This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2010)

Elva Ruby Connes Miller (October 5, 1907 – July 5, 1997), who recorded under the name "Mrs. Miller", was an American singer who gained some fame in the 1960s for her series of shrill and off-key renditions of then-popular songs such as "Moon River", "Monday, Monday", "A Lover's Concerto" and "Downtown", and spent the majority of her time in studio in nothing but a pair of ugg boots .

Singing in an untrained, Mermanesque, vibrato-laden style, according to Irving Wallace, David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace in The Book of Lists 2, her voice was compared to the sound of "roaches scurrying across a trash can lid."^[1]

Nevertheless, "Downtown" reached the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in April 1966, peaking at #82. The single's B-side, "A Lover's Concerto", barely cracked the Hot 100 that same month at #95.

Biography[link]

Connes was born in Joplin, Missouri, to Edward and Ada (Martin) Connes. She grew up in Missouri and Kansas. In 1934 she married John Richardson Miller and moved with him to Claremont, California. She studied music, voice, and composition at Pomona College and involved herself in church and community projects.^[2] She said singing was "a hobby", but produced several records, mainly of classical, gospel, and children's songs. She self-financed and recorded at least one 45 ("Slumber Song"), and distributed it to local orphanages. It was while making such a recording that arranger Fred Bock heard her. He convinced her to try more modern songs and took the recordings to different record labels.

KMPC disc jockey (and later Laugh-In announcer) Gary Owens featured Miller on his radio program, as early as 1960 and, around that time, she also appeared on a limited-run album of his comedy routines. Owens can certainly be credited to have first discovered her, as her later success on Capitol Records did not take place until late 1965.

Miller was signed to Capitol Records by Lex de Azevedo, a young up-and-coming producer at the label. His uncle, Bill Conkling, was then president of Capitol Records. Azevedo was also a member of The King Family. He is now a successful music producer in the LDS Church and, when approached, does not care to discuss his involvement with Miller.^{[citation needed]}

Miller's success, like that of Florence Foster Jenkins and Wing, was due to the perceived amateurishness of her singing. Capitol Records seemed eager to emphasize it—in a 1967 interview with Life magazine, Miller herself claimed that during recording sessions she was deliberately conducted a half beat ahead or behind time, and claimed the worst of several different recordings of a song would be chosen for the finished album.

Her first LP, ironically titled Mrs. Miller's Greatest Hits, appeared in 1966. Made up entirely of pop songs, it sold over 250,000 copies in its first three weeks. KMPC disc jockey Gary Owens wrote the liner notes. Will Success Spoil Mrs. Miller?! followed and The Country Soul of Mrs. Miller came a year later.

Miller sang for US servicemen in Vietnam, performed at the Hollywood Bowl, guest starred on numerous television shows, and appeared in Roddy McDowall's film The Cool Ones. However, interest in Miller soon waned. She was dropped by Capitol and, in 1968, she released her final album, Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing, on the Amaret label. She later issued several singles on her own Vibrato Records label, then retired from singing in the early 1970s.

Miller was apparently unaware at first that her musical ability was being ridiculed, but eventually realized it and decided to go along with the joke. She attributed her break with Capitol to her wanting to sing correctly and record ballads, while Capitol wanted to continue the "so bad it's good" style.

Miller retired sometime around 1972, when interest in her career had almost completely waned. She spent her remaining years doing charity work and died while living in a nursing home.

Death[link]

Miller died in Garden Terrace Retirement Center, in Vista, California, in 1997, at the age of 89.^{[citation needed]} She was interred in Pomona Mausoleum, at Pomona Valley Memorial Park, in Pomona, California. That same year, a compilation CD of her work was released on Capitol's Ultra-Lounge label: Wild, Cool & Swingin', The Artist Collection Vol. 3: Mrs. Miller.

Discography[link]

• Mrs. Miller's Greatest Hits (1966)
• Will Success Spoil Mrs. Miller?! (1966)
• The Country Soul of Mrs. Miller (1967)
• Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing (1968)
• Ultra-Lounge: Wild, Cool & Swingin', The Artist Collection Vol. 3: Mrs. Miller (1999, compilation)

See also[link]

• Florence Foster Jenkins
• William Hung
• William Topaz McGonagall
• Jared Smith
• Wing
• William Shatner's musical career
• Jonathan and Darlene Edwards

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mrs. Miller's World

Jimmy Durante
from the Broadway to Hollywood trailer (1933)
Born	James Francis Durante (1893-02-10)February 10, 1893 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	January 29, 1980(1980-01-29) (aged 86) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Other names	The Schnoz The Great Schnozzola
Occupation	Actor, comedian, singer, pianist
Years active	1920–1980
Spouse	Jeanne Olsen (1921–1943) Margie Little (1960–1980)
Signature

James Francis "Jimmy" Durante (February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s. His jokes about his nose included referring to it as a "Schnozzola", and the word became his nickname.

