Francis Langford

At Camp Atterbury with Bob Hope

Singer-actress Frances Langford, Trouper on Bob Hope Tours, Died at 92 - July 12, 2005

The mellow contralto who joined Bob Hope's troupe during World War II and the Wars in Korea and Vietnam, died yesterday at her home in Jensen Beach.

Francis Langford, the singer who had starred in more than 30 films and former trouper on Bob Hope's tours, died yesterday at her home in Jensen Beach, at the age of 92.  The lawyer Evans Crary Jr., according to the Associated Press, announced her death.

The famous artist Frances Langford Evinrude Stuart has always regarded herself as more of a singer than an actress, as she was best known among radio listeners for hits like "I'm in the Mood for Love," "You Are My Lucky Star" and "Hooray for Hollywood."

During the World War II, Miss Langford traveled with Bob Hope all over the globe to entertain the troops, but she had also sung in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Bob Hope described Frances as one of his three gypsies - entertainers who joined his efforts, together with Jerry Colonna, a bulgy-eyed comic who liked to sing "On the Road to Mandalay," and Tony Romano, a guitarist who sang, arranged and accompanied other talent.


Frances Langford was both fascinated and frightened for being in combat zones, but she has always said that the greatest thing in her life was entertaining the troops. "I'd sing a song, and I could just see the guys getting this far-away expression. I knew they were going home in their minds", Ms. Langford told The Palm Beach Post in 2000.

The artist born on April 6, 1913, in Lakeland, Fla., the daughter of Vasco Langford, a carpenter, and his wife, Anna, who was an accomplished pianist, Frances has briefly attended music college before working in vaudeville.
She was discovered by Rudy Valee, who asked her to sing on a radio show and helped her to take a fresh start in New York.
Her first appearance in Bob Hope's radios how was in 1941.

The singer who returned to the nightclub work after the war, and got married three times, has also played herself in her last movie, The Glenn Miller Story, in 1954.

Francis Langford, the mellow contralto known for her generosity, was inducted to the State Women's Hall of Fame in 2002.

She chose to be cremated and wished for her ashes to be scattered on the waters she loved.