image of Dick Haymes
Birthday: Sep 13, 1918
Place of Birth: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Dick Haymes

Arguably one of the best singers of the twentieth century, Dick Haymes was born in Argentina to a Scots/Irish father and Irish mother, but brought to the U.S. as an infant. Dick inherited his vocal gift from his mother who made ends meet during the Depression as a singer and voice teacher. A music gig in 1931 caught the eye of a local band leader and soon Dick was moving up, but it was slow-going. In 1939, while Dick was trying to pitch his songwriting talents to band leader Harry James, he ended up his featured vocalist, instead. During the war years Dick hooked up with the Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey orchestras before deciding to go solo. Nabbing his own radio program in addition to a Decca recording contract, Twentieth Century Fox soon expressed interest in his musical talents. Among his many film leads were State Fair (1945) opposite Jeanne Crain and Vivian Blaine, Diamond Horseshoe (1945) and The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947) both paired with Betty Grable, One Touch of Venus (1948) with Ava Gardner, and All Ashore (1953), a second string version of On the Town (1949), with Mickey Rooney and Ray McDonald as his shore-leave buddies. For such a pleasant and unassuming man, Dick's personal life certainly was a shambles aggravated by alcoholism and financial debt. Five marriages came and went (including actresses Joanne Dru, Nora Eddington, Rita Hayworth, and Fran Jeffries) before his sixth one finally stuck. By the 1960s, his life was all but ruined. He managed to travel to Europe and picked up the remnants of his career. His reputation had not tarnished there, and he enjoyed some renewed popularity; he never regained, however, the foothold in the business that he once had. Dick died of lung cancer in 1980. Though not as well remembered as other crooners of his time (Frank Sinatra, Tony Martin, Vic Damone), and not a particularly charismatic performer on film, this rich baritone's legacy IS his music. Some of Dick's more popular recordings include "The More I See You," "How Blue the Night," "For You, For Me, Forever More," "Speak Low," and "Another Night Like This."

Filmography
Movie Cast Year
Under Jakob's Ladder Thick-Neck 2011
State Fair Wayne Frake 1945
One Touch of Venus Joe Grant 1948
All Ashore Joe Carter 1953
Do You Love Me Jimmy Hale 1946
Diamond Horseshoe Joe Davis, Jr. 1945
The Shocking Miss Pilgrim John Pritchard 1947
Irish Eyes Are Smiling Ernest R. Ball 1944
Up in Central Park John Matthews 1948
Carnival in Costa Rica Jeff Stephens 1947
Dramatic School Student (uncredited) 1938
St. Benny the Dip Benny 1951
Words and Music Dick Haymes 1948
Four Jills in a Jeep Lt. Dick Ryan 1944
Cruisin' Down the River Beauregard Clemment III 1953
Mutiny on the Bounty Able Bodied Seaman (uncredited) 1935
Fallen Angel Himself - JukeBox Vocalist (voice) (uncredited) 1945
Betrayal Harold Porter 1974
Let's Do It Again Singer, "Anyone But You" (voice) (uncredited) 1953
Du Barry was a Lady Singer (uncredited) 1943
Real Life Councilman Harris 1979
I Am an American Self (uncredited) 1944
Rita (archive footage) 2003
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood James Crawford 1976
Series Cast Year
The Colgate Comedy Hour Self 1950
The Merv Griffin Show Self 1962
The Saint Dunstan 1962
The Ed Sullivan Show Self 1948
Lux Video Theatre Dan Shepherd 1950
McCloud 1970
Suspense 1949
The Eddie Capra Mysteries 1978
Music For A Summer Night 1959
The Dick Clark Show Self 1958
The Ford Television Theatre John Erickson 1952
What's My Line? Self 1950
Tonight Starring Jack Paar Self 1957
McMillan & Wife Fred Wesley 1971
Adam-12 Dr. Elroy Gantman 1968
Screen Director's Playhouse Jim Wheeler 1955
McMillan & Wife Billy Calm 1971
The Ford Television Theatre 1952
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