Early life[link]

Childhood[link]

Durante was born on the Lower East Side of New York City. He was the youngest of four children born to Bartolomeo Durante and his mail-order bride Rosa, both of whom were immigrants from Salerno, Italy. Bartolomeo was a barber, and his wife Rosa was the sister of a woman who lived in the same boarding house.^[1][2] Jimmy Durante served as an altar boy at Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church, known as the Actor's Chapel.^[3]

Early career[link]

Durante dropped out of school in eighth grade to become a full-time ragtime pianist. He first played with his cousin, whose name was also "Jimmy Durante." It was a family act, but he was too professional for his cousin. He continued working the city's piano bar circuit and earned the nickname "Ragtime Jimmy," before he joined one of the first recognizable jazz bands in New York, the Original New Orleans Jazz Band. Durante was the only member not from New Orleans. His routine of breaking into a song to deliver a joke, with band or orchestra chord punctuation after each line, became a Durante trademark. In 1920, the group was renamed Jimmy Durante's Jazz Band.

Stardom[link]

Durante became a vaudeville star and radio personality by the mid-1920s, with a trio called Clayton, Jackson and Durante. Lou Clayton and Eddie Jackson, Durante's closest friends, often reunited professionally. Jackson and Durante appeared in the Cole Porter musical The New Yorkers, which opened on Broadway on December 8, 1930. Earlier that same year, the team had appeared in the movie Roadhouse Nights, ostensibly based on Dashiell Hammett's novel Red Harvest.

By 1934, he had a major record hit with his own novelty composition, "Inka Dinka Doo," the lyrics of which were written by Ben Ryan^[4] to music that Durante himself composed. It became his theme song for the rest of his life. A year later, Durante starred on Broadway in the Billy Rose stage musical Jumbo, in which a police officer stopped him while leading a live elephant and asked him, "What are you doing with that elephant?" Durante's reply, "What elephant?", was a regular show-stopper. Durante also appeared on Broadway in Show Girl (1929), Strike Me Pink (1934) and Red, Hot and Blue (1936).

He began appearing in motion pictures in a comedy series pairing him with silent film legend Buster Keaton and continuing with The Wet Parade (1932), Broadway to Hollywood (1933), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942, playing "Banjo", a character based on Harpo Marx), Ziegfeld Follies (1946), Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962, based on the 1935 musical) and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963).

Radio[link]

Durante on The Jumbo Fire Chief Program, 1935.

On September 10, 1933, Durante appeared on Eddie Cantor's The Chase and Sanborn Hour, continuing until November 12 of that year. When Cantor departed, Durante took over the NBC show as its star from April 22 to September 30, 1934, moving on to The Jumbo Fire Chief Program (1935–36).

He teamed with Garry Moore for The Durante-Moore Show in 1943. Durante's comic chemistry with the young, brushcut Moore brought Durante an even larger audience. "Dat's my boy dat said dat!" became an instant catchphrase. The duo became one of the nation's favorites for the rest of the decade, including a well-reviewed Armed Forces Radio Network command performance with Frank Sinatra that remains a favorite of radio collectors today. Moore left in mid-1947, and the program returned October 1, 1947 as The Jimmy Durante Show. Durante worked in radio for three years after Moore's 1947 departure, including a reunion of Clayton, Jackson and Durante on his April 21, 1948 broadcast.

Television[link]

Durante made his television debut on November 1, 1950, though he kept a presence in radio as one of the frequent guests on Tallulah Bankhead's two-year, NBC comedy-variety show, The Big Show. Durante was one of the cast on the show's premiere November 5, 1950. The rest of the cast included humorist Fred Allen, singers Mindy Carson and Frankie Laine, stage musical performer Ethel Merman, actors Jose Ferrer and Paul Lukas, and comic-singer Danny Thomas (about to become a major television star in his own right). A highlight of the show was Durante and Thomas, whose own nose rivaled Durante's, in a routine in which Durante accused Thomas of stealing his nose. "Stay outta dis, No-Nose!" Durante barked at Bankhead to a big laugh.

Durante as host of The Hollywood Palace, 1964.

From 1950-51, Durante was one of four alternating hosts on NBC's comedy-variety series, "4 Star Revue." He alternated Wednesdays with Danny Thomas (now a headliner), Jack Carson, and Ed Wynn.

Beginning in the early 1950s, Durante teamed with sidekick Sonny King, a collaboration that would continue until Durante's death. Jimmy could be seen regularly in Las Vegas after Sunday Mass outside of the Guardian Angel Cathedral standing next to the priest and greeting the people as they left Mass.

On August 4, 1955, The Jimmy Durante Show on NBC was the venue of the final performance by the famous Brazilian singer Carmen Miranda. Miranda fell to her knees while dancing with Durante, who instinctively told the band, "STOP--da music!" He helped Miranda up to her feet as she laughed, "I'm all out of breath!" "Dat's OK, honey, I'll take yer lines," Durante replied. Miranda laughed again and quickly pulled herself together and finished the show. However, the next morning, August 5, Miranda died at home from heart failure.

