Alan Dale

A fiercely independent crooner who answered to no one and once paid the price for his stubbornness by being hurled through a Latin Quarter plate-glass window, popular singer Alan Dale made television history when the immensely popular Alan Dale Show became the first television program to be kinescoped for viewing across the country. Born the son of an Italian comedian in 1925, Dale began his career at the tender age of nine when the eager youngster bolted on-stage on an open invitation from the audience. Later graduating from Brooklyn's Lafayette High School, the singer was merely 20 years old when his popular television series debuted on the Dumont Television Network in 1948. Later moving to CBS, the overworked singer would gain much attention when, at one point, he collapsed on-air from exhaustion and an ulcer. Though he lost his television shows due to an extended recovery period, Dale made a comeback with a little help from friend and Coral Records A&R chief Bob Theile. Going on to record such hits as "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" and "Sweet and Gentle," Dale's legions of fans could later catch the singer in the 1957 film Don't Knock the Boat. Many believe that his refusal to accept the offers made to him by figures in the mafia underworld directly correlated with his sagging career, the incident at the Latin Quarter, and a deliberate disappearance from the spotlight. In April of 2002, Alan Dale died in New York following an extended illness.

~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide