Dick Haymes

Dick Haymes was a big band crooner and actor. His mother was a singer and he was educated in France, Switzerland, and England; in 1936 he came to the U.S., beginning his show business career as a radio announcer. Soon he was working as a band vocalist, and eventually performed with the big bands of Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, and Benny Goodman. By the early '40s he was one of America's top crooners and a highly successful nightclub and recording artist. He was signed to a film contract by 20th Century Fox in 1943 (having previously appeared onscreen occasionally as a bit player or extra) and starred in a number of films over the next several years; however, he never achieved much popularity as a screen personality, and made no films after 1953. During World War II, he avoided the draft by registering as a resident alien, waiving his right to become a U.S. citizen; this came back to haunt him in 1953, when he left the country briefly and then, upon his return, was held for illegal entry and ordered deported as an undesirable alien. Later the deportation order was revoked, but his career never completely recovered. From the mid-'60s he resided in Ireland, and made a modest comeback in the U.S. in nightclubs and on TV. His six wives included actresses Joanne Dru and Rita Hayworth, singer Fran Jeffries, and Errol Flynn's ex-wife Nora Eddington Flynn. He was the brother of singer/actor Bob Haymes, aka Robert Stanton.

~ All Movie Guide