Durante also appeared on NBC's Club Oasis, another comedy/variety show broadcast in the 1957-1958 season, alternating first with The Polly Bergen Show.

Marriages[link]

Durante's radio show was bracketed with two trademarks: "Inka Dinka Doo" as his opening theme, and the invariable signoff that became another familiar national catchphrase: "Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are." For years Durante preferred to keep the mystery alive.

One theory was that it referred to the owner of a restaurant in Calabash, North Carolina, where Durante and his troupe had stopped to eat. He was so taken by the food, the service, and the chitchat he told the owner that he would make her famous. Since he did not know her name, he referred to her as "Mrs. Calabash".^[5]

Another idea was that it was a personal salute to his deceased first wife, Jeanne (Olsen) Durante, who died in 1943. "Calabash" might be a mangle of Calabasas, the California city where they made their home during the last years of her life.

At a National Press Club meeting in 1966 (broadcast on NBC's Monitor program), Durante finally revealed that it was indeed a tribute to his wife. While driving across the country, they stopped in a small town called Calabash, which name she had loved. "Mrs. Calabash" became his pet name for her, and he signed off his radio program with "Good night, Mrs. Calabash." He added "wherever you are" after the first year.^[6]

Durante's first wife was the former Jean (Jeanne) Olson, whom he married on June 19, 1921. She was born in Ohio on August 31, 1896. She died on Valentine's Day in 1943, after a lingering heart ailment of about two years. She was 46 years old when she died, although different newspaper accounts of her death suggest she was 45 or perhaps 52.^[7] Her death was not immediately expected, as Jimmy was touring in New York at the time and returned to Los Angeles right away to complete funeral arrangements.

Durante married his second wife, Margaret "Margie" Little, at St. Malachy's Catholic Church in New York City on December 14, 1960. As a teenager, with her gorgeous red hair and undeniable charm, Margie had been crowned Queen of the New Jersey State Fair. She attended New York University before being hired by the legendary Copacabana, in New York City. They met 16 years before their marriage when he was performing there and where she worked as a hatcheck girl. She was 41, he 67, when they married. The couple adopted a baby, Cecilia Alicia (nicknamed CeCe and now known as CeCe Durante-Bloum) on Christmas Day, 1961. CeCe became a champion horsewoman and then a horse trainer and horseback-riding instructor near San Diego, married a computer designer (Stephen), and has two sons and a daughter (Connor, Ryan and Maddie). Margaret died on June 7, 2009, at age 90.^[8]

Charitable work[link]

On August 15, 1958, for his charitable acts, Durante was awarded a huge 3 ft. high brass loving cup by the Al Bahr Shriners Temple. The inscription was: "JIMMY DURANTE THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS COMEDIAN A loving cup to you Jimmy, Its' larger than your nose, but smaller than your heart Happiness always, Al Bahr Temple August 15, 1958".

Jimmy's love for children continued through the Fraternal Order of Eagles children, who among many causes raise money for handicapped and abused. At Jimmy's first appearance at the Eagles International Convention in 1961, judge Bob Hansen inquired about his fee for performing. Jimmy replied, "do not even mention money judge or I'll have to mention a figure that'll make ya sorry ya brought it up" "What can we do then?" asked Hansen. "Help da kids," was Durante's reply. Jimmy performed for many years at Eagles conventions free of charge, not even accepting travel money. The Fraternal Order of Eagles in his honor changed the name of their Children's Fund to the Jimmy Durante Children's Fund, and in his memory have raised over 20 million dollars to help children . A reporter once remarked of Durante after an interview: "You could warm your hands on this one." One of the projects built using money from the Durante Fund was a heated therapy swimming pool at the Hughen School in Port Arthur, Texas. Completed in 1968, Durante named the pool the "Inka Dinka Doo Pool".

Politics[link]

Durante was an active member of the Democratic Party. In 1933, he appeared in an advertisement shown in theaters supporting Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs and wrote a musical score entitled Give a Guy a Job to accompany it.^[9]

Later years[link]

Durante in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Durante continued his film appearances through It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and television appearances through the early 1970s. He narrated the Rankin-Bass animated Christmas special Frosty the Snowman (1969), re-run for many years since. The television work also included a series of commercial spots for Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereals in the mid 1960s, which introduced Durante's gravelly growl and narrow-eyed, large-nosed countenance to millions of children. "Dis is Jimmy Durante, in puy-son!" was his introduction to some of the Kellogg's spots. One of his last appearances was in a memorable television commercial for the 1973 Volkswagen Beetle, where he proclaimed that the new, roomier Beetle had "plenty of breathin' room... for da old schnozzola!"

