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Birth: Nov. 10, 1907

Death: Apr. 22, 1980

Singer, Actress, Humanitarian. She was the child of Elmer and Anna Froman born in University City, Missouri just outside of St Louis. Her mother Anna was well schooled and accomplished in the field of music. The couple would divorce when Jane was five. Daughter and mother would return to Anna's hometown of Clinton to live. At twelve, the family moved to Columbia where her mother began teaching music, first at Christian College and then St. Stevens College. Upon graduation from Columbia High School, Jane enrolled at Christian College coming away with an associate degree in French then continued her education by enrolling at the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. Her talent came to light while starring in a school revue called "Bagdaddies." She quit school going on to Cincinnati to study voice at the Conservatory of Music. Her nearly three decade career in show business had begun and it would cover all facets...radio & television, recording, nightclub performing and appearances in Broadway shows and Hollywood films. Still at the Conservatory, she sang and did commercials on Cincinnati radio station WLW. With a voice fit for opera, she was a guest singer with the Cincinnati Symphony. Jane was hired by NBC radio where she received wide exposure resulting in theater offers and guest appearances in New York City. After a move to the city, she began singing on the Chesterfield program which led to the Ziegfield Follies. Froman made her first film, "Stars Over Broadway" in 1935, then returned to New York to continue in radio and theater. Her second movie "Radio City Revels" was another musical made in 1938. In 1940, she added a new dimension to her career with nightclub appearances while starring in "Keep Off the Grass" on Broadway." The war began, she quickly volunteered for duty with the USO and began entertaining the troops. On the way to Europe aboard a USO plane, it would crash in the Tagus Rover at Lisbon, killing 25 of those aboard. She suffered severe life threatening injuries. After becoming stable and able to return home, Jane would endure years of rehabilitation and many surgeries before she was again able to walk without supports. Her courageous return in the postwar to entertain wounded troops still in Europe was the stellar success story in the history of the fabled USO. Now walking with the aid of crutches, she was able to entertain while giving encouragement to the men. In 1952, 20th Century Fox produced the 1952 award winning movie, "With a Song in My Heart." starring Susan Hayward. The soundtrack throughout the movie was the voice of Jane Froman and became a best-selling album. CBS set her up with her own show first called, "USA Canteen" and later simply "The Jane Froman Show" which ran for three seasons. "I Believe" a song that emerged from the show was recorded by Jane and became a number one seller earning her a gold record. From the time of the airplane disaster, Jane's career was impacted. Unable to walk, she rode on and off the stage in a disguised motorized wheel chair. She paid medical bills by doing club dates using a mobile electrically powered piano. More operations became necessary in the mid-1950s, this time for spinal problems. The total number of operations which Froman underwent numbered near forty. In 1962, now able to walk without supports but still wearing a brace. she was simply exhausted from performing, and called it a day retiring at age 55 to her home town Columbia, Missouri. She did not disappear but her post show business days would be busy as she continued with volunteer work embracing many needy causes while staging benefits to raise money. She was active in Christian College alumnae activities, her church and Columbia civic affairs. Her pet project was the Jane Froman Foundation which helped construct the children's hospital at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas. She remained a trustee of the Menninger Foundation. In 1980, she died of cardiac arrest due to chronic heart and lung disease. Legacy...The Boone County Historical Museum in Columbia, Missouri, serves as a repository for Jane Froman memorabilia. Her paper collection was donated to the University of Missouri. It comprises material from radio, movie musicals, the USO, theater and club appearances, television and popular music of the 1930's through the 1950. (bio by: Donald Greyfield)

Cause of death: Heart failure

Burial: Columbia Cemetery Columbia Boone County Missouri, USA

Jane Froman (November 10, 1907 – April 22, 1980) was an American singer and actress. During her thirty-year career, Froman performed on stage, radio and television despite chronic injuries that she sustained from a 1943 plane crash.

Her life story was told in the 1952 film With a Song in My Heart. She was portrayed by Susan Hayward, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

Early life and education

Froman was born in University City, Missouri, the daughter of Elmer Ellsworth Froman and Anna T. Barcafer. Her childhood and adolescence were spent in the small Missouri town of Clinton. Her father left her mother when Jane was about 5 years old. She developed a stutter around this time, which plagued her all of her life, except when she sang.

In 1919, Froman and her mother moved to Columbia, Missouri, which she considered her hometown. She graduated from Christian College, now Columbia College (Missouri), in 1926. In 1928, Froman moved to Cincinnati, where she studied voice at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music through 1930.

