Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades. She was known as the "GI Nightingale", an American armed-forces sweetheart, who entertained troops touring often with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

Discovery

Langford originally trained as an opera singer. While a young girl she required a tonsillectomy that changed her soprano range to a rich

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typical ...

. As a result, she was forced to change her vocal approach to a more contemporary

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

style. At age 17, she was singing for local dances. Cigar manufacturer Eli Witt heard her sing at an American Legion party and hired her to sing on a local radio show he sponsored.

Radio

After a brief stint in the Broadway musical "Here Goes the Bride" in 1931, she moved to Hollywood, appearing on Louella Parsons' radio show '' Hollywood Hotel'' while starting a movie career. Singing for radio during the early 1930s she was heard by

Rudy Vallée Hubert Prior Vallée (July 28, 1901 – July 3, 1986), known professionally as Rudy Vallée, was an American singer, musician, actor, and radio host. He was one of the first modern pop stars of the teen idol type. Early life Hubert Prior Val ...

, who invited her to become a regular on his radio show. From 1935 until 1938 she was a regular performer on Dick Powell's radio show. From 1946 to 1951, she performed with Don Ameche as the insufferable wife, Blanche, on the radio comedy ''

The Bickersons ''The Bickersons'' was a radio comedy sketch series that began September 8, 1946, on NBC, moving the following year to CBS where it continued until August 28, 1951. The show's married protagonists, portrayed by Don Ameche (later by Lew Parker) a ...

''.

Films

Langford made her film debut in '' Every Night at Eight'' (1935), introducing what became her signature song: " I'm in the Mood for Love". She then began appearing frequently in films such as '' Broadway Melody of 1936'' (1935) (in which she popularized "Broadway Rhythm" and "You Are My Lucky Star"), '' Born to Dance'' (1936), '' Too Many Girls'' (1940) (in which she acted alongside her childhood schoolmate from Lakeland Dan White), and '' Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942) with

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

, in which (portraying Nora Bayes) she performed the popular song "

Over There "Over There" is a 1917 song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and public during both world wars. It is a patriotic song designed to galvanize American young men to enlist and fight the "Hun". The song i ...

". She also appeared on screen in ''

Dixie Jamboree ''Dixie Jamboree'' is a 1944 American film directed by Christy Cabanne. Cast *Frances Langford as Susan Jackson *Guy Kibbee as Capt. Jackson of the 'Ellabella' *Eddie Quillan as Jeff Calhoun * Charles Butterworth as Professor *Fifi D'Orsay as Yv ...

'' and '' Radio Stars on Parade''. In a Western movie, ''Deputy Marshal'', she co-starred with her first husband, matinee idol Jon Hall. In several of Langford's films she appeared as herself, as in ''Broadway Melody of 1936'' and '' The Glenn Miller Story'' (1953). In the latter film, she sang " Chattanooga Choo Choo" with the Modernaires and the movie orchestra.

World War II

From 1941, Langford was a regular singer on

's '' The Pepsodent Show'' when he held his first military entertainment program at March Field in Riverside, California in 1941. The show was so positive, he continued broadcasting from training bases around the country and asked Langford to join him. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, she joined Hope, Jerry Colonna, guitarist Tony Romano, and other performers on USO tours through Europe, North Africa, and the South Pacific, entertaining thousands of GIs throughout the world. During a USO tour in the Pacific theater, she was invited to take a ride in a P-38 fighter plane. During the flight, a Japanese ship was spotted and the joy ride was postponed until the pilot finished strafing the ship. In his memoir, ''Don't Shoot! It's Only Me!'', Bob Hope recalled how Frances Langford got the biggest laugh he had ever heard. At a USO show in the South Pacific, Langford stood up on a stage to sing before a huge crowd of GIs. When Langford sang the first line of her signature song, "I'm in the Mood for Love," a soldier in the audience stood up and shouted, "You've come to the right place, honey!" Also, during the war, Langford wrote the weekly "Purple Heart Diary" column for Hearst Newspapers, in which she described her visits to military hospitals to entertain wounded GIs. She used the weekly column as a means of allowing the recovering troops to voice their complaints, and to ask for public support for making sure that the wounded troops received all the supplies and comforts they needed. Her association with Hope continued into the 1980s. In 1989 she joined him for a USO tour to entertain troops in the Persian Gulf.