In 1963, Durante recorded an album of pop standards, September Song. The album became a best-seller and provided Durante's re-introduction, to yet another generation, almost three decades later. From the Jimmy Durante's Way of Life album, came the gravelly interpretations of "As Time Goes By" which accompanied the opening credits of the romantic comedy hit, Sleepless in Seattle, while his version of "Make Someone Happy" launched the film's closing credits. Both are included on the film's best-selling soundtrack.

He wrote a foreword for a humorous book titled Cockeyed Americana, compiled by Dick Hyman. In the first paragraph of the "Foreword!", as Durante called it, he met Hyman and discussed the book and the contribution Hyman wanted Durante to make to it. Durante wrote, "Before I can say gaziggadeegasackeegazobbath, we're at his luxurious office." After reading the material Hyman had compiled for the book, Durante commented on it, "COLOSSAL, GIGANTIC, MAGNANIMOUS, and last but not first, AURORA BOREALIS. [Capitalization Durante's.] Four little words that make a sentence--and a sentence that will eventually get me six months."

Aside from "Dat's my boy dat said dat!", "Dat's moral turpentine!" and "It's a catastastroke!" (for "catastrophe",) Durante sent such catchphrases as "Everybody wants ta get inta the act!", "Umbriago!", "Ha-cha-cha-chaaaaaaa!", "I got a million of 'em" and "Surrounded by assassins!" into the vernacular.

Jimmy and Margaret Durante's grave at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California

Durante retired from performing in 1972 after suffering a stroke that left him confined to a wheelchair. He died of pneumonia in Santa Monica, California, on January 29, 1980. He received Roman Catholic funeral rites four days later, with fellow entertainers including Desi Arnaz, Ernest Borgnine, Marty Allen, and Jack Carter in attendance, and was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City.^[10]

Animation[link]

Jimmy Durante is known to most modern audiences as the character who narrated and sang the 1969 animated special Frosty the Snowman. He also performed the Ron Goodwin title song to the 1968 comedy-adventure Monte Carlo or Bust sung over the film's animated opening credits. There are numerous Durante depictions and allusions in animation. Pumbaa does a brief Durante impression while singing "Hakuna Matata" in The Lion King. A character in M-G-M cartoons, a bulldog named Spike, whose puppy son was always getting caught by accident in the middle of Tom and Jerry's activities, referenced Durante with a raspy voice and an affectionate "Dat's my boy!" In another Tom and Jerry episode, a starfish lands on Tom's head, giving him a big nose. He then proceeds with Durante's famous "Ha-cha-cha-cha" call. The 1943 Tex Avery cartoon "What's Buzzin' Buzzard" featured a vulture with a voice that sounded like Jimmy Durante. A Durante-like voice (originally by Doug Young) was also given to the father beagle, Doggie Daddy, in Hanna-Barbera's Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy cartoons, Doggie Daddy invariably addressing the junior beagle with a Durante-like "Augie, my son, my son," and with frequent citations of, "That's my boy who said that!" In the 1933 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes short, Bosko's Picture Show, there is a scene where he is chased by Adolf Hitler with a meat cleaver.

Many 1940s Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons had characters based on Durante. Two examples are A Gruesome Twosome, which features a cat based on Durante^[11] and Baby Bottleneck, which in unedited versions opens with a Durante-like stork.^[12] Book Revue shows the well-known (at that time) 1924 Edna Ferber novel So Big featuring a Durante caricature on the cover. The "so big" refers to his nose, and as a runaway criminal turns the corner by the book, Durante turns sideways using his nose to trip the criminal, allowing his capture. In Hollywood Daffy, Durante is directly depicted as himself, pronouncing his catchphrase "Those are the conditions that prevail!". In The Mouse-Merized Cat, Babbit (a Bud Abbott mouse) is briefly hypnotized to imitate Jimmy Durante singing Lullaby of Broadway. One of Durante's common catch phrases, "I got a million of 'em!", was used as Bugs' final line in Stage Door Cartoon.

A Durante-like voice was also used for Marvel Comics superhero The Thing in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Fred and Barney Meet the Thing. In a 1993 episode of The Simpsons titled "Lady Bouvier's Lover", after Grampa cries out, "Good night, Mrs. Bouvier, wherever you are," the blue-haired lawyer announces himself in charge of Jimmy Durante's estate and therefore puts a halt to Abraham Simpson's "unauthorized imitation" of Durante. The voice and appearance of Crispy, the mascot for Crispy Critters cereal, was also based on Durante.^[13] In Disney's House of Mouse, a character named Mortimer Mouse (voiced by Maurice LaMarche} was based on Durante, complete with the 'ha-cha-cha!'.

