Biography
Jimmy Boyd first gained widespread recognition for recording the holiday novelty number “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” at age thirteen in 1952, yet the McComb, Mississippi native born January 9, 1939 to Leslie and Winnie Boyd enjoyed a far broader career that encompassed singing, acting, and live performance. His grandfather, the regionally celebrated fiddler known as Fiddler Bill, sparked an early interest in music; by four Boyd was already playing guitar, and at seven he began regular appearances on Texas Jim Lewis’s radio programs. A talent-contest victory led to a spot on The Frank Sinatra Show, after which he secured a contract with Columbia Records and issued several charting singles, among them the blockbuster “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” the duet “Dennis the Menace” with Rosemary Clooney, and three collaborations with Frankie Laine: “The Little Boy and the Old Man,” “Poor Little Piggy Bank,” and “Tell Me a Story.”
Although his recording career waned by the late 1960s, Boyd had simultaneously maintained an acting presence, holding recurring roles on the sitcoms Bachelor Father and Date with the Angels. In 1960 he portrayed a biology student in the Spencer Tracy film Inherit the Wind. He also pursued stage work, completed two USO tours of Vietnam in the late 1960s, and later fashioned a stand-up comedy act that toured the country for several years as part of a combined music-and-comedy revue. Settling in California upon retirement, Boyd devoted his time to tennis and sailing until his death from cancer on March 7, 2009 in Santa Monica.
Although his recording career waned by the late 1960s, Boyd had simultaneously maintained an acting presence, holding recurring roles on the sitcoms Bachelor Father and Date with the Angels. In 1960 he portrayed a biology student in the Spencer Tracy film Inherit the Wind. He also pursued stage work, completed two USO tours of Vietnam in the late 1960s, and later fashioned a stand-up comedy act that toured the country for several years as part of a combined music-and-comedy revue. Settling in California upon retirement, Boyd devoted his time to tennis and sailing until his death from cancer on March 7, 2009 in Santa Monica.
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