[Dixielandjazz] Frances Langford Obit

[Steve barbone]

Here's the Frances Langford Obit from the NY Times today. None of us old
folks, or those who served during WW 2 or Korea will ever forget her. She
was a trouper. 

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


Frances Langford, Trouper on Bob Hope Tours, Dies at 92

By RICHARD SEVERO Published: July 12, 2005 - NY Times

Frances Langford, a mellow contralto who ventured into combat zones with Bob
Hope's troupe during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars to
serenade tens of thousands of servicemen with ballads that reminded them of
the girls they left behind, died yesterday at her home in Jensen Beach, Fla.
She was 92.

Her death was announced by her lawyer, Evans Crary Jr., The Associated Press
reported.

Although she regarded herself as more of a singer than an actress, she
appeared in roughly 30 films and was half of the successful radio comedy duo
"The Bickersons," in which she and Don Ameche played a mismatched, querulous
couple. He was devoted to ignoring her and concentrating on sleeping, the
only time in the day, he said, when he felt alive; she was an insomniac who
needed him as a refuge because she couldn't get to sleep. The show became so
popular that it received a Sunday night spot of its own.

But among radio listeners, moviegoers and later a vast audience of G.I.'s,
Miss Langford was known for songs like "I'm in the Mood for Love," "You Are
My Lucky Star" and "Hooray for Hollywood."

Mr. Hope thought of her as one of his three gypsies - entertainers who were
willing, like him, to travel all over the globe to entertain the troops. The
other two were Jerry Colonna, a bulgy-eyed comic who liked to sing "On the
Road to Mandalay," and Tony Romano, a guitarist who sang, arranged and
accompanied other talent.

Mr. Hope recalled her with characteristic snip: "She knows just how much sex
to pour and still be dignified." The troops frequently asked Miss Langford
to sing "I'm in the Mood for Love," a ballad by Dorothy Fields and Jimmy
McHugh, her hit record from an otherwise forgettable 1935 movie, "Every
Night at Eight," which was mostly a vehicle for George Raft and Alice Faye.

"The greatest thing in my life was entertaining the troops," Miss Langford
told The Palm Beach Post years later. She said she was fascinated as well as
frightened by being in or close to combat zones. On one occasion, near
Bizerte in North Africa, she saw six planes shot down. On two occasions she
was in planes that developed engine trouble; one of them crash-landed in New
South Wales, Australia, on a flight from Guadalcanal. The other plane landed
safely, but not before Miss Langford volunteered to don a parachute and
jump. 

Frances Langford was born April 6, 1913, in Lakeland, Fla., the daughter of
Vasco Langford, a carpenter, and his wife, Anna, who was an accomplished
pianist. She attended music college briefly but dropped out and began to
work in vaudeville. Her first big break came after her mother drove her to
Miami and convinced Rudy Vallee, then a popular star of stage and screen, to
listen to her. He liked what he heard, asked her to sing on his radio show
and even helped her get a start in New York. A small part in a Broadway
musical led to radio appearances and a string of movie musicals.

In 1941, Miss Langford made her first appearance on Mr. Hope's radio show,
and the visits to the troops started shortly thereafter. She also wrote a
column for Hearst newspapers, recounting some of her experiences as an
entertainer in wartime.

After the war, she was featured on a radio variety show and returned to
nightclub work. She was married three times, first to the actor Jon Hall,
from whom she was later divorced, and then to Ralph Evinrude, the
manufacturer of outboard motors. They settled in Florida and started a
marina, restaurant and gift shop near her 400-acre estate at Jensen Beach.
She became more interested in sailing and fishing than singing, but on
occasion she would sing at the restaurant.

Mr. Evinrude died in 1986. In 1994, she married Harold Stuart, an assistant
secretary of the Air Force in the Truman administration, who survives her.