Ada Leonard was the leader of the All-American Girl Orchestra, the first all-girl group to tour with the USO during World War II The big-band band leader was a performer with a background in musical performance. In her early career, she worked as a burlesque performer.. While she played the cello and the piano, she did not play either instrument professionally. From 1952-1954, she hosted a variety show on television and subsequently went on to realize her ambition of leading an all-male big band. She was married, and widowed, twice: First to George L. McCall, who had managed her career, and subsequently Dr. Harold Bernstein, one of the founders of the Reiss-Davis Clinic. She died in Santa Monica, California on November 27, 1997, at the age of 82.
She was widowed twice, once having been married to her manager George L. McCall; then Dr. Harold Bernstein, one of the founders of the Reiss-Davis Clinic. Ada Leonard and her band also appeared regularly on KTTV television. In 1951, she launched a talent show on that station seeking talented women singers, titled "Search for Girls.".