Monica Lewis
| Monica Lewis | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May Lewis May 5, 1922 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Occupation | Singer, film actress |
| Years active | 1948-1988 |
| Spouse(s) |
Jennings Lang (1956 – 29 May 1996; his death); 3 children Bob Thiele (27 July 1945 – January 1947; divorced) |
Monica Lewis, born May Lewis (born May 5, 1922), is an American jazz artist and film actress.
Biography
Early life
Lewis was born in Chicago, Illinois, on May 5, 1922, the youngest of three children.[1] Her father, Leon, was a pianist and composer and her mother, Jessica, was a singer with the Chicago Opera Company.[1]
Career
At the age of seventeen, she started working as a singer for a radio show called Gloom Dodgers.[2] With the help of Benny Goodman she began to establish her career through nationally broadcast shows such as The Revere Camera Show and Beat the Band. Lewis became was dubbed "America’s Singing Sweetheart" during this time.[3] Some of her songs included "Put the Blame on Mame," "I Wish You Love," and "Autumn Leaves."[4]
In 1947 Lewis started providing the singing voice for "Miss Chiquita Banana," a cartoon television commercial character. In 1948 she appeared in the first ever Ed Sullivan Show.[5] In 1950 she was signed a contract with MGM. Some of her films included The Strip, Everything I Have Is Yours, and Affair with a Stranger,[6] and she later appeared in some 1970s disaster films such as Earthquake (1974), Rollercoaster (1977), and both Airport '77 (1977) and The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979).
Personal life
Lewis has been married twice. Her first husband was the American record producer Bob Thiele. They married in 1945 but divorced a couple of years later. She moved to Beverly Hills, California in the 1950s, where she still resides.[1] In 1956, she married film producer Jennings Lang and they remained together until his death in 1996. They had three children. Her sister Barbara was a pianist and her brother Marlo worked as a television producer.[7]
Filmography
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Laura Coleman, 'Beverly Hills Elder: Monica Lewis--LittleLady, Big Voice], The Beverly Hills Courier, Volume XXXXVIIII, Number 45, November 14, 2014, pp. 1; 10
- ↑ Susan King, Monica Lewis sounds her 'Siren', The Los Angeles Times, May 23, 2011
- ↑ http://www.reminisce.com/1940s/monica-lewis-was-americas-singing-sweetheart/
- ↑ http://www.monicalewis.com/biography.html
- ↑ http://www.monicalewis.com/biography.html
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0507569/?ref_=sr_1
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0507569/bio