Alice Faye

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Alice Faye (born May 5, 1915 in New York City , New York - † May 9, 1998 in Rancho Mirage , California ; actually: Alice Jeanne Leppert ) was an American actress and singer.

Life

Alice Faye began her career as a dancer and showgirl at George White's Scandals and was discovered there in 1931 by the entertainer Rudy Vallée . She then appeared as a singer in his band and made her first film, George White's Scandals , in 1934 with a contract with the old Fox studios. When Lilian Harvey broke off filming, Faye got the lead role. The studio initially tried to turn Faye into a sex symbol in the sense of Jean Harlow , but the actress showed little enthusiasm for it, and in the end she found her niche as a musical star.

She had her breakthrough as a star in 1937/38 with the two films In Old Chicago , which epically portrays the causes of the great Chicago fire in the style of San Francisco , and Alexander's Ragtime Band , a lavishly produced revue about two rival entertainers who love the same girl. She was seen alongside Tyrone Power both times . Faye was next to Sonja Henie the biggest star of the studio. From the start, however, she was in dispute with production manager Darryl F. Zanuck . Since 1940 he tried to build up a competitor with Betty Grable . Both actresses made several films together and got along very well. Faye was used particularly often in historical films that played during the so-called "Gay Nineties", such as in Rose of Washington Square or in Lillian Russell . During the war she was mostly seen in opulently equipped musicals, for example alongside Grable and Carmen Miranda in the films Weekend in Havana and especially The Gang's All Here , which contains the "Giant Banana" choreography, in Busby Berkeley let his imagination run wild.

The argument with Zanuck reached its climax in 1945 when he put Faye in a meaningless supporting role in the film noir strip Murder on the Wedding Night , which Linda Darnell ended up doing more than Faye. The actress then broke her current contract and never returned to the studio. Except for a small role as a mother of Pat Boone in Texas show of 1962, Faye focused on raising her children and a successful career as a nightclub singer in Las Vegas to start. 1974, at the height of the so-called "nostalgia craze", the renewed interest of the audience in the culture of the 1930s and 1940s, she returned to the side of her long-term partner John Payne with the musical revival Good News to the Broadway back.

Faye's songs from her films have been released by Brunswick Records . She worked with band leaders Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey and Benny Goodman , among others . The composer Irving Berlin once said that he would like each of his songs to be sung by Alice Faye first, as she has the most pleasant voice of all female singers.

Three years after the death of her husband Phil Harris, Alice Faye died of stomach cancer at the age of 83. She was cremated and her ashes are in the mausoleum of Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City . Alice Faye holds a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of her film work at 6922 Hollywood Boulevard. It also has a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars since 1994.

Filmography

  • 1934: George White's Scandals
  • 1934: Now I'll Tell
  • 1934: She Learned About Sailors
  • 1934: 365 Nights in Hollywood
  • 1935: George White's 1935 Scandals
  • 1935: Every evening at eight ( Every Night at Eight )
  • 1935: Music Is Magic
  • 1936: King of Burlesque
  • 1936: Poor Little Rich Girl
  • 1936: Sing, Baby, Sing
  • 1936: Sunshine (Stowaway)
  • 1937: On the Avenue
  • 1937: You Can't Have Everything
  • 1937: Wake Up and Live
  • 1937: You're a Sweetheart
  • 1937: In Old Chicago
  • 1938: Alexander's Ragtime Band
  • 1938: Sally, Irene and Mary
  • 1939: Tail Spin
  • 1939: Rose of Washington Square
  • 1939: Back in Hollywood ( Hollywood Cavalcade )
  • 1939: Barricade
  • 1940: Little Old New York
  • 1940: Lillian Russell
  • 1940: Tin Pan Alley
  • 1941: Carioca ( That Night in Rio )
  • 1941: The Great American Broadcast
  • 1941: Week-End in Havana
  • 1943: Hello, Frisco, Hello
  • 1943: The Gang's All Here
  • 1945: Murder on their wedding night ( Fallen Angel )
  • 1962: Texas Show ( State Fair )
  • 1976: Won Ton Ton ... the Dog Who Saved Hollywood ( Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood )
  • 1978: Every Girl Should Have One
  • 1978: Our Lassie ( The Magic of Lassie )

Discographic notes

  • The Complete ARC & Brunswick Sides (Collector's Choice, 2003)
  • You'll Never Know (ASV Living Era, 2000)

Web links

Commons : Alice Faye  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Colin Bratkovich: Just Remember This 2014, p. 725
  2. ↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed November 12, 2014)
personal data
SURNAME Faye, Alice
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Leppert, Alice Jeanne
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actress and singer
DATE OF BIRTH May 5, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York , United States
DATE OF DEATH May 9, 1998
Place of death Rancho Mirage , California , United States