- Frances Faye
Infobox Person
name = Frances Faye
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birth_date =November 4 ,1912
birth_place =Brooklyn , NY
death_date =November 8 ,1991
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occupation = Singer, Pianist
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spouse = Teri Shepherd
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website =Frances Faye (real name Frances Cohen,
November 4 ,1912 -November 8 ,1991 ) was an Americancabaret andshow tune singer and pianist. She was born to a working-classJewish family inBrooklyn , NY. She was a second cousin of actorDanny Kaye .Career
Faye's showbiz career began at age 15 in nightclubs where she first became a star. She appeared in one
Bing Crosby film; "Double or Nothing" singing "After You ". She wrote the song "Well All Right" recorded bythe Andrews Sisters . Faye made her solo recording debut in 1936. Her act became famous for includingdouble entendre s and references tohomosexuality andlesbianism . [ [http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/biof1/faye1.html Frances Faye Biography] "Andrejkoymasky.com". Accessed 31 July 2007.] Faye herself was bisexual and hinted at this frequently in her act; she would often playfully alter pronouns in love songs or weave her girlfriend's name into lyrics of song. For instance, she inserted "it's a Teri, Teri day" into "The Man I Love" and on national television sang "why do all the boys treat Teri so right" in "Shimmy Like My Sister Kate."She recorded about a dozen albums for many different record companies, including
Capitol Records andImperial Records and jazz labelsVerve Records andBethlehem Records .Faye was married twice in the 1940's. In the late 1950s, a woman named Teri Shepherd became her manager and lifelong partner.
During in the 1960s, Faye suffered a number of health related problems brought on by a hip accident in 1958. She nevertheless continued to tour into the early 1980s.
Peter Allen credits her as a major influence. She returned to film in 1978, playing amadam in theLouis Malle film "Pretty Baby". Faye retired shortly afterward. At the time of her death in 1991, Faye was living with Teri Shepherd.Shepherd discusses her relationship with Faye (alongside clips of the singer in performance) in Bruce Weber's 2001 film "
Chop Suey ".References
External links
* [http://www.glbtq.com/arts/faye_f.html Frances Faye] on
glbtq.com
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0269662/ Frances Faye on IMDB]
* [http://www.jtsears.com/fayepage.htm Tribute to Frances]
* [http://tyleralpern.com/francesfaye.html Biography, Photos, Career Details]
* [http://tyleralpern.com/francesfaye.html The New Fabulous Frances Faye Archive]
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