Singer Frankie Laine dead at 93

Posted:
Feb 6, 2007

Laine died Tuesday at Mercy Hospital in San Diego. He entered the hospital over the weekend for hip replacement surgery, but suffered complications from the operation, said his friend A.C. Lyles, the longtime producer at Paramount Pictures.

Laine had a booming voice that helped bring about such successes as "That Lucky Old Sun," "Mule Train," "Cool Water," "I Believe," "Granada" and "Moonlight Gambler."

He was born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio on March 30, 1913 in the Little Italy neighborhood of Chicago.

For many years, he was heard singing the theme to the TV series Rawhide, which featured a young Clint Eastwood and ran until 1966. He also recorded the theme song to Mel Brooks' movie Blazing Saddles.

Laine sang the theme song for the first season (1979-80) of The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo. He also sang the theme song for the 1967 comedy Western series Rango, featuring an up-and-coming Tim Conway.

Early on, he was in the cast of the 1951 TV series The Jerry Colonna Show.

He handed many singing commercials, including one in the 1970s for Campbell Soup's Manhandlers soups ("How do ya handle a hungry man? Manhandlers!").

Laine's singing was sometimes used to provide atmosphere in the soundtracks of "period" movies, such as The Last Picture Show (1971) and Raging Bull (1980).

Laine started out in jazz, but arranger Mitch Miller made him into a 1940s and 1950s pop artist.

His wife, actress Nan Grey, died in 1993. He remarried in 1999 to Marcia Ann Kline.

Besides his wife, Laine is survived by two stepdaughters, Pam and Jan from his marriage to Grey, and two grandchildren.

Services are pending.