Lancelot Patrick Ross (January 19, 1906 – April 25, 1988)DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. was an American singer, pianist and songwriter.

Biography

Ross was born in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington. His parents were Douglas and Winifred Ross, both natives of England. He graduated from

Taft School The Taft School is a private, coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. It teaches students in 9th through 12th grades and post-graduates. About three-quarters of Taft's roughly 600 students live on the school's ...

in 1924, where he captained the track team and led the glee club, and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1928, where he blossomed as one of the nation's foremost intercollegiate track performers as well as soloist with the famous Yale Glee Club, and he was a member of

Zeta Psi Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a f ...

and

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

. Additionally, in 1931 he earned a law degree from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

., earning the wherewithal by making radio appearances. He also studied classical vocal technique at the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

with Anna E. Schoen-René.

Career

Lanny Ross made his theatrical bow at the age of 4 performing with his father in

Ben Greet Sir Philip Barling Greet (24 September 1857 – 17 May 1936), known professionally as Ben Greet, was a Shakespearean actor, director, impresario and actor-manager. Early life The younger son of Captain William Greet RN and his wife, Sarah Ba ...

's professional Shakespearean company. During his primary education in a Canadian convent and various Seattle and New York schools, young Ross confined his appearances to choir work, including term as head monitor at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NY. His career began in radio in 1928 and included a five-year run with

Annette Hanshaw Catherine Annette Hanshaw (October 18, 1901 – March 13, 1985) was an American Jazz Age singer. She was one of the most popular radio stars of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Over four million of her records had been sold by 1934. In her ten-y ...

on the ''

Maxwell House Show Boat ''Maxwell House Show Boat'' was the top radio show in the United States from 1933 to 1935. The program was sponsored by Maxwell House coffee, and it aired on NBC Radio Thursday nights, 9 pm. The first show was broadcast in 1931. ''Maxwell House ...

'' program. His recording career began in 1929. He did so well on the radio that he gave up the legal profession and set forth on a singing career.Billboard March 7, 1942 Ross went on to success in vaudeville, night clubs and films. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II, achieving the rank of Major. During the war, he was called upon to sing the Oscar-nominated ballad, "We Musn't Say Goodbye", for the 1943 motion picture, "Stage Door Canteen". The film also received an Oscar nomination for best musical score that year. HIs radio programs have included ''Troubadour of the Moon'', ''Maxwell House Showboat'', ''Packard Mardi Gras'', ''Lucky Strike Hit Parade'' and his own ''Lanny Ross Program'', sponsored by Franco-American over the CBS Network. Ross introduced the standard popular song " Stay as Sweet as You Are" (w.

Mack Gordon Mack Gordon (born Morris Gittler; June 21, 1904 – February 28, 1959) was an American composer and lyricist for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times in 11 years, including five consecutive years betwee ...

Harry Revel Harry Revel ( Glaser; 21 December 1905 – 3 November 1958) was a British-born American composer, mostly of musical theatre, working with various lyricists, notably Mack Gordon. He is also seen as a pioneer of " space age pop". Early life and c ...

) in the 1934 film ''

College Rhythm ''College Rhythm'' is a 1934 American musical comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Jack Oakie, Mary Brian, and Joe Penner. The budget was $537,000. Filming started August 16, 1934.Michael A. Hoey, ''Elvis' Favorite Director: The Ama ...

''. He recorded the song with Nat W. Finston and the Paramount Recording Orchestra in Los Angeles on October 21, 1934. It was released on Brunswick 7318 (matrix LA-247-A) and became Ross' most successful record. He starred in two

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, ''Melody in Spring'' and ''College Rhythm'', and also in ''The Lady Objects'' for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. In 1941 he drew critical acclaim for his acting in stock productions of ''Petticoat Fever'', ''Pursuit of Happiness'' and ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. He co-wrote the song "Listen to My Heart" with

Al J. Neiburg Allen J. Neiburg (November 22, 1902—July 12, 1978) was an American lyricist. He was born on 22 November 1902 in St. Albans, Vermont and received his education at Boston University. He is known for writing lyrics for such songs as "I'm Confessi ...

and

Abner Silver Abner Silberman (28 December 1899, in New York City, New York, United States – 24 November 1966) as pen name Abner Silver, was an American songwriter who worked primarily during the Tin Pan Alley era of the craft. Career Usually composing the m ...

. It was performed in the 1939 short film '' Tempo of Tomorrow'' by

Patricia Gilmore Patricia is a female given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. The name Patricia was the second most common female name in the United State ...

singing with the

Richard Himber Richard Himber (born Herbert Richard Imber; February 20, 1899 – December 11, 1966) was an American bandleader, composer, violinist, magician and practical joker. Early life He was born as Herbert Richard Imber in Newark, New Jersey to the owne ...

Orchestra. Ross died in New York City.

Filmography

References

External links

Voice Talk, Perspectives on the Art of Singing, Lanny Ross
Retrieved April 14, 2013
Lanny Ross collection of recorded radio broadcasts, 1934–1942
in th
Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound
o
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Lanny 1906 births 1988 deaths Musicians from Seattle American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American tenors Traditional pop music singers Juilliard School alumni Yale University alumni Vaudeville performers 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Washington (state) 20th-century American male singers