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Andy Russell is a Actor American born on 16 september 1919 at Boyle Heights (USA)

Andy Russell

Andy Russell
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Birth name Andrés Rábago
Nationality USA
Birth 16 september 1919 at Boyle Heights (USA)
Death 16 april 1992 (at 72 years)

Andy Russell (born Andrés Rábago; September 16, 1919 – April 16, 1992) was an American popular vocalist, specializing in traditional pop and Latin music. He sold 8 million records in the 1940s to early 1950s singing in a romantic, baritone voice in his trademark bilingual English and Spanish style. He had chart-busters, such as "Bésame Mucho," "Amor," "What a Diff'rence a Day Made," "Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)," "Without You," and "The Anniversary Waltz." He also performed on many radio programs, most notably Your Hit Parade, in several movies, and on television. Later, he traveled to Mexico where he was the star of radio, television, motion pictures, records, and nightclubs. He also toured extensively throughout Latin America, Cuba, Portugal, and Spain and was the host of the television variety program El Show de Andy Russell in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 1956 to 1965, thus achieving international popularity and tremendous success during this period. Upon returning to the United States, he continued to record music, at which point his 1967 single "It's Such a Pretty World Today" was number one for 9 weeks on Billboard Magazine's Easy Listening Chart. During the 1970s and 1980s, he continued to perform, occasionally recording new records and making appearances on television. He received international accolades and awards, the most notable of which was being recognized as a trailblazer who not only introduced U.S. audiences to popular songs sung in English and Spanish but also influenced later performers--Hispanic and non-Hispanic—to sing bilingually, as well. Regrettably, today, Russell has been virtually forgotten and his enormous contributions as the first American Latino, bilingual singer who performed on three continents over a span of almost 50 years are hardly discussed by the media or scholars and much less credited by the performers who succeeded him.

Biography

Charities
Although Russell was 4-F (unfit for military service) due to a broken arm that did not heal properly, he helped to raise funds for the war by singing at fund raisers.

Russell came up with the idea for the different vocalists and big band musicians to form teams and play annual softball games for the Youth Welfare Fund, a charity. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce organized the games for such teams as the "Andy Russell Sprouts" and the "Frank Sinatra Swooners" to play at Gilmore Stadium (which was demolished in 1952, when the land was used to build CBS Television City in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California). Other stars who participated were crooners Dick Haymes, Nat King Cole, and Mel Tormé; bandleader Harry James; dancer and actor Gene Kelly; and comedians Bob Hope and Mickey Rooney. Actress Jane Russell and Lois Andrews also participated as "Russell Sprouts" bat girls, while Virginia Mayo was a "Frank Sinatra Swooners" bat girl.


Friendships
One of the greatest thrills in Russell's life was to not only sing with his idol Bing Crosby, but to actually consider him a close friend.

He and Della were close, long-time friends of the tenor Mario Lanza and his wife Betty and their family. The couples would vacation together at a ranch near Lake Mead, Nevada. In 1950, Russell and his wife Della were asked to be godparents to Lanza's second daughter, Ellisa. In an odd twist, Lanza developed an infatuation with the blond and glamorous Della which inspired him to record his own romantic—and according to him, better—version of "Bésame Mucho" for her. By 1953, after standing by Lanza through the worst of his troubles, Russell's patience wore thin, and he cooled to the friendship.

Russell also performed with fellow Mexican American actress, singer, and dancer Emily Cranz on an early 1960s Mexican television show.


Romances
Russell was romantically linked with different women in his life, such as actress Ariadna Skipsey (née Welter) (1954), the Countess Joaquina de Navas of Madrid (1964), Houston oil heiress Susan Smithford (1966), and Spanish dancer Maria Rosa Marcos (1967).



Marriages
Russell was married 5 times:

His first wife was Evelyn Marie Morse (1919-1993). Date of marriage was June 30, 1940 in Los Angeles, CA. Their divorce was finalized in 1945.