Television

Frances Langford Jerry Colonna Frances Langford Presents 1959

Langford worked for several years in the late 1940s on '' The Spike Jones Show'' and starred in a short-lived DuMont variety show '' Star Time'' (1950). As a guest on early television shows such as

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signi ...

and

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

she was motivated to venture into television. She was the host of two self-titled variety television programs. She then teamed with Don Ameche for the ABC television program, ''The Frances Langford/Don Ameche Show'' (1951), a spin-off of their successful radio series ''

'' in which the duo played a feuding married couple. Langford was also the host of the NBC musical variety program ''Frances Langford Presents'' (1959), which lasted one season, as did a later program ''The Frances Langford Show'' (1960). Another notable appearance was in '' The Honeymooners'' lost episode "Christmas Party" which first aired December 19, 1953.

Personal life

Langford married three times, first to actor Jon Hall (1934–55). In 1948, they donated of land near her estate in Jensen Beach, Florida, to the Martin County Board of County Commissioners, which named it ''Langford Hall Park''. Located at 2369 N.E. Dixie Highway, just south of the

Stuart Welcome Arch The Stuart Welcome Arch (also known as the 1926 Welcome Arch or Rio-Jensen Beach Arch) is an historic arch-shaped gateway that straddles County Road 707 between 2369 and 2390 Northeast Dixie Highway in Jensen Beach, Florida. It was built in 1926 t ...

, it is known today simply as ''Langford Park'' and is one of the county's major parks. In 1946, Langford was honored by the hometown of her youth, Lakeland, Florida, for her work with the United Service Organizations (USO) and her music and acting career. The City of Lakeland dedicated the Lake Mirror Promenade as the

Frances Langford Promenade The Frances Langford Promenade (also known as the First Civic Center and the Lake Mirror Promenade) is a historic site in Lakeland, Florida. It is located between Lemon Street and Lake Mirror Drive. On January 27, 1983, it was added to the U.S. Na ...

. The Promenade was originally built in 1928 and was designed by renowned landscape architect Charles W. Leavitt of New York. After leaving Hollywood life, she kept up her pastimes of boating and sport fishing. As a

nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance ma ...

in 1955, she married Outboard Marine Corporation president Ralph Evinrude. They lived on her estate in Jensen Beach (which has since been replaced by a housing development), and they built a Polynesian-themed restaurant and marina on the Indian River named ''The Frances Langford Outrigger Resort'', where Langford frequently performed. Locals and celebrities flocked there. It remains open under the name of the Dolphin Bar and Shrimp House, and many of Frances Langford's memorabilia are still on display. Evinrude died in 1986. In 1994, Langford married Harold C. Stuart, who had served as Assistant Secretary for Civil Affairs of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

(1949–51) under President Harry S Truman. They spent the summers at Baie Fine in Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada, traveling from their home in Florida aboard their 110-foot yacht ''The Chanticleer'', which became a popular tourist attraction when moored at the Outrigger Resort. Health problems plagued her in the last years of her life, requiring periodic hospital stays. She died at her Jensen Beach home at age 92 from

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

. According to her wishes, she was cremated and the ashes strewn off the coast of Florida near her residence. Stuart survived Langford (who had no children) and died in 2007 at the age of 94.

Legacy

Langford has two stars on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

, one at 1500 Vine Street, which acknowledges her contribution to motion pictures and one at 1525 Vine Street for her work in radio. Both were dedicated February 8, 1960. Langford was a supportive member of the Jensen Beach, Florida, community and constantly donated money to it. She was a philanthropist and her generosity to the Florida Oceanographic Society located on Hutchinson Island in Stuart was well known. The site provides education and research of the ocean, reefs and environment in the Florida area. The visitor's center bears her name and also houses some of her artifacts. Her collection of mounted tuna, marlin and other fish adorn the walls. In 2006, the Frances Langford Heart Center, made possible by a bequest from her estate, opened at Martin Memorial Hospital in Stuart, Florida.