Although she had classical voice training, early in her career she was drawn to the music of the era's songwriters, George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin, who were inspiring a resurgence in popular music. She met vaudeville performer Don Ross when they auditioned for the same job at WLW radio station in Cincinnati. There she joined Henry Thies' orchestra and was a featured vocalist on a number of Thies' Victor recordings. Convinced she was star material, Ross became her unofficial manager and persuaded her to move to Chicago where he worked for NBC radio. In 1933 Froman moved to New York City where she appeared on Chesterfield's "Music that Satisfies" radio program with Bing Crosby. She married Don Ross in September 1933. She joined the Ziegfeld Follies, where she befriended Fannie Brice, the same year. In 1934, at age 27, she became the top-polled "girl singer." The famous composer and producer Billy Rose, when asked to name the top ten female singers, is reported to have replied, "Jane Froman and nine others."

Movie and show credits

She is credited with three movies, Kissing Time (1933), Stars Over Broadway (1935) and Radio City Revels (1938). From 1952 to 1955, she hosted her own TV show The Jane Froman Show—initially called USA Canteen—on the CBS network. The show was 15 minutes long and initially alternated with The Perry Como Show. The very first hit song to be introduced on television, I Believe, was written for Froman by the show's musicians, Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl, and Al Stillman, and earned her a gold record in 1953.

Plane crash

She was severely injured by an aircraft crash on February 22, 1943 when a USO plane, a Boeing 314 named Yankee Clipper (tail number NC18603) was carrying Froman and 38 others. When Yankee Clipper was banking into a turn for approach, a wingtip caught a wave, whereupon she crashed into the Tagus River in Lisbon, Portugal. One of fifteen survivors, Froman sustained severe injuries: a cut below the left knee nearly severing her leg, multiple fractures of her right arm, and a compound fracture of her right leg that doctors threatened to amputate. Froman had given her seat to another passenger, Tamara Drasin, who was killed in the crash, an action which her biographer Ilene Stone said "bothered her her whole life."

The co-pilot, John Curtis Burn, who broke his back in the crash, fashioned a makeshift raft from portions of the wrecked plane to help keep himself and Froman afloat. After being rescued, they were sent to the same convalescent home, where they battled their long recoveries together. After she divorced Don Ross in February 1948, Jane Froman and John Burn were married, only to be divorced eight years later (March 12, 1948 – 1956).

Froman underwent 39 operations over the years. She fought amputation and wore a leg brace the remainder of her life. However, she returned to Europe and entertained American troops in 1945. Despite having to walk with crutches, she gave 95 shows throughout Europe. During the late 40s Froman became addicted to painkillers and, when they didn't ease the pain, supplemented them with alcohol. However, she successfully overcame both problems subsequently.

With a Song in My Heart and later career

Froman's life story was the subject of the movie With a Song in My Heart (1952), starring Susan Hayward as Froman. Froman was deeply involved in the film's production: she supplied Hayward’s singing voice and served as the film's technical advisor. The Capitol album of songs from the movie was the number one best-selling album of 1952 and remained in the catalogue for many years. DRG recently re-issued the album on a compact disc along with the 1952 revival cast album of Pal Joey, in which Froman sang the role made famous by Vivienne Segal, Vera Simpson.

A Choice CD called Jane Froman on Capitol is a collection of her Capitol Records singles and tracks from albums. From 1952-1955 Jane starred on CBS-TV. Her first program, USA Canteen, had servicemen in the audience. The program was renamed The Jane Froman Show and the format was changed to a twice weekly 15 minute program on Tuesdays and Thursdays. After the show was canceled in 1956, Froman appeared on various programs for the next few years. She also appeared on stage in Las Vegas.

Retirement and death

Froman retired to her home town of Columbia in 1961 where she married an old college friend, Rowland Hawes Smith (June 22, 1962 – April 22, 1980). She continued the volunteer work for which she was known throughout her career. In 1980, she died in Columbia of cardiac arrest caused by chronic heart and lung disease. She is buried at the Columbia Cemetery.

Legacy

Jane Froman was known for her contralto vocals. There are three biographies about Froman, the first two written by Ilene Stone: One Little Candle: Remembering Jane Froman and Jane Froman, Missouri's First Lady of Song. In addition, a newer, in-depth biography, Say It With Music - The Life and Legacy of Jane Froman, by Barbara Seuling, was published on November 10, 2007, to coincide with the centennial of Froman's birth.

In honor of what would have been Froman's 100th birthday, a gala Jane Froman Centennial Celebration was held in Columbia, Missouri the weekend of November 9–11, 2007. A DVD of the movie, With a Song in My Heart, with added new segments, was premiered on November 9, 2007, and is now widely distributed by Fox Home Entertainment.

For her numerous contributions, Jane Froman was awarded three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: for Radio at 6321 Hollywood Blvd.; for Recording at 6145 Hollywood Blvd.; and for Television at 1645 Vine Street..in Hollywood, California.