Cultural references[link]

• In The Unit (season 4) episode "Switchblade", when the team seems to be outgunned at an overseas embassy that is under siege, one of their shooters has been killed, and their escape aircraft has been incapacitated, Mack Gerhardt says, "Good night, Mrs. Calabash".
• British comedian Eric Morecambe would occasionally break into an impression of Durante on the Morecambe and Wise Show while wearing a plastic cup on his nose, miming piano-playing and putting on a fake accent to say: "Sitting at my pianna the udder day ..."
• Herry Monster from Sesame Street had a voice (and nose) modeled after Jimmy Durante.
• A street on the east side of Las Vegas is named after Durante. A street in Del Mar, California, specifically located at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, is also named after him.
• The voice of Apocalypse Lane character Cuddles the cat was said to be "a vulgar Jimmy Durante" by creator Jon Etheridge.
• Martin Short uses a Jimmy Durante imitation in character as aging vaudevillian songsmith Irving Cohen. When this character was revived almost 20 years later for his one-man show, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, he amped up the Durante imitation to the point of using his catchphrase "Ha-cha-cha-chaaaaaaa!" as his exit line.
• In the late 1960s, Jimmy Durante appeared in a commercial for Scotties tissue, claiming that he liked them because they were "3-sneezers".
• A 2008 Acura MDX commercial uses Durante's "Make Someone Happy" throughout.
• Crow, from Mystery Science Theater 3000, often imitated Jimmy Durante during movies or in sketches.
• In The Powerpuff Girls Movie, there is a monkey that is named Ha-cha-cha-cha and has a big nose, which refers to Jimmy's quote ha-cha-cha-cha.
• In the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway, Durante is often referred to in impressions, either as a character the player pretends to be, or as a visual gag (Such as in the game Props, in which a player would hold their prop to their face, imitating Durante's nose, and go "Ha-cha-cha-chaaaa!")
• Cartoonist Drew Friedman created a one-page comic strip for Spy Magazine called "Jimmy Durante Boffs Young Starlets." The strip shows Durante with a bevy of young ladies to whom he exclaims, "And you goils thought my NOSE was big!"
• The 1991 film City Slickers features Durante singing "Young At Heart" during scenes from the first day of the cattle drive.
• The comic band The Blanks, also known as "Ted's Band" from the US comedy-drama Scrubs, released a song in their album Ride The Wave called "The Ballad of Jimmy Durante". The song tells the story of Jimmy's life, with mention of his "Schnozz", "Ha cha cha cha" and everybody wanting to get into the act.
• In the musical 42nd Street, (set in the year 1933), the song "Gettin' Out of Town" features the phrase "hot-cha-cha-cha, hot-cha-cha-cha"—a possible reference to Durante.
• Referenced in a Crispy Critters cereal commercial (1987). The commercials for the cereal featured a puppet named "Crispy" with pom-pom antennae and a furry yellow body. Crispy spoke and sang with a voice based on that of Jimmy Durante including the nonsense phrase "Ah-cha-cha-cha".
• Glenn Beck parodies Jimmy Durante's "Mrs. Calabash" sign-off on his Television show replacing "Mrs. Calabash" with "Mrs. Dunn".
• In the Cole Porter song You're The Top, in the Broadway show Anything Goes, Reno, while listing pairs of great things, rhymes the line "You're a rose, you're Inferno's Dante" with "You're the nose on the great Durante."
• In the Sealab 2021 episode "Waking Quinn," Dr. Quinn hallucinates a gravelly-voiced sea lion named "Stinky Pete," who uses Durante's line "Ah-cha-cha-cha-chaaa!"

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

• 1959 At the Piano--In Person (album)
• 1963 September Song
• 1964 Hello Young Lovers
• 1965 Jimmy Durante's Way of Life...
• 1966 One of Those Songs
• 1967 Songs for Sunday

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jimmy Durante

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jimmy Durante

• Jimmy Durante at the Internet Movie Database
• Jimmy Durante at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jimmy Durante at AllRovi
• Jimmy Durante at Find a Grave
• Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs: The Jimmy Durante Show (1933-50)
• Jerry Haendiges Vintage Radio Logs: The Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore Show (1943-47)
• Jimmy Durante on "Four Star Revue/All Star Revue" (1950-53) at Classic TV Info.
• Jimmy Durante on "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1953-54) at Classic TV Info.
• Jimmy Durante on "Texaco Star Theater" (1954-56) at Classic TV Info.
• Alternate theory that Mrs. Calabash was Lucille "Lucy" Coleman, a restaurant owner in Calabash, North Carolina
• Biography with list of credits
• Lyrics for "Inka-Dinka-Doo"
• Jimmy Durante and Eddie Cantor (1947)
• Command Performance (March 15, 1945)
• Red Hot Jazz Archive: Jimmy Durante
• Literature on Jimmy Durante

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

Nancy Sinatra
Sinatra circa 1960s.
Background information
Birth name	Nancy Sandra Sinatra
Born	(1940-06-08) June 8, 1940 (age 72)
Origin	Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
Genres	Rock, pop
Occupations	Singer Actress Author
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1961–present
Labels	Boots Enterprises, Inc. Reprise Records RCA Records Private Stock Elektra Records Cougar Records Buena Vista Records Attack Records
Associated acts	Frank Sinatra, Lee Hazlewood, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Mel Tillis, Morrissey
Website	NancySinatra.com SinatraFamily.com

Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'".

