Singer Eleanor Collins, who is widely known as Canada's first lady of jazz, has died. She was 104.
A member of Collins's family confirmed to CBC that the legend — who worked with other greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson — passed away yesterday (March 3). No cause of death has been reported.
Born in Edmonton on November 21, 1919, to parents of Black and Creole heritage, Collins relocated to Vancouver in 1938 and began to perform frequently in clubs, as well as a few theatre productions.
After making her debut on the groundbreaking CBC Vancouver variety show Bamboula: A Day in the West Indies, she went on to become the first Canadian woman singer — and first Black TV host in North America — to headline a show on national television with CBC's The Eleanor Show in 1955 (predating the Nat King Cole Show).
She also had her second television program, Eleanor, with the Chris Gage Trio in 1964, as well as appearing on countless TV and radio variety shows over the course of her long career. Collins performed as recently as 2016, when she sang at a memorial service for Leon Bibb.
A member of the Order of Canada and BC Entertainment Hall of Fame inductee, Canada Post honoured her legacy with a commemorative stamp in 2022.