Profile of Alice Faye on Famous Like Me

Alice Faye (born May 5, 1915; died May 9, 1998) was a US actress and singer. She was born Alice Jeane Leppert to Charley (a policeman of German descent) and Alice Leppert (an Irish-American) in New York City. She made her entertainment debut as a chorus girl on Vaudeville, moving on to Broadway in the George White Scandals.

Adopting her stage name, Faye came to prominence on radio in The Fleischmann Hour (1932-1934) with Rudy Vallee and his Connecticut Yankees. Vallee had also appeared in the George White Scandals of 1931.

Faye's film break occurred in 1933 when Lillian Harvey walked out on the lead role in the movie George White's Scandals. Faye was originally engaged to perform a musical number with Vallee but was elevated to the starring role. She became a popular favourite with cinema audiences of the 1930s, especially from 1936 when producer Darryl F. Zanuck made a deliberate effort to soften her image from that of a wise cracking showgirl. Most often cast in musicals, she was responsible for introducing many popular songs to the hit parade, and although not regarded a serious dramatic actress, she gave what many critics described as her best dramatic performance in In Old Chicago (1938).

Her career continued until 1944 when she was cast in Fallen Angel. The picture was ostensibly designed to be a Faye vehicle, and she was the lead actress, however Zanuck was attempting to build the career of his new star Linda Darnell, and many of Faye's scenes were cut in favour of Darnell. Faye drove away from the studio after a screening of the film and refused to return. Zanuck responded by having Faye blackballed for breaking her contract, and her film career was effectively over. Released in 1945, Fallen Angel was Faye's final film as a major Hollywood star. Gossip magazines of the time speculated that Faye was dismissed as a result of a rivalry with Betty Grable, a claim that Faye and Grable, who would remain friends until Grable's death, both disputed. After a seventeen year absence from films, Faye made a return in State Fair (1962). The film was not a great success and Faye made infrequent cameo appearances thereafter.

Faye married Tony Martin in 1937 but the couple divorced in 1940. Her marriage to Phil Harris in 1941 resulted in two daughters, Alice, born in 1942 and Phyllis, born in 1944. Her marriage to Harris was a long and happy one, and the couple worked extensively together on radio after the demise of Faye's film career, most notably in NBC's Fitch Bandwagon from 1946 until 1948, and The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show from 1948 until 1954. The couple remained together until Harris' death in 1995.

Alice Faye died in Rancho Mirage, California from stomach cancer at the age of 83. She was buried at the Palm Springs Mortuary & Mausoleum in Palm Springs, California.

She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of her contribution to Motion Pictures at 6922 Hollywood Boulevard.

Filmography

• George White's Scandals Fox, 1934
• Now I'll Tell Fox, 1934
• She Learned About Sailors Fox, 1934
• The Hollywood Gad-About Fox short subject, 1934
• 365 Nights in Hollywood Fox, 1934
• King of Burlesque 20th Century-Fox, 1935
• George White's 1935 Scandals 20th Century-Fox, 1935
• Every Night at Eight Paramount, 1935
• Music Is Magic 20th Century-Fox, 1935
• Poor Little Rich Girl 20th Century-Fox, 1936
• Sing, Baby, Sing 20th Century-Fox, 1936
• Stowaway 20th Century-Fox, 1936
• In Old Chicago 20th Century-Fox, 1937
• Cinema Circus MGM short subject, 1937
• On the Avenue 20th Century-Fox, 1937
• You Can't Have Everything, 20th Century-Fox, 1937
• Wake Up and Live 20th Century-Fox, 1937
• You're a Sweetheart Universal, 1937
• Sally, Irene and Mary 20th Century-Fox, 1938
• Alexander's Ragtime Band 20th Century-Fox, 1938
• Tail Spin 20th Century-Fox, 1939
• Rose of Washington Square 20th Century-Fox, 1939
• Hollywood Cavalcade 20th Century-Fox, 1939
• Barricade 20th Century-Fox, 1939
• Little Old New York 20th Century-Fox, 1940
• Screen Snapshots: Seeing Hollywood Columbia short subject, 1940
• Lillian Russell 20th Century-Fox, 1940
• Tin Pan Alley 20th Century-Fox, 1940
• That Night in Rio 20th Century-Fox, 1941
• The Great American Broadcast 20th Century-Fox, 1941
• Week-End in Havana 20th Century-Fox, 1941
• Hello, Frisco, Hello 20th Century-Fox, 1943
• The Gang's All Here 20th Century-Fox, 1943
• Four Jills in a Jeep 20th Century-Fox, 1944
• Fallen Angel 20th Century-Fox, 1945
• Screen Snapshots: Hula from Hollywood Columbia short subject, 1954
• State Fair 20th Century-Fox, 1962
• Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood Paramount, 1976
• Every Girl Should Have One Robert Fridley Productions, 1978
• The Magic of Lassie International, 1978
• We Still Are short subject, 1985
• A Century of Cinema documentary, 1994
• Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business documentary, 1995

External link

• Alice Faye at the Internet Movie Database

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