Dick Haymes

Arguably one of the best singers of the twentieth century Dick Haymes was born in Argentina to a ScotsIrish father and Irish mother but brought to the US as an infant Dick inherited his vocal gift from his mother who made ends meet during the Depression as a singer and voice teacher A music gig in 1931 caught the eye of a local band leader and soon Dick was moving up but it was slowgoing In 1939 while Dick was trying to pitch his songwriting talents to band leader Harry James he ended up his featured vocalist instead During the war years Dick hooked up with the Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey orchestras before deciding to go solo Nabbing his own radio program in addition to a Decca recording contract Twentieth Century Fox soon expressed interest in his musical talents Among his many film leads were State Fair 1945 opposite Jeanne Crain and Vivian Blaine Diamond Horseshoe 1945 and The Shocking Miss Pilgrim 1947 both paired with Betty Grable One Touch of Venus 1948 with Ava Gardner and All Ashore 1953 a second string version of On the Town 1949 with Mickey Rooney and Ray McDonald as his shoreleave buddies For such a pleasant and unassuming man Dicks personal life certainly was a shambles aggravated by alcoholism and financial debt Five marriages came and went including actresses Joanne Dru Nora Eddington Rita Hayworth and Fran Jeffries before his sixth one finally stuck By the 1960s his life was all but ruined He managed to travel to Europe and picked up the remnants of his career His reputation had not tarnished there and he enjoyed some renewed popularity he never regained however the foothold in the business that he once had Dick died of lung cancer in 1980 Though not as well remembered as other crooners of his time Frank Sinatra Tony Martin Vic Damone and not a particularly charismatic performer on film this rich baritones legacy IS his music Some of Dicks more popular recordings include The More I See You How Blue the Night For You For Me Forever More Speak Low and Another Night Like This