Other defining recordings include "Sugar Town", the 1967 number one "Somethin' Stupid" (a duet with her father), the title song from the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, several collaborations with Lee Hazlewood such as "Jackson", and her cover of Cher's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", which features during the opening sequence of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.

Sinatra began her career as a singer and actress in the early 1960s, but initially achieved success only in Europe and Japan. In early 1966 she had a transatlantic number-one hit with "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", which showed her provocative but good-natured style, and which popularized and made her synonymous with go-go boots. The promo clip featured a big-haired Sinatra and six young women in tight tops, go-go boots and mini-skirts. The song was written by Lee Hazlewood, who wrote and produced most of her hits and sang with her on several duets, including the critical and cult favorite "Some Velvet Morning". In 1966 and 1967, Sinatra charted with 13 titles, all of which featured Billy Strange as arranger and conductor.

Sinatra also had a brief acting career in the mid-60s including a co-starring role with Elvis Presley in the movie Speedway, and with Peter Fonda in The Wild Angels.

Early life[link]

Sinatra was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra and his first wife, Nancy Barbato Sinatra.

Recording career[link]

1960s[link]

In the late 1950s, Sinatra began to study music, dancing, and voice at the University of California in Los Angeles. She dropped out after a year,^{[citation needed]} and made her professional debut in 1960 on her father's television special, The Frank Sinatra Timex Show: Welcome Home Elvis, welcoming the return of Elvis Presley home from Europe following his discharge from service in the US Army. Nancy was sent to the airport on behalf of her father to welcome Elvis when his plane landed. On the special, Nancy and her father danced and sang a duet, "You Make Me Feel So Young/Old". That same year she began a five-year marriage to Tommy Sands.^{[citation needed]}

Sinatra was signed to her father's label, Reprise Records, in 1961. Her first single, "Cuff Links and a Tie Clip", went unnoticed. However, subsequent singles charted in Europe and Japan. Without a hit in the US by 1965, she was on the verge of being dropped. Her singing career received a boost with the help of songwriter/producer/arranger Lee Hazlewood, who had been making records for ten years, notably with Duane Eddy. Hazlewood became Sinatra's inspiration. He had her sing in a lower key and crafted pop songs for her. Bolstered by an image overhaul — including bleached-blonde hair, frosted lips, heavy eye make-up and Carnaby Street fashions — Sinatra made her mark on the American (and British) music scene in early 1966 with "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", its title inspired by a line in Robert Aldrich's 1963 western comedy 4 for Texas starring her father and Dean Martin. One of her many hits written by Hazlewood, it received three Grammy Award nominations, including two for Sinatra and one for arranger Billy Strange. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[1] The camp promo clip featured a big-haired Sinatra and six young women in loose sweaters, go-go boots and hot pants. The song has been covered by artists such as Geri Halliwell, Megadeth, Jessica Simpson, Lil' Kim, Little Birdy, Billy Ray Cyrus, Faster Pussycat, KMFDM, Symarip, Operation Ivy and the Del Rubio Triplets and The Supremes.^{[citation needed]}

A run of chart singles followed, including the two 1966 Top 10 hits "How Does That Grab You, Darlin'?" (#7) and "Sugar Town" (#5). "Sugar Town" became her second million seller.^[1] The ballad "Somethin' Stupid" — a duet with her father — hit #1 in the US and the UK in April 1967 and spent nine weeks at the top of Billboard's easy listening chart. It earned a Grammy Award nomination for Record of the Year and remains the only father-daughter duet to hit No.1 in the US It became Sinatra's third million-selling disc.^[1] Other 45s showing her forthright delivery include "Friday’s Child" (#36, 1966), and the 1967 hits "Love Eyes" (#15) and "Lightning’s Girl" (#24). She rounded out 1967 with the raunchy but low-charting "Tony Rome" (#83) — the title track from the detective film Tony Rome starring her father — while her first solo single in 1968 was the more wistful "100 Years" (#69).

Sinatra enjoyed a parallel recording career cutting duets with the husky-voiced, country-and-western-inspired Hazlewood, starting with "Summer Wine" (originally the B-side of "Sugar Town"). Their biggest hit was a cover of the country song, "Jackson". The single peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1967, when Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash also made the song their own. In December they released the "MOR"-psychedelic single "Some Velvet Morning", regarded as one of the more unusual singles in pop, and the peak of Sinatra and Hazlewood’s vocal collaborations. It reached #26 in the US. The promo clip is, like the song, sui generis. The British broadsheet The Daily Telegraph placed "Some Velvet Morning" in pole position in its 2003 list of the Top 50 Best Duets Ever. ("Somethin' Stupid" ranked number 27).^[2]

