- LC50003081
- Person
- 1915-05-05 - 1998-05-09
Alice Faye (May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was a successful musical film star before walking off the lot of Fox Studios to focus on her personal life. Born Alice Jean Leppert in New York City, Faye began her career as a chorus girl before finding a spot in George White’s Scandals of 1931, a Broadway show in which Rudy Vallée starred. Vallée later hired her as a singer on his radio show. In 1934, she moved to film when Fox Studios turned the George White’s Scandals of 1931 into a movie and hired her to play Vallée’s love interest. Over the next eleven years, Faye showcased her warm contralto voice in over 30 films, mostly plotless, lighthearted entertainment. She was a favorite of Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Cole Porter, and introduced more songs to the Hit Parade than any other female Hollywood movie star. In 1945, Faye accepted a dramatic lead role in Fallen Angel; however, the final version emphasized Fox Studio’s new protégé Linda Darnell rather than Faye. She left the studio and did not return for seventeen years.