Vaughn Monroe

Vaughn Monroe

Born: October 7, 1911
Died: May 21, 1973
in Akron, Ohio, USA
Vaughn Wilton Monroe was an American baritone singer, trumpeter, big band leader, actor, and businessman, who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording and another for radio performance. Monroe formed his first orchestra in Boston in 1940 and became its principal vocalist. He began recording for RCA Victor's subsidiary Bluebird label. That same year, Monroe built The Meadows, a restaurant and nightclub to the west of Boston on Massachusetts Route 9 in Framingham, Massachusetts. After he ceased performing, he continued running the club until his death in 1973.

The summer of 1942 brought a 13-week engagement on radio, as Monroe and his orchestra had a summer replacement program for Blondie on CBS. Monroe hosted the Camel Caravan radio program from The Meadows, starting in 1946 and, during this time, was featured in a Camel cigarettes commercial. In 1952, Monroe and his orchestra had a weekly program on Saturday nights on NBC radio. Monroe was tall and handsome, which helped him as a band leader and singer, as well as in Hollywood. He was sometimes called "the Baritone with Muscles", "the Voice with Hair on its Chest", "Ol' Leather Tonsils", or "Leather Lungs".

Monroe recorded extensively for RCA Victor until 1956, and his signature tune was "Racing With the Moon". It sold more than one million copies by 1952, becoming Monroe's first million-seller, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. Among his other hits were "In the Still of the Night", "There I Go", "There I've Said It Again", "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow", "Ballerina", "Melody Time", "Riders in the Sky", "Someday (You'll Want Me To Want You)", "Sound Off", and "In the Middle of the House". He also turned down the chance to record "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".

Monroe's orchestra had a number of excellent musicians including future jazz guitar great Bucky Pizzarelli. While their musical focus was largely romantic ballads, in person, the band had a fiercely swinging side only occasionally captured on record. In ballrooms, Monroe often reserved the final set of the evening for unrestrained, swinging music.

Movies also beckoned, although he did not pursue it with vigor. Monroe appeared in Meet the People, Carnegie Hall, Singing Guns, and Toughest Man in Arizona. He co-authored The Adventures of Mr. Putt Putt, a children's book about airplanes and flying, a personal interest of his. He hosted The Vaughn Monroe Show on CBS Television and appeared on Bonanza, The Mike Douglas Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, Texaco Star Theatre, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and American Bandstand. He was a major stockholder in RCA and appeared in print ads and television commercials for the company's television and audio products.

After leaving the performing end of show business, he remained with RCA for many years as a television spokesperson, executive, and talent scout. In the latter capacity, he helped give Neil Sedaka, among others, his first major exposure. He was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording and one for radio in Hollywood, California.

Movies for Vaughn Monroe...

Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin' - The Story of L.A. Woman
Title: Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin' - The Story of L.A. Woman
Character: Himself (archive footage)
Released: January 24, 2012
Type: Movie
“Mr Mojo Risin’” is the story of the making of the Doors’ last album with Jim Morrison “L.A. Woman”. 2011 is the 40th anniversary both of the album’s release and of the death of Jim Morrison and this programme goes into detail of how the album came about, its recording and what was happening to the band at the time. The story is told through new interviews with the three surviving Doors: Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore plus contributions from Jac Holzman, founder of their label Elektra Records, Bill Siddons, who was their manager, Bruce Botnick, engineer and co-producer of the album and others associated with the Doors at this time. The show includes archive footage of the Doors performing both live and in the studio, classic photographs and new musical demonstrations from the Doors.
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Title: The Merv Griffin Show
Character: Self
Released: October 1, 1962
Type: TV
The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to August 15, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in first-run syndication from February 14, 1972 to September 5, 1986.
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Title: The Mike Douglas Show
Character: Self
Released: December 11, 1961
Type: TV
The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
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Vision In The Forest
Title: Vision In The Forest
Character: Himself
Released: January 1, 1957
Type: Movie
Courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service, a short film in which singer Vaughn Monroe and his family vacation in the woods. While Vaughn sings folk songs and dispenses fire safety information, his young daughter Chris wanders off into the forest alone and has a brief encounter with a man in a cheap Smokey the Bear costume.
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Title: Air Time '57
Released: December 27, 1956
Type: TV
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Title: The Steve Allen Show
Character: Self - Singer
Released: June 24, 1956
Type: TV
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Title: General Electric Theater
Released: February 1, 1953
Type: TV
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.
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Toughest Man in Arizona
Title: Toughest Man in Arizona
Character: Matt Landry
Released: October 10, 1952
Type: Movie
Marshal Landry captures outlaw Girard and bringing him in finds a woman and two children, the only survivors of an Indian attack. Later, transferring the prisoner his brothers free him. Then a stage is robbed of a silver shipment by Girard and his brothers. Examining telegrams gets Landry a confession from Girard's girlfriend. The telegraph line has been tapped and the telegrapher is the supposedly dead husband of the woman he brough in. Now knowing Girard's location he sets out after him.
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Singing Guns
Title: Singing Guns
Character: Rhiannon / John Gwyn
Released: February 28, 1950
Type: Movie
Notorious stagecoach robber Rhiannon is unintentionally appointed as deputy when he saves the sheriff's life and must wear two hats between his new job that he enjoys and his old occupation that he misses.
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Title: What's My Line?
Character: Self - Mystery Guest
Released: February 2, 1950
Type: TV
Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.
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Title: The Ed Sullivan Show
Character: Self
Released: June 20, 1948
Type: TV
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
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Title: The Ed Sullivan Show
Character: Self - Singer
Released: June 20, 1948
Type: TV
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
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Carnegie Hall
Title: Carnegie Hall
Character: Vaughn Monroe
Released: February 28, 1947
Type: Movie
A young Irishwoman comes to the United States to live and work with her mother as a cleaning lady at Carnegie Hall. She becomes attached to the place as the people she meets there gradually shape her life. The film also includes a variety of performances from some of the foremost musical artists of the times: conductors Bruno Walter & Leopold Stokowski, solists Arthur Rubinstein & Jascha Haifetz, singers Lily Pons & Jan Peerce and bandleader Vaughn Monroe among many others.
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Meet the People
Title: Meet the People
Character: Vaughn Monroe (uncredited)
Released: June 1, 1944
Type: Movie
A idealistic shipyard worker interests a beautiful Hollywood star in staging a musical tribute to the war industry, but they disagree on some important issues.