His second wife was Della (Norrell) Russell (née Adelina Naccarelli ) (1921-2006), a New York nightclub singer. They wed at the Little Church of the West, Las Vegas, Nevada on October 23, 1945. "During the ceremony, Della was crying when the minister asked, 'Do you?' So, Russell just upped and said, 'Yes, she do.'" They would later marry in a Catholic church ceremony because Della felt that they were not really married. Afterwards, she became his singing partner, and they performed their act together in nightclubs, on the ABC TV Show Andy and Della Russell in 1950-1951, and in a musical short called House Party (1953). Disagreements about whether or not to have a family was probably one of the reasons that led to their divorce on February 3, 1954.

His third wife was Velia Sánchez Belmont (1929-2002), the daughter of Eduardo Sánchez Torres, former Mexican ambassador to Netherlands. They wed in Mexico City on July 10, 1954 and had a son, Andy Russell, Jr. Divorce date is not known.

His fourth wife was Virginia "Ginny" Pace, a talk-show hostess and former Mrs. Houston. According to a 1962 newspaper article, Pace was married with 5 children. In 1967, she divorced her husband and married Russell the same year.
Russell considered himself a "real family man" and was dedicated to his six children and grandchildren. The couple divorced in 1987.

His fifth wife, with whom he was married up to the time of his death in 1992, was Doris E. Russell. Marriage date is not known.

Usually with

Charles Lang
Charles Lang
(1 films)
Walt Disney
Walt Disney
(1 films)
Joe Grant
Joe Grant
(1 films)
Jerry Colonna
Jerry Colonna
(1 films)
Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton
(1 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Andy Russell (5 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

The Dream Wizard, 1h10
Genres Comedy, Fantasy, Musical, Animation
Actors Andy Russell
Roles The Dream Wizard (voice)
Rating72% 3.618883.618883.618883.618883.61888
Copacabana
Copacabana (1947)
, 1h32
Directed by Alfred E. Green
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Groucho Marx, Carmen Miranda, Steve Cochran, Andy Russell, Gloria Jean, Ralph Sanford
Roles Andy Russell
Rating60% 3.046793.046793.046793.046793.04679
Lionel Q. Devereaux and his alluring girlfriend, Brazilian singer Carmen Navarro have been engaged for ten years. They are highly unsuccessful nightclub performers, due to Lionel's total lack of talent. They stay at an upscale hotel in New York. One day they get a twenty four hour notice to pay their bill, but needless to say they lack the funds to oblige. They hurriedly try to convince the big shot producer Steve Hunt to give Carmen a job at the Club Copacabana, and with the help of the easily convinced, gullible singer Andy Russell, posing as an agent, they achieve their goal to get her an audition.
Make Mine Music, 1h15
Directed by Joe Grant, Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Joshua Meador, Jack Kinney
Origin USA
Genres Musical theatre, Musical, Animation
Themes Dance films, Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Children's films
Actors Nelson Eddy, Dinah Shore, Jerry Colonna, Sterling Holloway, Andy Russell, Ken Darby
Roles Self (voice)
Rating61% 3.090873.090873.090873.090873.09087
Le film se présente comme une séance dans une salle de spectacle. Il se compose de dix séquences nommées différemment lors de leurs rééditions en dehors du long métrage :
Breakfast in Hollywood, 1h30
Directed by Harold D. Schuster
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Musical theatre, Musical
Actors Bonita Granville, Beulah Bondi, Raymond Walburn, Billie Burke, Zasu Pitts, Hedda Hopper
Roles Andy Russell - Singer
Rating56% 2.8079252.8079252.8079252.8079252.807925
This script must be run from the command line
The Stork Club, 1h38
Directed by Hal Walker, Oscar Rudolph, Alvin Ganzer
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romantic comedy, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films
Actors Betty Hutton, Mae Busch, Barry Fitzgerald, Don DeFore, Andy Russell, Robert Benchley
Roles Jim Jones
Rating63% 3.1947053.1947053.1947053.1947053.194705
Judy Peabody saves an old man from drowning. He turns out to be Jerry Bates, "J.B." to his lawyer Curtis, "Pop" to Judy, who mistakenly believes the wealthy old-timer to be poor.