In 1967 she recorded the theme song for the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. In the liner notes of the CD reissue of her 1966 album, Nancy In London, Sinatra states that she was "scared to death" of recording the song, and asked the songwriters: "Are you sure you don't want Shirley Bassey?" There are two versions of the Bond theme. The first is the lushly orchestrated track featured during the opening and closing credits of the film. The second – and more guitar-heavy — version appeared on the double A-sided single with "Jackson", though the Bond theme stalled at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100.^{[citation needed]}

In 1966 and 1967 Sinatra traveled to Vietnam to perform for the troops. Many US soldiers adopted her song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" as their anthem, as shown in Pierre Schoendoerffer's academy award winning documentary The Anderson Platoon (1967) and reprised in a scene in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987). Sinatra recorded several anti-war songs, including "My Buddy", featured on her album Sugar, "Home", co-written by Mac Davis, and "It's Such A Lonely Time of Year", which appeared on the 1968 LP The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas. In 1988 Sinatra recreated her Vietnam concert appearances on an episode of the television show China Beach. Today, Sinatra still performs for charitable causes supporting US veterans who served in Vietnam, including Rolling Thunder Inc..^{[citation needed]}

Films and television[link]

Sinatra starred in three teen musicals (otherwise known as 'beach party' films) — For Those Who Think Young (1964), Get Yourself a College Girl (1964) and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966) — the latter of which featured her in a singing role. She was also scheduled to appear in the role that went to Linda Evans in Beach Blanket Bingo, but was unable. In 1966 she also starred in Roger Corman's The Wild Angels with Peter Fonda and Bruce Dern, and in 1968 she shared the screen with Elvis Presley in Speedway — her final film. She was the only singer to have a solo song on an Elvis album or soundtrack while he was still alive. Since his death, several previously unreleased Ann-Margret solo recordings have appeared on Elvis albums, but Sinatra's was the first.^{[citation needed]}

She also made appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, The Virginian and starred in television specials. These include the Emmy-nominated 1966 Frank Sinatra special A Man and His Music - Part II,^{[citation needed]} and the 1967 NBC Emmy Award nominated for 'Special Classification of Individual Achievements' by choreographer David Winters TV special Movin' With Nancy, in which she appeared with Lee Hazlewood, her father and his Rat Pack pals Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., with a cameo appearance by her brother Frank Sinatra, Jr. and guest star appearance by West Side Story dancer David Winters. At one point in the video, Nancy shared a kiss with Sammy Davis, Jr. She has stated "The kiss [was] one of the first interracial kisses seen on television and it caused some controversy then, and now. [But] contrary to some inaccurate online reports, the kiss was unplanned and spontaneous."^[3] The special also features Winters' choreography, dancing and dancers. As there was no Emmy Award category for Choreography – the shows Emmy Nomination was placed in the 'Special Classification of Individual Achievements' category. Possibly due to this specials success and its choreography a new category for 'Outstanding Choreography' was created by the Emmys the next year.^[4] Movin' With Nancy was sponsored by Royal Crown Cola.^{[citation needed]}

1970s and 1980s[link]

Sinatra remained with Reprise until 1970. In 1971, she signed with RCA, resulting in three albums: Nancy & Lee – Again (1971), Woman (1972), and a compilation of some of her Reprise recordings under the title This Is Nancy Sinatra (1973). That year she released a non-LP single, "Sugar Me" b/w "Ain't No Sunshine". The former was written by Lynsey De Paul/Barry Blue and, with other covers of works by early-70s popular songwriters, resurfaced on the 1998 album How Does It Feel.^{[citation needed]}

In the autumn of 1971 Sinatra and Hazlewood’s duet "Did You Ever?" reached number two in the UK singles chart. In 1972 they performed for a Swedish documentary, Nancy & Lee In Las Vegas, which chronicled their Vegas concerts at the Riviera Hotel and featured solo numbers and duets from concerts, behind-the-scenes footage, and scenes of Sinatra's late husband, Hugh Lambert, and her mother.^[5] The film did not appear until 1975.

By 1975 she was releasing singles on Private Stock, which are the most sought-after by collectors. Among those released were "Kinky Love", "Annabell of Mobile", "It's for My Dad," and "Indian Summer" (with Hazlewood). "Kinky Love" was banned by some radio stations in the 1970s for "suggestive" lyrics. It saw the light of day on CD in 1998 on Sheet Music: A Collection of Her Favorite Love Songs. Pale Saints covered the song in 1991.^{[citation needed]}

By the mid-1970s, she slowed her musical activity and ceased acting to concentrate on being a wife and mother. She returned to the studio in 1981 to record a country album with Mel Tillis called Mel & Nancy. Two of their songs made the Billboard Country Singles Chart: "Texas Cowboy Night" (#23) and "Play Me or Trade Me" (#43).^{[citation needed]}

In 1985, she wrote the book Frank Sinatra, My Father.

