s money can’t buy.

                              

In 1984, "That Heavenly Feeling" re-worded as "The Chock Full o'Nuts" jingle, underwent a final, bizarre lyric change. Henry Jerome turned it into "I Want to Know," and Page Morton Black went into the studio with backing singers and a creepy bass-

baritone…and released the single via Atlantic. The single went nowhere, and the "Chock Full o'Nuts" chain of 25 stores mostly in Manhattan and Brooklyn was eclipsed in the late 80's and early 90's by fast food joints.

After her marriage Morton became a director of Chock full o’Nuts and worked with her husband's philanthropic ventures. Following the death of a friend and colleague in 1957, Black had contributed $100,000 to establish the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. Later he donated several million dollars to medical research. Morton became the unpaid secretary of the Foundation and following the death of her husband in 1983, she took over his role as the chairperson and remained so until 2012.

Even after her career ended, music was still a big part of Black's life she played the piano faithfully every day, and sang, and her two dogs sat right beside her. Page's last dramatic moment came in 2008. Her home in Mamaroneck caught fire, and she was trapped on an upstairs balcony, the elderly lady saved by the timely arrival of the fire department.

She died on July 21, 2013 at her home in the Premium Point enclave of New Rochelle, N.Y. She was 97. Her interment was private but a celebration of her life was held at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel on September 12, 2013.

(Compiled & edited mainly from Wikipedia & New York Times)