Later Career
As bodabil slowly declined, de la Cruz concentrated on concert performances and international tours. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, she was a top-billed performer at the famed Forbidden City nightclub in San Francisco. In 1961, she starred in her own stage show in Las Vegas. De la Cruz also performed concert tours in Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and Hawaii.
De la Cruz eventually retired to San Francisco, California, though she would occasionally perform until the late 1980s. In 1989, she visited the Philippines to attend the premiere at the Cultural Center of the Philippines of Katy!, a highly-publicized stage musical based on her life. Produced by Celeste Legaspi, Katy! starred Mitch Valdes in the title role, and its music was composed by Ryan Cayabyab with lyrics by Jose Javier Reyes. During this visit, the eighty-two-year-old de la Cruz appeared on several Philippine television programs, performing her signature tune Balut.
Ill health caused de la Cruz to retire from public life in the 1990s. She died on November 10, 2004, at the age of 97.
Read more about this topic: Katy De La Cruz
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