Alice Faye: A Life Beyond the Silver Screen

334 Pages·2002·2.31 MB·English

by  Jane Lenz Elder

Alice Faye
Hollywood Legends Series
Ronald L. Davis, General Editor
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Alice Faye
A Life Beyond the Silver Screen
Jane Lenz Elder
UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI • JACKSON

For
the Mouse and the Duke
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 3
Chapter 1. Broadway Baby 11
Chapter 2. Vallée’s Satin Doll 30
Chapter 3. Scandals 48
Chapter 4. New Studio, New Star 68
Chapter 5. Breakthrough 83
Chapter 6. Treadmill 99
Chapter 7. Queen of the Lot 118
Chapter 8. So This Is Harris 138
Chapter 9. Movies and Motherhood 157
Chapter 10. Goodbye Fox 175
Chapter 11. Return to Radio 193
Chapter 12. Celebrity Fulfilled 213
viii CONTENTS
Epilogue 235
Filmography 249
Bibliographical Essay 263
Bibliography 295
Index 301
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
When I was a teenager my mother chided me for spending my free time
watching old movies. “You’ll never get anywhere doing that,” she said re-
peatedly. Perhaps not. Nevertheless, as adolescence recedes and forty looms
ever larger on the horizon, I still relish the hours I have spent in the world
of celluloid. Writing a film biography merely provides focus, a sense of le-
gitimacy, and an excuse to become better acquainted with some of the
people and places related to Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Heading my list of acknowledgments is, of course, Ronald L. Davis,
professor emeritus of History at Southern Methodist University, who drew
on his own experiences as a documenter of film history to advise me on
many aspects of this book. Further thanks go to the wealth of people who
willingly shared their time and memories of Alice Faye, either in person,
on the phone, or by e-mail. These include her friends Jewel Baxter, Gabé
Farrell, Kay Gregory, Judy McHarg, Betty Scharf, Nancy Whitaker, and
Virginia Zamboni. Alice’s fans, many of whom she also counted as friends,
proved equally generous. Tim Hollis, of the Lum & Abner Society, helped
me track down radio information. Robert Kendall forwarded letters and
articles with useful information and insights. Mickey Smith, radio aficio-
nado in the Pharmacy School at the University of Missisippi, shared Phil
Harris and Rexall material with me. George Ulrich remained in constant
contact, helping me with copies of her movies, CDs and records, and a
final shooting script of Fallen Angel,and, most important, reading the man-
uscript with great care at its final stage. Above all was Roy Bishop, whose
knowledge and appreciation for Alice Faye and her work was equaled
only by his fabulous collection of memorabilia and his willingness to take
ix