Alice Faye left her career as a film actress and became known for her role on the radio show The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show.
31 Facts About Alice Faye
2.
Alice Faye Jeanne Leppert was born on May 5,1915, in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, the daughter of Alice Faye, who worked for the Mirror Chocolate Company, and Charles Leppert, a police officer.
3.
Alice Faye failed an audition for the Earl Carroll Vanities when she was found to be too young, then moved to Broadway and a featured role in the 1931 edition of George White's Scandals.
4.
Alice Faye gained her first major film break in 1934, when Lilian Harvey abandoned the lead role in a film version of George White's Scandals, in which Vallee was to appear.
5.
Alice Faye became a popular film star for audiences of the 1930s, particularly when Fox production head Darryl F Zanuck made her his protegee.
6.
Alice Faye softened Faye from a wisecracking showgirl to a youthful, and yet somewhat motherly figure, such as her roles in a few Shirley Temple films.
7.
Alice Faye received a physical makeover, going from a version of Jean Harlow to a wholesome appearance, in which her platinum hair and pencil-line eyebrows were swapped for a more natural look.
8.
Alice Faye was cast as the female lead in In Old Chicago.
9.
Alice Faye always named this film as one of her favorites, though it was her most challenging role.
10.
The tight corsets Alice Faye wore for this picture caused her to collapse on the set several times.
11.
Alice Faye was paired as a sister act opposite Grable in the film Tin Pan Alley.
12.
Alice Faye frequently played a performer, often one moving up in society, allowing for situations that ranged from the poignant to the comic.
13.
Films such as Week-End in Havana and That Night in Rio, in which she played a Brazilian aristocrat, made good use of Alice Faye's husky singing voice, solid comic timing, and flair for carrying off the era's starry-eyed romantic story lines.
14.
In 1943, after taking a year off to have her first daughter, Alice Faye starred in the Technicolor musical Hello, Frisco, Hello.
15.
That year, Alice Faye was named one of the top box-office draws in the world.
16.
Alice Faye finally accepted the lead role in Fallen Angel.
17.
Alice Faye was still so popular that thousands of letters were sent to Alice Faye's home and the Fox studios from around the world, begging her to return for another picture.
18.
Alice Faye did return to Fox later, for a character role in a remake of an old Fox property, State Fair.
19.
Alice Faye made only infrequent cameo appearances in films thereafter, playing a secretary in Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood and in The Magic of Lassie as a waitress.
20.
Alice Faye was the subject of This Is Your Life for British television in 1984, when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Hollywood's Metromedia Studios.
21.
Alice Faye's singing ballads and swing numbers in her honeyed contralto voice was a regular highlight of the show, as was her knack for tart one-liners equal to those of her husband.
22.
Alice Faye supported Adlai Stevenson's campaign during the 1952 presidential election and Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.
23.
In 1974, Alice Faye made a return to Broadway after 43 years in a revival of Good News, with her old Fox partner John Payne.
24.
In later years, Alice Faye became a spokeswoman for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, promoting the virtues of an active senior lifestyle.
25.
Alice Faye admitted in an interview that when she married Harris, most of the Hollywood elite had predicted the marriage would only last about six months.
26.
Three years after Phil Harris' death, Alice Faye died of stomach cancer in Rancho Mirage, California, four days after her 83rd birthday.
27.
Alice Faye was cremated and her ashes rest beside those of Phil Harris at the mausoleum of the Forest Lawn Cemetery near Palm Springs, California.
28.
Alice Faye has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of her contribution to Motion Pictures at 6922 Hollywood Boulevard.
29.
The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show remains a favorite of old-time radio collectors.
30.
Alice Faye was the first female crooner and equivalent to Bing Crosby.
31.
The author, Arthur Nicholson, mentions how enormously popular she was even in her Harlow days and though other films shown in England were usually shown for three days a week, Alice Faye's films played for an entire week.