Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer songwriter composer and actress in a career spanning six decades From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodmans big band she forged a sophisticated persona evolving into a multifaceted artist and performer She wrote music for films acted and created conceptual record albumsencompassing poetry jazz chamber pop and art songs In 1952 Lee starred in The Jazz Singer a Technicolor remake of the early Al Jolson parttalkie 1927 film of the same name In 1955 she played an alcoholic blues singer in Pete Kellys Blues for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress In 1955 Lee did the speaking and singing voices for several characters in Disneys Lady and the Tramp she played the human Darling the dog Peg and the two Siamese cats Si and Am In 1957 Lee guest starred on the shortlived ABC variety program The Guy Mitchell Show