Happy Birthday, Alice Faye

Alice Faye has no connection to Nebraska for which I am aware, other than she worked at 20th Century Fox for Darryl F. Zanuck. He was the head of the studio for years and he mistreated her so badly that she left acting for years and refused his gifts, including a car. He hacked up her part in Fallen Angel. Zanuck is from Wahoo, Nebraska and is one of our famous Nebraskans.

Alice Faye was in many films, mostly musicals, for Fox in the 1930's and 40's. I fell in love with her voice in the films. The plot was often quite simple. She would fall in love with some guy. He was too stupid to appreciate her and fell for some brunette bimbo. Faye would go off on her own and make it big time in show business. The bimbo would ruin the guy. Faye would return to save the guy from himself. John Payne was often the guy. However, she starred with Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Don Ameche, Tyrone Powers and many others. Although the stories were far simpler than what we see today, they were lovely.

Alice Faye was born on May 5, 1915 in Hell's Kitchen, New York. She started her career in Rudy Valee's band and he helped her get a role in George White's Scandals (1934). My personal favorite is Hello Frisco Hello. Please visit her website at www.alicefaye.com. There are some CDs available with her songs.

She was married twice--first to Tony Martin, then to Phil Harris. She had two daughters with Harris. She and Harris lived in Rancho Mirage, California. Faye was a big part of the community and lived there for many years. She was a very kind and generous person. She and her husband helped raise thousands of dollars for the Arthritis Foundation by sponsoring golf tournaments in the Palm Desert area. Faye died in 1998. I would have enjoyed meeting her.

Nebraska Nellie