This episode’s featured Swell Dame is Abbe Lane. Abbe Lane was born Abigail Francine Lassman on 14th December, 1932 into a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. Early in her career, Lane was billed as “Abbe Marshall” using that name, she appeared in the Broadway shows Barefoot Boy with Cheek (1947) and As the Girls Go (1948). She was known as much as an actress as a singer owing to the extensive film career that she had. She first appeared in an Italian film Al Diavolo El Cellebrite (A Night of Fame) in 1949 and then followed with three westerns Wings of the Hawk (1953), Ride Clear of Diablo (1954) and The Americano (1955) which starred Van Heflin, Audie Murphy and Glen Ford respectively.
She also starred alongside Dennis O’Keefe in the American film noir, The Chicago Syndicate in 1955. Abbe then made numerous Italian films over the next decade which included I Girovaghi (The Wanderer) in 1956 in which she starred next to Peter Ustinov. Abbe Lane was born Abigail Francine Lassman on 14th December, 1932 into a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. Early in her career, Lane was billed as “Abbe Marshall” using that name, she appeared in the Broadway shows Barefoot Boy with Cheek (1947) and As the Girls Go (1948). She was known as much as an actress as a singer owing to the extensive film career that she had. She first appeared in an Italian film Al Diavolo El Cellebrite (A Night of Fame) in 1949 and then followed with three westerns Wings of the Hawk (1953), Ride Clear of Diablo (1954) and The Americano (1955) which starred Van Heflin, Audie Murphy and Glen Ford respectively. She also starred alongside Dennis O’Keefe in the American film noir, The Chicago Syndicate in 1955. Abbe then made numerous Italian films over the next decade which included I Girovaghi (The Wanderer) in 1956 in which she starred next to Peter Ustinov.
In 1952 Lane married bandleader Xavier Cugat, who was 32 years her senior. During the 1950s and early 60s she worked as a nightclub singer and was described in a 1963 magazine article as “the swingingest sexpot in show business.” Cugat’s influence was seen in her music, which favoured Latin and rumba styles. In 1958 she starred opposite Tony Randall in the Broadway musical “Oh, Captain!” but her recording contract prevented her from appearing on the original cast album of the show. Eileen Rodgers performed her songs for the cast LP; Lane later recorded her songs on a solo album. Lane made several recordings for RCA Victor and Mercury. She worked with Tito Puente on the album Be Mine Tonight released in 1958. In 1964, Lane and Cugat divorced. They had no children together during their marriage. That same year Lane married Perry Leff, a producer, to whom she is still married.
Lane attracted attention for her suggestive comments, such as “‘Jayne Mansfield may turn boys into men, but I take them from there.” She said she was considered “too sexy in Italy”. Her costume for an appearance on the Jackie Gleason Show was considered too revealing and she was instructed to wear something else. She was a guest on the television shows of Red Skelton, Dean Martin and Jack Benny and appeared as a guest in numerous sitcoms during the 1960s and 70s.
In 1992, Lane wrote the semi-autobiographical novel But Where Is Love? which described the painful memories of a teenage girl married to an older man.
Other swell dames singing in this episode include Ella Fitzgerald, Lola Albright, Jeri Southern, Blossom Dearie, Hadda Brooks, Nancy Guerland, Jo Ann Greer, Anita Ellis, & Annie Ross
Appetizers
