Alice Faye Bio (Biography)
Real name:
Alice Jeanne Leppert
Date of birth:
May 5. 1915
Place of birth:
New York, New York, USA
Astrology Sign:
Taurus
Height:
5' 5" (1.65 m)
Tags:
Biography
That film noire beauty...that unmistakable stage presence...that sex appeal that can only be part of the 1930s style-these are the things that we have come to expect when watching the old time films starring Alice Faye. Alice Faye is not only famous for standing atop the Hollywood food chain for a decade but also for leaving Hollywood on her own terms and not because she was forced out.
Although Alice ultimately decided that the ever-changing lights and sounds of Hollywood were not for her, her time spent in the limelight cemented her forever as one of the top stars of all time, a title even she would have to be happy with today.
Born Alice Jean Leppert on 5 May 1915, in New York City, Alice wanted to be a showgirl so badly that she lied about her age in 1928 (making herself 16, although she was only 13) to land a role. During the early 1930s, Alice was a singer for the Rudy Vallee band and it 1934 it was Vallee who pushed her to the top with her big break "George White's Scandals." Although Alice was not originally cast as the lead in this film, she ended up with it when Lilian Harvey stormed off the set.
By 1938, Alice was the queen of the singing stars at 20th Century Fox and she learned to develop a unique style all her own. Her new style became the standard for all of Hollywood's less creative (and definitely mediocre) actresses in the early 1940s when Alice plugged her songs-she produced 23 hit songs during her movie career-into hit movies like "Hello Frisco, Hello" (1943). It was the terrible editing job on the 1945 film "Fallen Angels" that had Alice storming off the sets of Hollywood, only to return more than 15 years later to make the films State Fair (1962) and The Magic of Lassie (1978). The Magic of Lassie was Alice's last film in Hollywood-she left the movie business for good that year, still disappointed at the downturns the film industry had taken, becoming less and less creative at every turn.
Aside from being a beloved, though angry and upset, movie star, Alice was also well-loved on television and in radio. From 1948 to 1954, she starred on the hit television show "The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show" opposite her second husband and lifelong mate, Phil Harris. The show is still a hit today with collectors and revivalists. Alice and Phil were also the stars of NBC Radio's "Fitch Bandwagon" show from 1946-1948.
Alice was married to Tony Martin from 1937 to 1940. In 1941, she married Phil Harris and remained his ever-faithful wife until Phil's death in 1995. They had two daughters.
Alice died of stomach cancer at her Rancho Mirage home in California on the 9th of May 1998, after having returned to Broadway in the early 1990s for a revival of "Good News!"
Although Alice ultimately decided that the ever-changing lights and sounds of Hollywood were not for her, her time spent in the limelight cemented her forever as one of the top stars of all time, a title even she would have to be happy with today.
Born Alice Jean Leppert on 5 May 1915, in New York City, Alice wanted to be a showgirl so badly that she lied about her age in 1928 (making herself 16, although she was only 13) to land a role. During the early 1930s, Alice was a singer for the Rudy Vallee band and it 1934 it was Vallee who pushed her to the top with her big break "George White's Scandals." Although Alice was not originally cast as the lead in this film, she ended up with it when Lilian Harvey stormed off the set.
By 1938, Alice was the queen of the singing stars at 20th Century Fox and she learned to develop a unique style all her own. Her new style became the standard for all of Hollywood's less creative (and definitely mediocre) actresses in the early 1940s when Alice plugged her songs-she produced 23 hit songs during her movie career-into hit movies like "Hello Frisco, Hello" (1943). It was the terrible editing job on the 1945 film "Fallen Angels" that had Alice storming off the sets of Hollywood, only to return more than 15 years later to make the films State Fair (1962) and The Magic of Lassie (1978). The Magic of Lassie was Alice's last film in Hollywood-she left the movie business for good that year, still disappointed at the downturns the film industry had taken, becoming less and less creative at every turn.
Aside from being a beloved, though angry and upset, movie star, Alice was also well-loved on television and in radio. From 1948 to 1954, she starred on the hit television show "The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show" opposite her second husband and lifelong mate, Phil Harris. The show is still a hit today with collectors and revivalists. Alice and Phil were also the stars of NBC Radio's "Fitch Bandwagon" show from 1946-1948.
Alice was married to Tony Martin from 1937 to 1940. In 1941, she married Phil Harris and remained his ever-faithful wife until Phil's death in 1995. They had two daughters.
Alice died of stomach cancer at her Rancho Mirage home in California on the 9th of May 1998, after having returned to Broadway in the early 1990s for a revival of "Good News!"