Lesley Gore was a singer-songwriter and actress best known for her 1963 smash single “It's My Party." The famous anthem for teenage longing became a hit when Gore was still just a junior in high school. She was signed by Quincy Jones to Mercury Records, giving Jones his first smash single as a producer.
Jones and Gore continued to work together until 1966, creating the singles “Maybe I Know” and “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows.” Her next big hit was with "You Don't Own Me," also produced by Jones. An assertion of independence and pride, it was used during the 2012 presidential campaign urging women to vote.
She frequented many variety and talk shows during her time in the limelight, appearing on Shindig!, Hullabaloo, The Joey Bishop Show, The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, among many others. As an actress, she played the role of Pussycat, a sidekick to Catwoman, in the 1966 television series Batman. She also played Bo Peep in the 1968 television movie The Pied Piper of Astroworld.
Lesley Gore was a singer-songwriter and actress best known for her 1963 smash single “It's My Party." The famous anthem for teenage longing became a hit when Gore was still just a junior in high school. She was signed by Quincy Jones to Mercury Records, giving Jones his first smash single as a producer.
Jones and Gore continued to work together until 1966, creating the singles “Maybe I Know” and “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows.” Her next big hit was with "You Don't Own Me," also produced by Jones. An assertion of independence and pride, it was used during the 2012 presidential campaign urging women to vote.
She frequented many variety and talk shows during her time in the limelight, appearing on Shindig!, Hullabaloo, The Joey Bishop Show, The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, among many others. As an actress, she played the role of Pussycat, a sidekick to Catwoman, in the 1966 television series Batman. She also played Bo Peep in the 1968 television movie The Pied Piper of Astroworld.
Although she largely stayed out of the limelight, Gore resurfaced in 1980 when the song she co-wrote with her brother for the Fame soundtrack, “Out Here On My Own,” was nominated for a Best Original Song Academy Award. The Oscar ended up going to her brother, Michael Gore, for his song "Fame."
Gore came out to the public when she served as host on a few episodes of the PBS LGBT newsmagazine series In the Life.
She died on February 16, 2015, in New York City at the age of 68.
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