- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRichard Benjamin Haymes
- Nickname
- Mr Evil
- Height5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- Arguably one of the best crooners of the 20th century, Dick Haymes was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on September 13, 1918, to an English father and Irish-born mother of English descent. Brought to the U.S. as an infant, Dick inherited his vocal gift from his mother who had 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 pretty slow-going. In 1939, while Dick was trying to pitch his songwriting talents to band leader Harry James, the 21-year-old wound up as 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 popular radio program, "The Dick Haymes Show" (1944-1948), in addition to a Decca recording contract, Twentieth Century-Fox soon expressed interest in his musical talents. Among his many staid but pleasant 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 seemingly pleasant and unassuming man, Dick's personal life certainly was a shambles, aggravated by alcoholism and financial debt. Five marriages also came and went (including actresses Joanne Dru, Nora Eddington, Rita Hayworth, and Fran Jeffries) before his sixth one finally stuck. He had six children from three of those marriages.
In the 1960s, he traveled to Europe and picked up the remnants of his career as his reputation had not been damaged there. While he enjoyed some renewed popularity, he never regained a strong foothold in the business again. He did manage to return to the U.S. and find some work on late 60s and 70s TV. Guesting on such programs as "The Saint," "Hec Ramsey," "Adam-12," "Get Christie Love," "McCloud" and "McMillan & Wife." His last TV role was on a 1978 episode of "The Eddie Capra Mysteries."
The older brother of actor Bob Haymes, Dick died of lung cancer in 1980. Though not as well remembered today as other crooners of his time (Frank Sinatra, Tony Martin, Vic Damone), this rich baritone's legacy is his music. Some of Dick's most 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."- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net - Dick Haymes' birth in Argentina meant he was not legally an American citizen. In order to get out of the draft in 1944, he registered as a "resident alien" and was able to avoid service in the Armed Forces. There was little publicity at the time, but when he went to Hawaii in 1953 to pursue Rita Hayworth (who was on location for Miss Sadie Thompson (1953)), he was prevented from re-entering the mainland USA. Hawaii was not a State at the time, and the immigration service said Haymes lacked the proper re-entry papers for an alien. Haymes always believed the move was inspired by Harry Cohn who was trying to break up his relationship with Rita. Immigration tried to deport him to Argentina, but he won his fight, stayed in the USA and married Rita. However, the adverse publicity about his World War II decision started the decline in his career.- IMDb Mini Biography By: John Dean
- SpousesWendy Smith(March 18, 1966 - March 28, 1980) (his death, 2 children)Fran Jeffries(November 17, 1958 - January 12, 1965) (divorced, 1 child)Rita Hayworth(September 24, 1953 - December 12, 1955) (divorced)Nora Eddington(July 17, 1949 - September 18, 1953) (divorced)Joanne Dru(September 21, 1941 - June 28, 1949) (divorced, 3 children)Edith Harper(1939 - 1939) (annulled)
- ChildrenBarbara Nugent HaymesHelen Joanna Haymes
- RelativesDavid Lacock(Niece or Nephew)Jaime Lacock(Niece or Nephew)Pete LaCock(Niece or Nephew)Suzanne LaCock(Niece or Nephew)
- He married his first wife because she said she was pregnant. He left her three months later when he realized that it was not true.
- Haymes's birth in Argentina to non-U.S. citizens meant he was not an American citizen. In order to avoid military service during World War II, Haymes asserted his non-belligerent status as a citizen of Argentina, which was neutral until almost the end of the war. Hollywood-based columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper seized upon this at the time, questioning Haymes' patriotism. Since some of Hollywood's finest were joining the military (James Stewart, Clark Gable and Robert Taylor among others) many considered him a coward and it harmed his career.
- In the late 1950s, while his career was on a lull, he partnered in nightclubs with his then-wife, singer Fran Jeffries (nee Fran Makris).
- Was at one time a singer with Harry James and His Orchestra.
- His daughter, Samantha, did not attend his funeral. Her older siblings, from her father's previous relationships, had asked that her mother, who was divorcing Haymes at the time of his death, not attend the funeral and Samantha refused to attend without her mother.
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