Frances Langford

A singer, Langford's rich contralto voice was "discovered" in 1931 by bandleader Rudy Vallee, and he invited her to appear on his radio show. He helped her land a role in a New York play, which led her to Hollywood and movies. In 1941 she was a guest on another popular radio show: Bob Hope's, and joined Hope's USO troupe that traveled to war zones to entertain American troops. Hope called her one of his "gypsies" -- the few entertainers willing to drop everything, anytime, to go on a tour to entertain troops. And Langford did, from World War II to Korea and Vietnam, where she was dubbed the "Sweetheart of the Fighting Fronts." She was well known to soldiers for her rendition of "I'm in the Mood for Love", and they wouldn't let her off the stage without singing it. When she wasn't in war zones she was making movies -- more than 30, including "Broadway Melody" (1935), "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942) and "The Hit Parade" (1940). But her first love was singing for the soldiers. "The greatest thing in my life was entertaining the troops," she said years later. She remembered that in one military hospital, "As I sang, I felt a surging response from these men like I've never before received from an audience. I could hardly hit the high notes, there was such a lump in my throat." Langford died at her Florida home on July 11 from congestive heart failure. She was 92. From This is True for 10 July 2005 Suggestions for further reading: With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E.B. Sledge Amazon Price: $9.36 Customer Review: I have nothing but good things to say about this book. It is an easy read I did not want to put down. I was drawn to read it after seeing The Pacific miniseries and recommend both to anyone that would like to understand as best they can through wor...   A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah Amazon Price: Customer Review: We agree with the many professional reviewers whose quotes fill the first and last few pages of this book--the experiences told are amazing and young adults/teenagers can really benefit from learning of another person's struggles.   The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier by Jakob Walter Amazon Price: $10.08 Customer Review: Napoleonic campaigns and especially Napoleonic campaign in Russia is something that interests me a great deal for many reasons and I am always eager to read eyewitness' accounts. I was so happy when I found this book, I wanted to hear how soldiers co...   Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen Amazon Price: $10.87 Customer Review: In this exciting and fascinating story set during the Revolutionary War, we meet 13-year-old Samuel, whose love for the forest surrounding his family's farm combined with his talent for shooting game make him the major source of meat for his family a...   China Marine: An Infantryman's Life after World War II by E. B. Sledge Amazon Price: $12.21 Customer Review: I put off reading this work by E.B. Sledge for a number of years. I had read "With the Old Breed" a number of years ago and gave it a reread more recently. In my opinion, and the opinion of many, many others, `Old Breed" is the best firsthand accou...   Newsfeed display by CaRP

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