Alice Faye

	Alice Faye
	; Faye in 1934
	Background information
Spouse(s):	Tony Martin; (1937 - 1940) divorced; Phil Harris; (1941 - 1995) died
Children:	2
Occupation:	Actress, singer
Years active	1934–1995
Website:	alicefaye.com/

Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; ✦May 5, 1915 – †May 9, 1998) was an American actress and

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. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as On the Avenue (1937) and Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938). She is often associated with the Academy Award–winning standard "You'll Never Know", which she introduced in the 1943 musical film Hello, Frisco, Hello.

Early Life

1915–1933: Early life and career beginnings

Alice Jeanne Leppert was born on May 5, 1915, in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, the daughter of Alice (née Moffit), who worked for the Mirror Chocolate Company, and Charles Leppert, a police officer. She had an older brother, Charles. Faye was raised an Episcopalian. Faye's entertainment career began in

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as a

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. She failed an audition for the Earl Carroll Vanities when she was found to be too young, then moved to Broadway and a featured role in the 1931 edition of George White's Scandals. By this time, she had adopted her stage name and first reached a radio audience on Rudy Vallée's The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour.

She left her career as a film actress and became known for her role on the radio show The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show.

1934–1938: Early work

Faye gained her first major film break in 1934, when Lilian Harvey abandoned the lead role in a film version of George White's Scandals (1934 film), in which Vallee was also to appear. Hired first to perform a musical number with Vallee, Faye ended up as the female lead. She became a popular film star for audiences of the 1930s, particularly when Fox production head Darryl F. Zanuck made her his protégée. He softened Faye from a wisecracking

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to a youthful and yet somewhat motherly figure, such as her roles in a few Shirley Temple films. Faye received a physical makeover, going from a version of Jean Harlow to a wholesome appearance, in which her platinum hair and pencil-line eyebrows were swapped for a more natural look.

Faye was cast as the female lead in In Old Chicago (1938). Zanuck initially resisted casting Faye, as the role had been written for Jean Harlow, but critics applauded Faye's performance. The film contained a 20-minute finale, a recreation of the Great Chicago Fire, a scene so dangerous that women, except for the main stars, were banned from the set. In the film, she appeared with two of her most frequent co-stars, Tyrone Power and Don Ameche, as it was customary for studios to pair their contract players together in more than one film.

Faye, Power, and Ameche were reunited for the 1938 release Alexander's Ragtime Band, which was designed to showcase more than 20 Irving Berlin songs; Faye again received strong reviews. One of the most expensive films of its time, it also became one of the most successful musicals of the 1930s.