Filmography

* ''The Subway Symphony'' (1932, Short) as Herself * ''Rambling 'Round Radio Row #5'' (1933, Short) as Herself – Singer * '' Every Night at Eight'' (1935) as Susan Moore * '' Broadway Melody of 1936'' (1935) as Herself * '' Collegiate'' (1936) as Miss Hay * ''

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...

'' (1936) as Joan Smyth * ''Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs'' (1936, Short) as Herself * '' Born to Dance'' (1936) as 'Peppy' Turner * '' The Hit Parade'' (1937) as Ruth Allison * '' Hollywood Hotel'' (1937) as Alice * ''

Dreaming Out Loud ''Dreaming Out Loud'' is the debut studio album by American rock band OneRepublic. The album was released on November 20, 2007, by Interscope Records. The album was recorded between 2004 and 2007 and it was produced by Greg Wells, with two song ...

'' (1940) as Alice * '' Too Many Girls'' (1940) as Eileen Eilers * '' Hit Parade of 1941'' (1940) as Pat Abbott / Singing voice of Anabelle Potter * '' All-American Co-Ed'' (1941) as Virginia Collinge * ''Swing It, Soldier'' (1941) as Patricia Loring / Evelyn Loring Waters * ''Picture People No. 4: Stars Day Off'' (1941, Documentary short) as Herself * ''Mississippi Gambler'' (1942) as Beth Cornell * ''Picture People No. 10: Hollywood at Home'' (1942, Documentary short) as Herself * '' Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (1942) as Nora Bayes * ''Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 4'' (1942, Documentary short) as Herself * '' Combat America'' (1943, Documentary) as Herself * ''

Follow the Band ''Follow the Band'' is a 1943 black-and-white musical film directed by Jean Yarbrough, one of many Universal churned out during World War II. It stars Eddie Quillan, Mary Beth Hughes, and Leon Errol, and is noteworthy as an early credit for Robe ...

'' (1943) as Herself * ''Cowboy in Manhattan'' (1943) as Babs Lee * '' This Is the Army'' (1943) as Herself * '' Never a Dull Moment'' (1943) as Julie Russell * '' Career Girl'' (1944) as Joan Terry * ''Memo for Joe'' (1944, Short documentary) as Herself * ''

'' (1944) as Susan Jackson * '' Girl Rush'' (1944) as Flo Daniels * '' Radio Stars on Parade'' (1945) as Sally Baker * '' People Are Funny'' (1946) as Frances Langford * ''Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Victory Show'' (1946, Documentary short) as Herself * '' The Bamboo Blonde'' (1946) as Louise Anderson * '' Beat the Band'' (1947) as Ann Rogers * '' Melody Time'' (1948) as Herself (singing voice, segment: "Once Upon a Wintertime") * '' Deputy Marshal'' (1949) as Janet Masters * '' Purple Heart Diary'' (1951) as Herself * '' The Glenn Miller Story'' (1954) as Herself -

DVD release

Frances Langford is featured on the DVD ''Entertaining the Troops'' with Bob Hope.

References

External links

* *
Frances Langford profile

Internet Archive: ''Maxwell House Coffee Time'' (1947): Frances Langford (13 episodes)
*
Zoot Radio, free old time radio show downloads of 'The Francis Langford' radio program

Frances Langford recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Langford, Frances 1913 births 2005 deaths Musicians from Lakeland, Florida American film actresses American radio actresses People from Jensen Beach, Florida Torch singers Traditional pop music singers 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers Singers from Florida Actresses from Florida Lakeland High School (Lakeland, Florida) alumni Nightclub performers People from Citrus County, Florida 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women United Service Organizations entertainers