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 by E.B. Sledge Amazon Price: $9.36 Customer Review: I've read a lot of books about WWII, particularly the Pacific theater. I deeply respect the fact that no one who hasn't experienced combat can really understand what it's like. If you're a veteran, my comments don't apply. But for a civilian like m...   Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen Amazon Price: $10.87 Customer Review: In WOODS RUNNER, Gary Paulsen takes readers inside the American Revolution. It is not the history book version, but instead, the story of one young boy's fight to survive and save his parents. Thirteen-year-old Samuel loves the woods....   Hero of the Pacific: The Life of Marine Legend John Basilone by James Brady Amazon Price: $17.13 Customer Review: I generally liked the book. My one criticism is why the author found it necessary to rebuke the stories of other authors (Basilone's family members). I think when he himself was drawing on second hand or hearsay information he should have avoided cri...   I'm Staying with My Boys: The Heroic Life of Sgt. John Basilone, USMC by Jim Proser, Jerry Cutter Amazon Price: $10.19 Customer Review: This was, quite simply horrible, it purports to be a biography of one of the legends of the USMC, Gunnery Sgt. " Manila" John Basilone. Basilone was a machine gunner at Guadalcanal who was instrumental in breaking the back of the massive Japanese ass...   China Marine: An Infantryman's Life after World War II by E. B. Sledge Amazon Price: $12.92 Customer Review: China Marine is the only sequel to E.B. Sledge's With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, which provided a unique, infantryman's view of the Pacific action in WWII. China Marine also provides a unique viewpoint, historically, of a brief period of...   Newsfeed display by CaRP

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