Posted on 07/11/2005 10:46:21 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
MIAMI - Frances Langford, whose steamy rendition of "I'm in the Mood for Love" captivated soldiers stationed overseas on Bob Hope's tours during World War II, died Monday. She was 92.
Langford died at her home in Jensen Beach, her lawyer Evans Crary Jr. said. She had been ill with congestive heart failure, he said.
Langford, a recording artist, radio star and actress from the 1930s to 1950s, joined Hope's troupe to boost wartime morale at military bases and hospitals through Great Britain, Italy, North Africa and the South Pacific. She entertained a new generation of soldiers in Korea and Vietnam.
Even with her hair swept up in a bandanna, the petite singer (she was 5'1") was a glamorous vision of home. She became known as the "Sweetheart of the Fighting Fronts."
"She was a charming person, very warm hearted," said Crary, who had known her for more than 70 years. "She was very interested in other people and appreciative of their interest in her."
Langford appeared in 30 movies, including "Broadway Melody," "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "The Hit Parade." She played herself in her final film, 1954's "The Glenn Miller Story." Her trademark was "I'm in the Mood for Love," written for her for the 1935 movie, "Every Night at Eight."
Her most famous role may be as the insufferable wife Blanche opposite Don Ameche on the popular 1940s radio comedy, The Bickersons.
She recalled in interviews decades later that entertaining the troops "was the greatest thing in my life."
"We were there just to do our job, to help make them laugh and be happy if they could," Langford told The Associated Press in January 2002.
Langford was born in Lakeland in April 1913. She was discovered by bandleader Rudy Vallee while he was in Florida for a performance. He heard her sing and the next week invited her to be a guest on his radio program in New Orleans when she was 16.
She moved to Hollywood after a brief stint in the Broadway musical "Here Goes the Bride" in 1931. She appeared on Louella Parsons' radio show "Hollywood Hotel," and began to appear in movies.
She was singing on Hope's Pepsodent Show when he held his first military program at March Field in Riverside, Calif., in 1941. The response was so positive he continued broadcasting from U.S. training bases and asked Langford to join him. Soon there were enough soldiers overseas to bring his variety show to them.
Langford wrote a daily newspaper column, "Purple Heart Diary," about her war experiences and later starred in a movie of the same name.
After World War II, she was singing in nightclubs when she met outboard motor heir Ralph Evinrude. They married in 1955 and moved to her 400-acre estate in Jensen Beach, 100 miles north of Miami. (Her first marriage was to actor Jon Hall.)
The couple built a Polynesian-themed restaurant and marina on the Indian River called the Outrigger Resort. She entertained locals and celebrities, including Hope, until Evinrude died in 1986 and she sold the property.
Out of the limelight for decades, Langford kept up her pastimes of boating and sport fishing. Her collection of mounted tuna, marlin and other fish adorns the wall of the Florida Oceanographic Society's visitor center in nearby Stuart that is named after her.
In 1994, she married Harold Stuart, assistant secretary of the Air Force under Harry Truman. They spent summers on Canada's Georgian Island, traveling from Florida aboard her 110-foot yacht.
She is survived by her husband. She had no children.
Singer-actress Frances Langford, poses with comedians Bob Hope, right, and Jerry Colonna on October 15, 1942. Langford, whose steamy rendition of 'I'm in the Mood for Love' captivated soldiers stationed overseas when she was part of Bob Hope's USO tours during World War II, died Monday, July 11, 2005, at the age of 91. She died at her home in Jensen Beach, said her secretary, Kim Stanton.(AP Photo)
That's too bad. What a long & wonderful life. She has/had a nice restaurant there in Jensen Beach.
Yup!
Wow!
She remarried when she was 81! (You go girl!)
It was always so hard to believe that someone that lovely had such a grating voice.
Good on her for visiting the troops.
Anyone who's heard her Bickerson routines with Don Ameci will never forget her. They were absolutely side-splitting with no profanity, coarseness, or filth. Now, that's comedy.
She can't be replaced and anyone who's not heard them is missing a great thing!
Well I guess RIP is in order here. But why is she standing next to the "Frito Bandito"?
She and Jerry Cologna did Bob Hope USO and troop shows around the globe.
I know, what they did for the troops in the second world war was admiral. But, you've got to admit, the guy's got a silly mustache.
The Bickersons was the funniest thing I ever heard.
The Bottle of the Month club.
I thought it was "D-Day" from Animal House.
It was generally admiral, but only a private opinion...SSZ
Bwaaahhhh! I prefer his rendition.
RIP Frances Langford
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.