1990s–present[link]

At 54 she posed for Playboy in the May 1995 issue and made appearances on TV shows to promote her album One More Time. The magazine appearance caused some controversy. On the talk show circuit, she said her father was proud of the photos. Those close to the Sinatras claimed that family members were upset with the nude photo spread. Nancy told Jay Leno on a 1995 Tonight Show that her daughters gave their approval, but her mother said she should ask her father before committing to the project. Nancy claims that when she told her father what Playboy would be paying her, he said, "Double it."^{[citation needed]}

She and Lee Hazlewood embarked on a US tour playing the House of Blues, the Viper Room, the Whiskey-a-Go-Go, the now-defunct Mama Kin in Boston, the Trocadero in Philadelphia, and The Fillmore.^{[citation needed]}

That year, Sundazed Records began reissuing Sinatra's Reprise albums with remastered sound, new liner notes and photos, and bonus tracks. She also updated her biography on her dad and published Frank Sinatra: An American Legend.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003 she reunited with Hazlewood once more for the album Nancy & Lee 3. It was released only in Australia.^{[citation needed]}

One of her recordings — a cover of Cher's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" — was used to open the 2003 Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill: Vol. One. In 2005, Sinatra's recording was sampled separately by the Audio Bullys and Radio Slave into dance tracks (renamed into "Shot You Down" and "Bang Bang" respectively), and by hip-hop artist Young Buck in a song titled "Bang Bang", as well as covered for a single and music video by R&B artist Melanie Durrant. Sinatra recorded the song for her second Reprise album, How Does That Grab You? in 1966. She and Billy Strange worked on the arrangement, and it was Sinatra's idea to change from a mid-tempo romp (as sung in Cher's hit single) to a ballad. Sinatra's father asked her to sing it on his 1966 TV special A Man and His Music - Part II. The footage of Sinatra's performance on that special was used in the Audio Bullys' music video of "Shot You Down."^{[citation needed]}

Taking her father's advice from when she began her recording career ("Own your own masters"), she owns or holds an interest in most of her material, including videos.^[3]

In 2004 she collaborated with former Los Angeles neighbour Morrissey to record a version of his song "Let Me Kiss You", which was featured on her autumn release Nancy Sinatra. The single — released the same day as Morrissey’s version — charted at #46 in the UK, providing Sinatra with her first hit for over 30 years. The follow-up single, "Burnin' Down the Spark", failed to chart. The album, originally titled To Nancy, with Love, featured rock performers such as Calexico, Sonic Youth, U2, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, Steven Van Zandt, Jon Spencer, and Pete Yorn, who all cited Sinatra as an influence. Each artist crafted a song for Sinatra to sing on the album.^{[citation needed]}

Two years later EMI released The Essential Nancy Sinatra – a UK-only greatest-hits compilation featuring the previously unreleased track, "Machine Gun Kelly". The collection was picked by Sinatra and spans her 40-year career. The record was Sinatra's first to make the UK album charts (#73) in 30 years.^{[citation needed]}

Sinatra, also recorded "Another Gay Sunshine Day" for Another Gay Movie in 2006.^{[citation needed]}

Nancy received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 11, 2006, which was also declared "Nancy Sinatra Day" by Hollywood’s mayor, Johnny Grant.^{[citation needed]}

Sinatra appeared, as herself, on one of the final episodes (Chasing It) of the HBO mob drama The Sopranos. Her brother, Frank Jr., had previously appeared in the 2000 episode The Happy Wanderer.^{[citation needed]}

Nancy Sinatra recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's 'Hip-Hop Literacy' campaign, encouraging reading of Tarantino screenplays and related books.^{[citation needed]}

September 2009 saw the release of Nancy's digital-only album Cherry Smiles: The Rare Singles, featuring previously unreleased tracks and songs only available on 45.^{[citation needed]}

Nancy now hosts a weekly show on Sirius Satellite Radio, Siriusly Sinatra, where she shares her personal insights about her father.^[3]

Family[link]

Marriage:

• Tommy Sands, 1960–1965 (divorced)
• Hugh Lambert, 1970–1985 (deceased)

Children (by her second husband):

• Angela Jennifer Lambert (whose godparents are James Darren and his second wife Evy Norlund)
• Amanda Kate Lambert

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

• For Those Who Think Young (1964)
• Get Yourself A College Girl (1964)
• Marriage on the Rocks (1965)
• The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966)
• The Last of the Secret Agents? (1966)
• The Oscar (1966)
• The Wild Angels (1966)
• Speedway (1968)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nancy Sinatra's Official Website
• Nancy Sinatra on Myspace (Official)
• Nancy Sinatra at the Internet Movie Database
• Sinatra Family Official Website
• Article on Nancy and her music
• Kugel, Allison. "Nancy Sinatra: Interview – The Promise She Made Her Father, Praising Mia Farrow & Embracing Social Media". http://www.pr.com/article/1174.  (April 2011)