Frances [Newbern] Langford
Stage, Radio, Television and Film Actress; Singer
(1913-2005)
Birthplace: Lakeland, FL, U.S.A.
Radiography:
1933 Lum 'n' Abner
1934 Colgate House Party
1935 Hollywood Hotel
1936 The BUrns and Allen Show
1936 Al Lyons Orchestra
1938 National Mobilization For Human Needs
1939 Texaco Star Theater
1940 The Rudy Vallee Sealtest Show
1941 Greek War Relief Fund
1941 The Pepsodent Show
1942 Command Performance
1942 Mail Call
1943 Soldiers In Greasepaint
1943 The Elgin Company's Second Annual Tribute To the Armed Forces
1944 Cavalcade Of America
1944 Which Is Which?
1945 Music For Millions
1945 Lux Radio Theatre
1945 Radio Hall Of Fame
1945 V-E Day Special
1945 The Chase and Sanborn Program
1945 Armed Forces V-J Program
1945 Victory Chest Program
1945 Request Performance
1945 Songs By Sinatra
1946 Maxwell House Coffee Time
1946 Drene Time
1946 Purple Heart Theater
1947 The Victor Borge Show
1947 Here's To Veterans
1947 The Frank Morgan Show
1947 Old Gold Time
1947 The Bickersons
1948 U.S.O. Farewell Program
1948 Symphonies Under the Stars
1948 Guest Star
1948 The Railroad Hour
1949 The Martin and Lewis Show
1950 Music By Faith
1951 Stars On Parade
1956 Recollections At Thirty
Swingtime
To the Rear March
Treasury Star Parade |

Frances Langford circa 1942

Frances Langford circa 1938
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From the July 12, 2005 edition of the Frederick News-Post:
Frances Langford dead at 92
MIAMI -- Frances Langford, whose steamy rendition of "I'm in the Mood for Love" captivated soldiers when she was part of Bob Hope's USO tours during World War II, died Monday at the age of 92.
She died at her home in Jensen Beach, said her secretary, Kim Stanton.
Ms. Langford, a recording artist, radio star and actress from the 1930s to 1950s, joined Hope's troupe to boost wartime morale at military bases and hospitals in Great Britain, Italy, North Africa and the South Pacific. She also entertained new generations of soldiers in Korea and Vietnam.
Even with her hair swept up in a bandanna, the 5-foot-1 singer was a glamorous vision of home and became known as the "Sweetheart of the Fighting Fronts."
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Carmen Dragon
Composer, Arranger, Conductor, Educator, Radio and Television Personality
(1914-1984)
Birthplace: Antioch, California, U.S.A.
Radiography:
1940 Meredith Willson's Musical Revue
1943 The Passing Parade
1944 Maxwell House Coffee Time
1944 The Fanny Brice-Frank Morgan Show
1945 Columbia Presents Corwin
1946 Drene Time
1948 The Railroad Hour
1948 The Prudential Family Hour Of Stars
1955 The Standard School Broadcast |

Carmen Dragon circa 1948

Carmen and Eloise Dragon at home at their piano circa April 1945

Carmen Dragon at home with his two sons, 5-yr old Douglas (left) and 2-yr old Daryl (center) circa April 1945

Carmen Dragon circa 1958
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From the March 30, 1984 edition of the Indiana Gazette:
Carmen Dragon dead at 69
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) -- Academy Award-winning composer-conductor Carmen Dragon, who for four decades made music on film, radio, television and records, died Wednesday of cancer at age 69.
Dragon died at 11 a.m. at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, said spokesman Mitchell Schneider.
Dragon, whose son Daryl Dragon is half of the husband-wife pop music team the Captain & Tennille, won an Oscar with Morris Stoloff for scoring the 1944 musical "Cover Girl." In 1964 he won an Emmy for producing and creating the Glendale Symphony Orchestra Christmas special on NBC.
Dragon recorded more than 75 albums for Capitol Records, conducting the Hollywood Bowl, Royal Philharmonic and Capitol orchestras. He has been conductor of the Glendale Symphony Orchestra for the last 20 years.
Born July 28, 1914, in Antioch, Calif., to a family whose members played 15 different instruments, Dragon by his teens had mastered the piano, string bass, accordion, trumpet and trombone.
He majored in music at San Jose State College, taught music and for three years led a top Bay Area collegiate dance orchestra.
He left school at age 21 for San Francisco, where he played the piano at a nightclub. A concert arrangement caught the attention of Meredith Willson, who brought Dragon with him to Hollywood where he soon was arranging for Judy Garland, Dick Powell, Nelson Eddy, Mary Martin and others.
His first recorded album was with Deanna Durbin and in 1942 he began working on films.
He also began conducting for such radio shows as the Fanny Brice "Baby Snooks" program, the "Railroad Hour" which featured an operetta a week, and the "Standard School Broadcast."
Dragon's composition, "I'm an American," has become a standard with symphonies and bands nation-wide, and he was responsible for what is probably the most widely-used orchestral arrangement of "America, the Beautiful."
He has conducted throughout the United States, Europe and Japan.
Dragon, who lived in Malibu, is survived by his wife, the former Eloise Rawitzer, and three sons and two daughters.
Funeral arrangements were pending, Schneider said.
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