Dorothy J. (O'Kash) Gamsa

Dorothy J. (O’Kash) Gamsa passed from this life on Wednesday, March 25, 2015. She was born February 10, 1917 in Duluth, MN to parents Nikolas and Pearl O’Kash. She performed as a solo singer in nightclubs across the country, from 1937 through the 1950s, under the stage name of Dorothy Blaine.

Dorothy’s family moved to Superior in 1924 when her parents purchased and became proprietors of the Blue Moon, a restaurant and later tavern, at 1716 North Third Street in Superior. Dorothy attended the Carpenter School in her youth and graduated from Central High School with the class of 1935, where she was a member of the glee club, and performed in the drama club. While a senior there she won an amateur night prize at the Old Heidelberg Café at Eighth Street and Tower Avenue, which led to several performances there.

Other singing engagements in Superior and Duluth nightclubs soon followed, including the Ritz and the Flame. Dorothy left Superior when she was offered an engagement at the Blue Moon café in Milwaukee. Other offers soon followed, first in Milwaukee and then Chicago.

Dorothy worked for a short time as a commercial model in Chicago, but a career in singing and performance was her goal. After several bookings in smaller clubs she got her break, appearing as a featured performer at Harry’s New York Cabaret in Chicago. Entertainment critics quickly took notice.

While in Chicago, Dorothy met and married her husband, Senia Gamsa, a theatrical agent there. Under his management, Dorothy’s career soared. In 1938 she performed a six-week engagement on the swank, New York nightclub circuit before she and Senia traveled to Hollywood for a screen test at Twentieth Century Fox studios.

Though a screen career could not be negotiated to her manager’s satisfaction, Dorothy’s singing career continued to soar through the 1940s and ‘50s. She appeared in top rated night clubs in cities criss-crossing the county, including Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Providence, New York City, Nashville, Dallas, Memphis, Birmingham, Miami, Louisville and many more. She regularly performed for the troops at the Stage Door Canteen and USO shows.

In 1948, Dorothy was named Miss Leap Year by the Bachelors Association of America, saying she was “the girl they’d most like to have propose to them.”

During her visits home, Dorothy occasionally worked in appearances at local venues, as she did when she sang at the Gitchinadji club (Billings Park, Superior) in the summer of 1946, giving her family and friends an opportunity to see her perform.

After her husband’s death in the late 1950s, the entertainment life lost much of its glamour for Dorothy. She returned home to the comfort and security of her family, where she lived out the rest of her life.

Dorothy is survived by her sisters Mary Campbell and Lorraine (Kookie) Panyon of Superior, her special nephew Todd O'Kash of Superior, and several other nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Nicholas and Pearl O'Kash, two infant siblings, Daniel and Sophie, brothers, Michael, George and Alex, sisters Millie Dodd, Molly Muench and Diane (Daisy) Koss, nephews Tim O'Kash and Oscar Muench, and nieces Maryann (Panyon) Marquardt and Abigail (O'Kash) Warner.

Visitation will begin at 2:00 PM on Friday, June 5, 2015 at the Downs-LeSage Funeral Home, 1304 Hammond Avenue, Superior and continue until the 3:00 PM memorial service with Rev. Joel Huenemann officiating.

Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery, Superior.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. George’s Serbian Orthodox Church in Duluth.

To leave an online condolence or to sign the guestbook, please visit
www.downs-lesage.com.