Biography

Frances Langford

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Frances Langford won fame on radio (primarily as Bob Hope's vocalist, later sparring comically with Don Ameche as "The Bickersons"), via recordings and in the movies. In spite of the fact that she played mostly in minor musicals (plus appearing occasionally in "A" productions, including Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), This Is the Army (1943) and The Glenn Miller Story (1954)), she introduced major songs like "I'm in the Mood for Love" in Every Night at Eight (1935), "You are My Lucky Star" and "Broadway Rhythm" in Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935), Cole Porter's "Easy to Love" in Born to Dance (1936) and "Hooray for Hollywood" in Hollywood Hotel (1937).
- IMDb mini biography by: Stephan Eichenberg <eichenbe@fak-cbg.tu-muenchen.de>

According to Bob Hope, the biggest laugh he ever heard from an audience occurred in 1944 at a USO show for young Marine troops on a remote South Pacific island. When Frances Langford sang the first line of her song, "I'm in the Mood for Love", a Marine in the audience stood up and shouted, "You've come to the right place, honey!".
During one of their USO tours, she and Bob Hope were forced to leap out of a jeep to avoid fire from a German fighter plane. They both jumped to safety in a culvert, with Frances landing on top of Bob. Another time they spent the night in the basement of a hotel in Algiers as bombs burst above them.
Her steamy rendition of "I'm in the Mood for Love" (from her movie Every Night at Eight (1935)) was her trademark, and captivated soldiers when she was part of Bob Hope's USO tours during World War II.
Teamed up with Don Ameche on radio and on record albums as a battling married couple in the "The Bickersons" (called "Drene Time" when program was sponsored by Drene Shampoo [1946-1947]).
She gave her last public concert in 1966 during a tour for the US forces in Vietnam.

"Entertaining the troops was the greatest thing in my life. We were there just to do our job, to help make them laugh and be happy if they could." (January 2002)
I'd sing a song, and I could just see the guys getting this faraway expression. I knew they were going home in their minds. -- Interview, 2000

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