Person Details

Birthday:

Aliases: Richard Benjamin Haymes

Gender: Male

Place of birth: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 13

TV Involvements: 6


Most Famous Work

Biography

Arguably one of the best singers of the twentieth century, Dick Haymes was born in Argentina to a Scots/Irish father and Irish mother, but brought to the U.S. as an infant. Dick inherited his vocal gift from his mother who made ends meet during the Depression as a singer and voice teacher. A music gig in 1931 caught the eye of a local band leader and soon Dick was moving up, but it was slow-going. In 1939, while Dick was trying to pitch his songwriting talents to band leader Harry James, he ended up his featured vocalist, instead. During the war years Dick hooked up with the Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey orchestras before deciding to go solo. Nabbing his own radio program in addition to a Decca recording contract, Twentieth Century Fox soon expressed interest in his musical talents. Among his many film leads were State Fair (1945) opposite Jeanne Crain and Vivian Blaine, Diamond Horseshoe (1945) and The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947) both paired with Betty Grable, One Touch of Venus (1948) with Ava Gardner, and All Ashore (1953), a second string version of On the Town (1949), with Mickey Rooney and Ray McDonald as his shore-leave buddies. For such a pleasant and unassuming man, Dick's personal life certainly was a shambles aggravated by alcoholism and financial debt. Five marriages came and went (including actresses Joanne Dru, Nora Eddington, Rita Hayworth, and Fran Jeffries) before his sixth one finally stuck. By the 1960s, his life was all but ruined. He managed to travel to Europe and picked up the remnants of his career. His reputation had not tarnished there, and he enjoyed some renewed popularity; he never regained, however, the foothold in the business that he once had. Dick died of lung cancer in 1980. Though not as well remembered as other crooners of his time (Frank Sinatra, Tony Martin, Vic Damone), and not a particularly charismatic performer on film, this rich baritone's legacy IS his music. Some of Dick's more popular recordings include "The More I See You," "How Blue the Night," "For You, For Me, Forever More," "Speak Low," and "Another Night Like This."

Most Famous Work

Adam-12
Average
7

Adam-12

(1968) Dr. Elroy Gantman
The Saint
Average
7

The Saint

(1962) Dunstan
The Ford Television Theatre
Average
6

The Ford Television Theatre

(1952) John Erickson
The Dick Clark Show
Average
6

The Dick Clark Show

(1958) Self
McMillan and Wife
Average
7

McMillan and Wife

(1971) Fred Wesley
Mutiny on the Bounty
Average
7

Mutiny on the Bounty

(1935) Able Bodied Seaman (uncredited)
Fallen Angel
Average
6

Fallen Angel

(1945) Himself - JukeBox Vocalist (voice) (uncredited)
Dramatic School
Average
6

Dramatic School

(1938) Student (uncredited)

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
2011 Thick-Neck
2003 (archive footage)
1979 Councilman Harris
1978 N/A
1976 James Crawford
1974 Harold Porter
1971 Billy Calm
Fred Wesley
1970 N/A
1968 Dr. Elroy Gantman
1962 Dunstan
Self
1959 N/A
1958 Self
1957 Self
1955 Jim Wheeler
1953 Beauregard Clemment III
Singer, "Anyone But You" (voice) (uncredited)
Joe Carter
1952 John Erickson
1951 Benny
1950 Dan Shepherd
Self
Self - Mystery Guest
1949 N/A
1948 Dick Haymes
Joe Grant
John Matthews
Self
Self - Singer
1947 Jeff Stephens
John Pritchard
1946 Jimmy Hale
1945 Himself - JukeBox Vocalist (voice) (uncredited)
Wayne Frake
Joe Davis, Jr.
1944 Self (uncredited)
Ernest R. Ball
Lt. Dick Ryan
1943 Singer (uncredited)
1938 Student (uncredited)
1935 Able Bodied Seaman (uncredited)
Year Character Movie/Tv

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