Frances Langford

Frances Langford Dies Aged 92 

On Monday the 11th July 2005 the beautiful and talented Francis Langford died at her home in Jenson Beach, Florida.

On radio she may be best remembered for her role as Blanche Bickerson the loud mouth wife of John Bickerson whose constant nagging led to some great comedy lines of entertainment. In real life Frances Langford was far removed from the character of Blanche. She was a wonderfully, warm caring person whose greatest years of her life were spent boosting the morale of our servicemen overseas during World War Two with her beautiful singing voice and warm personality.

In 1941 after becoming a regular singer on the Bob Hope Show along with Hope she visited GI's in England, Africa, Sicily, the Caribbean and the Pacific earning her the nickname the sweetheart of the fighting fronts.

She continued her commitment to servicemen when she returned to the United States. In 1944-45, she wrote a diary for the New York Journal-American about her experiences visiting servicemen who had been wounded in World War Two known as The Purple Heart Diary. 

From 1945 she co-hosted The Spike Jones Show, which was at that time known as The Chase and Sanborn Show after its sponsors and was often broadcast from US navel hospitals. I will add some episodes of this throughout the week so you can hear her wonderful singing and feel the warmth of her personality.

In rememberance I will also add an episode of Texaco Star Theater from 1939 when Francis Langford was a vocalist on the variety show.

Frances was married three times; first to actor Jon Hall in 1938 they were divorced 15 years later but remained friends until his death in 1979. A year later in 1955 she married Ralph Evinrude, whose family made outboard motors for boats. He died in 1986. In 1994, Langford married Harold Stuart, former assistant secretary of the Air Force under President Truman. Stuart survives her. She had no children from any of her marriages.

Thanks to the wonderful media of old-time-radio Frances Langford will live on in memory for all to enjoy.

Happy listening my friends,